Earthy roasted beets, salty feta cheese, fresh herbs, and buttery pine nuts come together with a simple vinaigrette in this richly colored beet salad with feta. Perfect for fall and winter, this healthy salad adds a burst of color and flavor to your table for a satisfying and hearty side dish. Roast fresh beets in foil ahead of time for easy prep, then simply chop, toss, and assemble when ready to serve. It goes together in minutes.
If you love beets, here's a terrific salad to add to your repertoire. To create a flavorful salad, don't boil beets or steam beets; roast them. Roasting beets brings out their natural sweetness. Preparing roasted beets in foil keeps them moist and is super easy. Dress roasted beet salad with feta with almost any vinaigrette from a simple balsamic vinaigrette or a classic French vinaigrette, to a citrusy blood orange or lemon vinaigrette.
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Why You'll Like This Recipe
- Make roasted beets in foil ahead of time, or use store bought cooked beets.
- Vary the dressings to change up the salad.
- A great side dish for fall and winter.
Recipe Ingredients
Beet Salad
- Beets: To be roasted for the salad. Buy whole fresh raw beets of medium size with the beet greens on for the freshest beets. Use both red, gold, or both.
- Oil: Olive oil or avocado oil to drizzle over the beets for roasting.
- Cheese: A good tangy, Greek feta cheese is terrific against earthy beets and worth seeking out.
- Herbs: Fresh parsley, fresh dill, and fresh chives all compliment this beet salad adding good color and flavor. Fresh mint it nice too.
- Nuts: Buttery pine nuts are a ice compliment but there are options below.
Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
- Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is best choice, or avocado oil.
- Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar are good options.
- Mustard: A little Dijon mustard helps emulsify the dressing and add flavor.
- Garlic: Optional, just a little for flavor if desired.
Please see the recipe card for measurements, salt and black pepper.
Chef's tip on feta cheese: I love good Greek feta cheese. It's tangy and salty from the brining process and has much more flavor than cow's milk feta because it's a blend of goat and sheep milks. Greek feta usually is in block form, not pre-crumbled. You can still use the crumbled regular feta if it's your preference. If you don't digest cow's milk cheeses well, you might find you do better with a blend like this.
For another feta recipe, try mezze appetizer tray with baked feta. It's great for entertaining.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap goat cheese for the feta cheese.
- Vary the vinaigrettes.
- Change up the nuts. Crunchy walnuts are terrific as are these glazed maple pecans which add sweetness.
- Use a flavored olive oil such as lemon, blood orange, or basil.
- Use lemon juice or orange juice instead of vinegar for the vinaigrette.
- Thin slices of red onion are a nice addition for more flavor and color.
- Can't get fresh beets to roast? Try this beet salad with canned beets.
Recipe Instructions
For more photos and detailed directions for how to roast beets in foil please see the link.
Chef's tip on working with raw garlic. When you want to add fresh garlic to something like a vinaigrette, it must be very fine so you don't bite into a piece of raw garlic (really unpleasant). The best way to make the garlic fine is with a microplane zester. It disappears into the vinaigrette nicely. Otherwise, chop it fine then with the back of your knife smear it into a paste before adding.
For another terrific fall and winter salad, try this fennel orange salad with orange vinaigrette.
Serving Suggestions
Toss the beets with the dressing by themselves, then add the cheese, nuts, and herbs. This way the beets get a good coating without turning the cheese pink.
These pairings allow the beet and feta salad to shine while creating a balanced, flavorful meal
- Grilled or Roast Chicken: The mild flavor of chicken complements the boldness of beets and feta.
- Salmon: Salmon’s richness balances the fresh flavors in the salad.
- Grain Bowls: Add quinoa to add texture and make it a more substantial, hearty meal.
- Pasta with Olive Oil and Herbs: A simple pasta dish provides a nice contrast.
- Serve beet salad with feta on salad greens like peppery arugula or red lettuce.
Storage
Roasted beets keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 3- days. I recommend that you store the beets, cheese, herbs, and nuts separately and combine when ready to eat.
If you have leftover salad all combined and dressed, it will hold for a few days except but the cheese will probably turn pink because of the beets. It still tastes good but might need a little more vinaigrette.
Recipe FAQs
Use either or both for beautiful color depending on availability at your grocery store.
When working with red beets in particular, wear disposable kitchen gloves and don't work on a cutting board that will stain easily, such as a white one. For wood cutting boards, lightly wet them with water then wipe off before cutting beets on them. This helps protect the cutting board from staining. Then be sure to wash the cutting board right away. Golden beets are less staining.
Absolutely, it's a great make-ahead salad. Roast your beets, chop the herbs, crumble the cheese, toast nuts if desired, and make the vinaigrette but don't put it together yet. Assemble and dress just before serving. The components for beet salad with feta can be made several days ahead of time.
Yes, you can use the steamed and peeled vacuum sealed packages of beets, but roasting your own beets is easy, more flavorful, and can be done ahead of time. If you are short on time and need a quick shortcut, use the packaged option. Beets are always good! You'll need 3-8 ounce packages.
More Complimentary Recipes
Serve beet salad with feta alongside these crispy air fryer chicken cutlets or easy roast chicken breasts. Use the maple pecans for the nuts, they are fantastic.
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📖 Recipe
Beet Salad with Feta
Equipment
Ingredients
To roast beets
- 2 pounds raw beets, medium-sized red, gold, or both, tops on
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil or avocado oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Beet salad
- 3 ounces feta cheese preferably Greek feta
- 2 ounces pine nuts walnuts, or pecans
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs parsley, dill, and/or mint
Vinaigrette
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons vinegar balsamic or red wine
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small garlic clove zested or chopped very fine (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper optional
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Instructions
Roast beets
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F. Trim top greens leaving 1-inch of beet stem. Scrub beets clean and dry with paper towels.
- Place a double layer of heavy foil large enough to wrap the beets all together on the counter. Place the beets in the center and drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt. Roast beets until very tender, 45-60 minutes depending on size. The larger the beets the longer they take. When done you should be able to easily pierce through them with a thin metal skewer like a cake tester.
- When beets are done, open packet and cool until you can handle them, then peel with a vegetable peeler, paring knife, or by rubbing with paper towels.
Make the vinaigrette
- While the beets are roasting, make the vinaigrette. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Alternatively add to a jar with a tight lid and shake well.
Make the beet salad
- Chop the beets into approximately ¾" cubes and add to a medium bowl. Add two tablespoons of the vinaigrette and toss to coat the beets.Sprinkle in the crumbled cheese, nut, and chopped herbs. Add more vinaigrette if desired or serve extra on the side. Beet salad is ready to serve.
- If making the salad ahead of time, ready the components and refrigerate separate. Combine and dress when ready to serve. Leftover beet salad lasts 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The cheese will turn pink! Add more dressing if needed.
Notes
- Swap goat cheese for the feta cheese.
- Walnuts are terrific as are these glazed maple pecans.
- Use a flavored olive oil such as lemon, blood orange, or basil.
- Use lemon juice or orange juice instead of vinegar.
- Thin slices of red onion are a nice addition.
Nutrition
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