What Color Are Beets

Let’s be honest—if someone asked you, “What color are beets?” you’d roll your eyes and say, “Red, obviously.” But you’d be wrong. Or at least, you’d be about as right as saying the sky is only blue during a sunset. Beets are nature’s little identity thieves, and they’re pulling a fast one on you.

Sure, the classic beet you find in a can or roasted to death is a deep, angry magenta. But that’s just one member of the family. Beets are actually a rainbow of possibilities, and they’ve been hiding it from us like a shy kid with a crayon box.

There are golden beets that look like they were dipped in sunshine. They’re mellow, sweet, and won’t stain your cutting board like a crime scene. Then you’ve got Chioggia beets—Italian show-offs with red-and-white concentric rings inside, like a bullseye for your taste buds.

And for the truly adventurous, there are white beets. Yes, white. They’re the vegan vanilla of the root vegetable world—boring to look at, but they won’t leave your hands looking like you wrestled a octopus in a vat of Kool-Aid.

Here’s where it gets weird, and I mean weird. The pigment that makes red beets red is called betanin, and it’s so potent that it can turn your pee pink. About 10 to 14 percent of people experience this—scientifically known as “beeturia,” but I call it the human Easter egg effect. Don’t panic; you’re not bleeding internally. You’re just a very confused piece of performance art.

Different Types of Beets

And it’s not just urine. Your poop might also get a makeover, turning burgundy or even blood-red. If you forget you ate beets, you will seriously think your colon is staging a mutiny. But no—it’s just dinner being dramatic.

So why are beets so chameleonic? Partly evolution, partly human meddling. Farmers bred them over centuries to be huge and sugary—turns out, beets are a major source of table sugar, especially in Europe. They’re basically the potato’s goth cousin who went to art school and became a sweetener.

But back to color. The golden beets lose their yellow if you boil them—too much water, and they turn a sad, pale tan. The Chioggia rings fade to a murky grayish-pink if you cook them whole. The secret? Roast them instead. Roasting locks in the pigment and makes them taste like candy from a healthier dimension.

Image: Vibrant Assortment of Colorful Beet Varieties on Wood - Miklix

Oh, and don’t get me started on beet greens. Those leafy tops are actually green—shock. They’re packed with vitamins, and if you cook them with garlic, they taste like spinach’s sassier sibling. The plant is basically a two-for-one deal: a rainbow bulb and a free salad.

So next time you’re at the grocery store, don’t just grab the red. Grab a yellow one, a striped one, and a white one. Make a tricolor salad. Tell your friends, “I’m eating a beet rainbow.” They will think you are very sophisticated, or possibly insane. Both are fine.

Just remember: Your pee might be a surprise. But so is the fact that beets can be white, yellow, pink, or even candy-striped. They are the color of chaos, nutrition, and a bathroom joke waiting to happen. And that, my friends, is beautiful.