Beetroot or beet is the taproot portion of a Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, or dinner beet, or else categorized by color as red beet or golden beet. Its leaves constitute a leaf vegetable called beet greens. It is native to the Azores, Western Europe to the Mediterranean and India. Beetroot can be eaten raw, roasted, steamed, or boiled. Beetroot can also be canned, either whole or cut up, and often are pickled, spiced, or served in a sweet-and-sour sauce.

It is one of several cultivated varieties of Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris grown for their edible taproots or leaves, classified as belonging to the Conditiva Group. Other cultivars of the same subspecies include the sugar beet, the leaf vegetable known as spinach beet (Swiss chard), and the fodder crop mangelwurzel.

Beta is the ancient Latin name for beetroot, possibly of Celtic origin, becoming bete in Old English. Root derives from the late Old English rōt, itself from Old Norse rót.

The domestication of beetroot can be traced to the emergence of an allele that enables biennial harvesting of leaves and taproot. Beetroot was domesticated in the ancient Middle East, primarily for their greens, and were grown by the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. By the Roman era, it is thought that they were also cultivated for their roots. From the Middle Ages, beetroot was used to treat various conditions, especially illnesses relating to digestion and the blood. Bartolomeo Platina recommended taking beetroot with garlic to nullify the effects of "garlic-breath".

During the middle of the 17th century, wine often was colored with beetroot juice.

Food shortages in Europe following World War I caused great hardships, including cases of mangelwurzel disease, as relief workers called it. It was symptomatic of eating only beetroot.

Beetroot was grown in many victory gardens during World War II, in part because the species was seen as an indicator of soil pH with good growth a sign that soil acidity was not too strong.

Usually, the deep purple roots of beetroot are eaten boiled, roasted, or raw, and either alone or combined with any salad vegetable. The green, leafy portion of the beetroot is also edible. The young leaves can be added raw to salads, while the mature leaves are most commonly served boiled or steamed, in which case they have a taste and texture similar to spinach. Beetroot can be roasted, boiled or steamed, peeled, and then eaten warm with or without butter; cooked, pickled, and then eaten cold as a condiment; or peeled, shredded raw, and then eaten as a salad. Pickled beetroot is a traditional food in many countries.^{[citation needed]}