Beet Salad Recipe (2024)

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This Beet Salad Recipe has tang, crunch, sweetness, and bite all in one. With roasted beets, peppery arugula, crunchy apple, creamy cheese, and a punchy balsamic dressing, this red beet salad truly has it all!

Beet Salad Recipe (1)

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Why You’ll Love This Salad Recipe

  • It’s Got it Goin’ On. Sweet and salty flavors, creamy and crunchy textures, freshness and pizzazz; this beet salad has a big-time satisfaction factor and is a pleasure to eat.
  • Roasted Beets Are Deceivingly Simple. Rounds of perfecting the Roasted Beet Salad with Honey Orange Ricotta in my cookbook led me to an easy method of roasting and peeling beets; Roasted Beets have been on the menu a LOT. Once you try my method, you may find yourself roasting beets more often too.
  • It’s Packed With Beneficial Nutrients. Like my Apple Walnut Salad and Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad, this beet salad recipe is made of nutrient-dense veggies, fruit, and nuts, making it both healthy and filling. Beets are rich in vitamins, fiber, and minerals.
  • You Can Serve It for Anything. From casual weeknight dinners to elegant holiday meals, this beet salad (and Winter Salad) is always dressed to impress. This beet and goat cheese salad with balsamic dressing combines elegance, flavor, and texture into one delightful package.
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5 Star Review

“This recipe is fantastic! Probably one of my most favorite salads. Everything about this recipe was perfect!”

— Kirsty —

How to Make This Beet Salad Recipe

The Ingredients

For the Salad

  • Beets. Beets are an incredibly nutritious ingredient, meaning beet salads are good for you. They taste earthy with a hint of sweetness and are rich in vitamin C, fiber, and folate. Beet lovers rejoice with my Beet Hummus.
  • Arugula. Peppery and fresh-tasting, arugula is a scrumptious base for this salad because it can stand up to the hearty beets. Plus, it’s packed with calcium, potassium, and folate.
  • Apple. Crisp, juicy, and sweet. Apples are a fantastic pairing with beets! Pears are another excellent option.
  • Pistachios. Pistachios add a wonderful salty and crunchy element to the salad. They also add protein to the salad.
  • Goat Cheese. For creamy, cheesy deliciousness that instantly elevates this salad.
  • Cranberries. A tart complement to the sweetness of the apple and beets. They also make this salad feel holiday-worthy.

Substitution Tip

If you aren’t a fan of goat cheese, you can make this a feta roasted beet salad (also delicious in this Greek Salad). Gorgonzola or shaved Parmesan would also be tasty.

For the Dressing

  • Olive Oil. The base for our tangy, sweet dressing.
  • Balsamic Vinegar. Adds a sweet, acidic complexity to the dressing. Plus, it pairs well with the beets.
  • Dijon. For tanginess.
  • Honey. The sweet counterpart to the more savory and tangy elements in the salad.
  • Finishing Touches. A pinch of garlic, salt, and pepper completes the dressing.

The Directions

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  1. Roast the Beets. Bake at 400 degrees F for 50 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
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  1. Mix the Dressing. A liquid measuring cup works well for this.
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  1. Skin and Dice the Beets. Stir them with half of the dressing.
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  1. Toss. Add part of the other mix-ins.
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  1. Add Remaining Mix-Ins. ENJOY!
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Meal Prep Tips

Bake, peel, and dice the beets up to 1 day in advance. Refrigerate them in an airtight storage container. Up to 2 days in advance, whisk the dressing ingredients together. Refrigerate the dressing in an airtight storage container. Assemble the salad as directed and drizzle on the dressing when you’re ready to serve.

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Leftover Ideas

Turn leftover healthy beet salad into a hearty lunch or dinner by adding some Baked Chicken Breast or Baked Salmon. Mix it with fresh greens to spruce it up.

