Crispy Beet Sliders

Crispy Beet Sliders! Nothing "beets" the flavor in these petite handhelds made with crispy breadcrumb-coated beets, herbed cheese spread, avocado and pickled red onions.

One of my favorite parts of traveling to new cities is checking out the food scene. {Big surprise, right?} While we have plenty of great spots locally, I rarely dine out because I'm usually in my own kitchen coming up with new things to share here! But traveling gives me an excuse to put the spatula down and see what other places have to offer.

I recently posted about my trip to Charleston, where I pretty much spent the entire time eating, drinking and sweating. {It was H.O.T.} As it turns out, Charleston is an amazing spot to visit if you like food! And not just Southern cooking, either, although there's no shortage of Shrimp & Grits and Pimento Cheese. Maybe I'm just a good restaurant picker {thanks to Eater & Yelp}, but it seems like every place we visited was a great choice.

One of our first stops when we got into the city {after losing half a day due to flight delays. Grrr.} was to a place called 5 Church. It was exactly the type of spot I was looking for to kick off our vacation -- laid back but trendy, great drinks and unique atmosphere. I mean... cocktails and food in an old church. I'd say that's pretty unique.

We were pretty hungry by the time we got to 5 Church, so we grabbed a seat at the bar and opted to split a few appetizers so we could taste a few of the things on the menu. One thing that immediately caught my eye was the Crispy Beet Sliders, which is unlike me because I normally don't order "crispy" {read: fried} anything! But I was intrigued and the bartender gave our selection a thumbs up, so I figured I'd give it a try.

The sliders were breaded and deep fried, topped with some shaved red onion and avocado, served on fluffy little slider rolls smeared with Boursin cheese. So good. {As a side note, the mussels we also shared were really, really delightful. As in, I almost swatted Steve's hand out of the way when he went in for the last one.}

Vacation had to come to an end eventually, but I gave my taste buds an extension on the trip by making homemade versions of some of my favorite bites from our Charleston travels. I Dianna-fied the sliders by baking them instead of deep frying, and adding pickled onions for an extra kick from the tangy vinegar.

Some people bring home souvenirs... I bring home kitchen inspiration! Try these sliders at home when you're looking to "get away" from your usual routine.

Crispy Beet Sliders

The Kitchen Prep

Try these sliders at home when you’re looking to “get away” from your usual routine.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Lunch

Cuisine American

Servings 1 serving

Ingredients

  

For Beets:

• Cooked beets sliced about ¾ inch thick*
• 1 heaping tablespoon flour per slice
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon milk or water
• 1 heaping tablespoon panko breadcrumbs per slice

For Sliders

• Slider buns lightly toasted
• Boursin cheese
• Pickled onions
• Avocado slices
• Arugula or mixed greens

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Set aside.
• Dredge the beets by first tossing in flour, shaking off excess, then dunking into the egg mixture.
• Let the excess egg drip off, then toss immediately into the panko bread crumbs until completely coated. Place on prepared baking pan.
• Repeat with all beet slices. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the panko is golden.

To Assemble Sliders:

• Spread Boursin on the slider buns. Place a crispy beet slice on the bun. Top with some pickled red onion, avocado and greens of your choice.

Notes

Instead of buying raw beets and roasting or steaming them {which I find messy and time consuming}, I used ready-to-eat beets from Trader Joe's. They can be found in the produce section sealed in plastic. You can cook your own beets or buy them prepared for easier preparation.

I didn't specify the amounts for this recipe because it depends on how many sliders you want to make. A large beet can be sliced into 3-4 slider "steaks." This recipe is easy to make for one or multiply for a crowd.

This recipe was inspired by my visit to 5 Church in Charleston, South Carolina.