Consider saving your beet greens. The greens can be cooked separately and can be sautéed, roasted, or steamed as well. It won’t take nearly as long to cook the greens as it would to cook the beets (just 4 minutes in a steamer will do for the greens), so you’ll still have to separate them from the beet, even if you do plan on eating them.
If you want to skip this step, you can put oil on the beets instead to keep them from burning. Drizzle the beets in olive oil or vegetable oil (about 1 tablespoon of olive oil or 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil per pound of beets will do). Then, generously season them with salt and pepper to taste. You can also quarter them to make them finish cooking more quickly; quartered beets can be cooked for 45 minutes, instead of whole beets, which will take a bit longer.