What to Serve with a Beet Salad Recipe

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Recipe Tips and Tricks

  • Roasting Is Worth It. While you can eat beets raw in a salad, I much prefer a roasted beet salad over a raw beet salad. Roasted beets are sweeter, making them more delicious (and palatable). Their fork-tender texture bulks up the salad and makes it particularly satisfying. It’s worth the extra step!
  • No More Beet Stains. Beets are notorious for leaving a trail of stains wherever they go. To keep beets from staining your cutting board, lay a piece of parchment on top of it prior to slicing.
  • Serve It Warm or Cold. Personally, I love to serve this salad when the beets are still slightly warm, but it also tastes fantastic both at room temperature and as a cold beet salad (great if you are prepping the beets ahead).

Beet Salad Recipe

4.80 from 5 votes

This delicious roasted beet salad with arugula, apple, cranberries, and feta looks stunning and is tossed in an easy balsamic dressing.

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 50 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

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Ingredients

FOR THE BEET SALAD:

  • 2 pounds medium beets tops and roots trimmed (about 6 beets)
  • 5 ounces arugula
  • 1 small apple diced (a sweet/crisp apple such as Honeycrisp, or tart such as Granny Smith)
  • 1/2 cup roasted, salted shelled pistachios (I purchase them already roasted, salted, and shelled), divided
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries divided
  • 4 ounces goat cheese, feta, or gorgonzola crumbled and divided

FOR THE DRESSING:

Instructions

  • Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the beets in a 9×13-inch baking dish or similar dish large enough to hold them comfortably in a single layer. Pour a thin layer of water into the bottom of the dish, cover with foil, and bake until the beets feel tender in the center when pierced with a small, sharp knife, 50 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes or longer depending upon the size of your beets. Transfer the beets to a cutting board and let stand until cool enough to handle. If you are concerned about staining your cutting board, lay a sheet of parchment paper over it first.

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  • While the beets cook, prepare the balsamic dressing: in a medium mixing bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the dressing ingredients—olive oil, balsamic, mustard, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper.

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  • Once the beets are cool enough to handle but are still warm, with a paper towel, rub away the beet skins. If they are stubborn and stick, peel them with a small, sharp knife. Dice each beet into 3/4-inch pieces (or cut into wedges if you prefer), then place in a large serving bowl. Pour half of the dressing over the warm beets, then stir to coat (the beets absorb dressing better when they are warm).

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  • Add the arugula to the bowl with the beets. Toss to combine. Top with about two-thirds each of the apple, pistachios, cranberries, and goat cheese. Toss once more, adding more of the remaining dressing as desired. The arugula should be lightly moist but not drowning.

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  • Sprinkle the remaining pistachios, cranberries, and goat cheese over the top. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  • TO MAKE AHEAD: Bake, peel, and dice the beets up to 1 day in advance. Refrigerate them in an airtight storage container. Up to 2 days in advance, whisk the dressing ingredients together. Refrigerate the dressing in an airtight storage container. Assemble the salad as directed when you’re ready to serve.
  • TO STORE: Refrigerate leftover salad in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1(of 8)Calories: 216kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 7gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 7mgPotassium: 551mgFiber: 5gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 647IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 80mgIron: 2mg

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Erin Clarke

Hi, I'm Erin Clarke, and I'm fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food that's affordable, easy-to-make, and best of all DELISH. I'm the author and recipe developer here at wellplated.com and of The Well Plated Cookbook. I adore both sweets and veggies, and I am on a mission to save you time and dishes. WELCOME!

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Beet Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do you put vinegar in beets? ›

The vinegar in the dressing "pickles" the beets, helping them last longer in the fridge.

What makes beets taste better? ›

From roasting and grilling to adding spices and glazes, there are many ways to elevate the flavor of beets. Pairing them with acidic, sweet, and salty ingredients, as well as various spices, can alter your perception of the humble vegetable for the better.

What is the tastiest way to eat beets? ›

Beets are delicious roasted, grilled, microwaved, steamed, boiled or air-fried. The key is to experiment with various cooking techniques to find one that gives you the desired flavor.

Is it better to roast or boil beets for salad? ›

My favorite way to cook beets is to roast them, which gives a sweeter, richer, and deeper flavor than boiling does. Another advantage is that they don't bleed as much, especially if they're roasted whole.

