How to Clean All the Dirt From Your Root Vegetables

Root vegetables spend their entire lives buried in the dirt, so they always seem to bear at least a trace of grit—if not a whole mess of sand. (We’re looking at you, leeks!) But cleaning your root vegetables like beets, carrots, potatoes, and onions isn’t mission impossible. With a little scrubbing and a produce brush, you can get your root vegetables squeaky clean and ready to chop, roast, or bake to perfection.

Here’s everything you need to know to make sure your root vegetables are ready to go for your favorite vegetable recipes.

How Dirty Are Root Vegetables?

Because root vegetables stay in the dirt for their entire growth time, they do tend to get dirty—and may pull in contaminants from the soil, including pesticides, microbes like Listeria and Salmonella, heavy metals, and microplastics. And that doesn’t include the actual soil itself, which can make your root vegetables gritty and unappealing to eat.

Still, that doesn’t mean that they’re the dirtiest produce out there. Root vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, and onions are regularly on the Environmental Working Group’s “Clean Fifteen” list, as they have fewer pesticide residues on them than other types of produce, like berries and greens.

How to Wash Root Vegetables

The good news is you don’t have to use fancy cleaners, vinegar, or other cleaning methods to wash your root vegetables. All you need is running, cool water and a scrub brush! In fact, the FDA says you absolutely should not use any soap or other cleansers on the vegetables, as those can be absorbed and contaminate your vegetables. Even commercial produce washes that are made to be edible have not been shown to clean any more effectively than just plain water. (And water’s much cheaper!)

Wash your hands before you start

Use soap and water to wash your hands before handling your vegetables, to avoid contaminating your produce with anything that’s on your hands.

Run cool water over the vegetables for 10 seconds

Using cool water helps prevent microbes from being absorbed into the skin of the vegetable, and the action of the running water helps rinse away the dirt and microbes.

Use a produce brush to scrub off visible dirt

A produce brush will help remove any dirt that’s “stuck” on the surface. You can keep running it under the cold water while you do this to wash the dirt away as you scrub.

Rinse off with additional cool water

Once your root veggie looks clean, give it a final rinse to remove any remaining residue.

Dry with a clean towel

You can let your veggies air dry or use a clean paper towel to dry off the vegetable.

Do You Still Need to Wash Your Root Vegetables If You’re Peeling Them?

Short answer: Yes. Even if you’re peeling your root vegetables, you should still give them a good scrub. Your paring knife or peeler comes in contact with the skin, so it can become contaminated and pass on microbes, dirt, and more onto the vegetables themselves. So follow the instructions above to wash your root vegetables before you peel and prep.