Do beets raise blood sugar? ›

Beetroots help insulin resistance: Beetroot helps improve insulin sensitivity in people with diabetes and reduces blood sugar. Your body releases metabolites in the process of breaking down food or other substances. The high concentration of this metabolite (nitrate) in beetroot may reduce insulin resistance.

How do you take the bitterness out of beets? ›

Roasting beets deepens their natural sugars while tempering bitterness. Bake whole, wrapped beets at 400°F for 60-75 minutes until easily pierced by a fork. Allow to cool before peeling and juicing. Incorporating roasted beets creates a smoother, mellower, almost nutty-flavored blended juice.

What mixes well with beets? ›

Fruits and Vegetables that Pair Well with Beets
  • Fruits: oranges, grapefruit, lemon, lime, pineapple, mango, strawberries, raspberries, apples, pears.
  • Veggies: carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, spinach, kale, ginger, turmeric, parsley, mint.

Why do I feel better after eating beets? ›

Red beets contain a group of phytonutrients — betalains — which support detoxification by pushing toxins out of your body. Betalains also have anti-inflammatory properties which can help reduce the chronic inflammation in the body (Clifford, A. et al.

How to make beets taste yummy? ›

The roasted beets are wonderful on their own, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, or dressed up more with citrus juice, herbs, or balsamic vinegar. Serve them with any weeknight dinner, or add them to a holiday meal. These oven roasted beets keep well for days in the fridge, so they're great for making ahead.

Are canned beets as good as fresh beets? ›

With only a few exceptions, canned beetroots have about the same nutritional value as fresh beetroots. Fresh beetroots have double the phosphorus, potassium and folate, but 1 cup of sliced, canned beetroots has 14 percent of the recommended daily intake of folate and 4 percent of phosphorus and potassium.

How to cut beetroot in salad? ›

Place the washed and peeled beet on its root end, and using a sharp knife, slice a small slice off the side of the beet. Lay the beet on its cut side and slice off the top and the root end. Slice the beet into thin slices. Stack the slices and cut across at thin intervals to create matchsticks.

What fruit goes well with beets? ›

Fruits like citrus, berries, melons, apples, pineapple, grapes, kiwi, pears and peaches all mix exceptionally well with beets. Their sweet, tart notes help temper the intense vegetal taste of the beets.

Why add vinegar to boiling beets? ›

Beets are naturally sweet and earthy, making them a versatile vegetable to incorporate into your meals. By adding vinegar to the boiling process, you can elevate the flavors of beets and give them a delightful tangy kick.

What is the healthiest way to prepare fresh beets? ›

Roast Them

Roasting is an overall healthy cooking method with minimal vitamin loss, particularly vitamin C. Roasted beets are rich and sweet with slight mineral flavors. Remember to avoid long cooking times and high temperatures, as these can reduce nutrients. Try using smaller bulbs if you want to prepare them faster.

Can dogs eat beets? ›

Beets are packed with nutrients. But as healthy as they are for humans, are beets safe for dogs? Yes, they are, when served fresh and in moderation. Beets are found in some commercial dog foods.

Why add vinegar when boiling beets? ›

Directions. Place the beets in a large saucepan and add water to cover and the lemon juice or vinegar. This will help to keep the beets from bleeding. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Is beetroot soaked in vinegar good for you? ›

That said, there is evidence that eating pickled beets positively affects your health. The vinegar used to pickle beets might help with blood sugar management. Vinegar reduces blood sugar levels after meals. Some studies have shown that pickled beets may help protect against cancer.

What happens when beetroot juice is added to vinegar? ›

Expert-Verified Answer

After carrying out the experiment, u would see that the vessel with beetroot juice and vinegar will turn the whole solution red. This is because beetroot performs as an indicator of acids and bases. It turns all acidic solutions red.

How long do beets in vinegar last in the fridge? ›

To enjoy them at their best and freshest, store your pickled beets in the refrigerator and plan to use them within a maximum of three months, or ideally within several weeks. Always keep an eye out for signs they've passed their prime before that though.

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