With sweet beets, juicy oranges, and pickled onion, all tossed in an orange vinaigrette and topped with feta and pomegranate seeds, this beet salad is delicious as a side dish, appetizer, or even main course!
Save the Recipe!
The holidays are just around the corner and I felt that I needed to sprinkle in a salad in between sips of wine and bites of Christmas cookies. Life is all about balance after all!
This healthy, wintery salad will actually satisfy you, filled with punchy flavors and textures. Beets and citrus fruits are a wickedly delicious combo. Plus, this salad tastes as good as it looks. Sprinkling with pomegranate seeds and feta add pops of tartness and creamy saltiness, and make this salad look like it’s adorned with mini red ornaments and a dash of snow! What a stunner!
I love to serve this beet salad as a light appetizer before or side dish alongside a creamy pasta like Lemon Pasta. You can also make this salad a main dish by adding a protein like Crispy Chickpeas or Marcona almonds.
Beet Salad Ingredients
- Lettuce – I like butterhead or another mild lettuce like romaine due to their more tender leaves.
- Endive – endive adds crisp texture and a slightly peppery flavor to the salad.
- Navel orange – Navel oranges are usually seedless, tender, and easy to peel. They are known for juicy flavor and having a nice balance between sweetness and acidity. This is what makes them perfect for not only their juice, but their zest as well for this dish.
- Red beets – red beets bring a sweet, earthy flavor to the salad while also bringing a pop of color that’s appealing to the eye. Buying pre-roasted beets, usually right in the refrigerator case in the produce aisle, helps save a lot of time!
- Red onion – red onions are more mild and sweet than yellow or white onions, making them perfect for a salad. The crisp texture of red onions are also a wonderful contrast to the beets. I recommend using a mandolin to thinly slice them if you have one!
- Pomegranate seeds – pomegranate seeds can usually be found in the grocery store, already removed from the pomegranate! Pomegranate seeds, also known as arils, are small, jewel-like, and reddish-pink in color. The seeds are juicy and have a sweet-tart flavor.
- Crumbled feta – feta is crumbly and has a tangy, yet slightly salty flavor. Feta is one of my favorite salad toppings!
- Red wine vinegar – red wine vinegar has a sharp, tangy flavor with a hint of fruitiness. It’s also bright red to pickle red onions in!
- White wine vinegar – white wine vinegar is tart, with a subtle fruitiness that works so well with beets.
- Extra virgin olive oil – olive oil is the base of our dressing.
- Water – water will help dilute the vinegar to pickle the slivered onion.
How To Cook Beets
I love to save time by buying pre-roasted beets at my local grocery store, however, you can absolutely roast them at home as well! Start with a ½ pound of small raw beets and make sure to wash and dry them really well. After they are completely dry, wrap the beets in foil and roast in a 375℉ oven for 50-60 minutes until fork tender. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. After the beets have cooled, peel and slice them.
How To Make Beet Salad
Full instructions in the recipe card; this is just an outline!
- Pickle.
Add water, red wine vinegar, and the slivered onion to a bowl to let pickle for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Cut.
After zesting, cut the orange’s top, bottom, remaining peel and the white membrane off of the outside. Then cut the orange in half to then cut into half-moon slices. Set aside.
- Prepare.
Cut cooked beets into large chunks and set aside.
Remove. Changing recipe instructions which you’ll see below. - Mix.
Mix together lettuce, endive, orange slices, beets and pickled onion into a large bowl.
- Whisk.
Whisk together orange zest, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Pour over salad and toss.
- Top.
Top salad with feta and pomegranate seeds.
Make Ahead
Another reason I love this beet salad is because there are many components that can be completed ahead of time. Whether I am getting ready to host or simply wanting to break up the process, here are a few ideas:
- Pre-cook beets: If you are unable to find pre-roasted beets at your local grocery store and will be roasting the beets yourself, this is a great task to complete ahead of time! Once roasted, peeled and cut, make sure the beets have fully cooled and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days prior to serving the dish.
- Assemble ahead: Assemble all of the ingredients in a bowl without the dressing and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Whisk together the dressing: Whisk together the dressing and store in a covered jar in the refrigerator up to 3 days ahead.
Storing Beet Salad
Before dressing and tossing the salad, beet salad can be stored undressed (dressing in a separate bowl) in the fridge, up to 3 days ahead.
After dressing and tossing the salad, I always recommend serving the same day. If you have leftover beet salad, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. The salad will get soggy over time!
Serving Suggestions
Serve beet salad as-is as an appetizer or side dish, or as a main course topped with a protein! Here are a few of my favorite serving ideas:
- As an appetizer: this beet salad is the perfect balance of earthy and fruity making it one of my favorite appetizers!
- As a side dish: serve as a side dish to a pasta like this Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta or alongside warm soup like Split Pea Soup.
- As a main course: topped with a protein like Poached Salmon, chicken, beans, or nuts like Marcona almonds.
More Salad Recipes You’ll Love!
Beet Salad With Feta and Orange
Equipment
- Mandolin (optional)
Ingredients
- 4 ounces lettuce of choice, I like butterhead lettuce
- 1 head endive, about 10 or so leaves
- 1 large navel orange
- ½ pound pre-cooked red beets
- ½ small red onion, cut into paper thin slices (use a mandolin if you have one!)
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- 2 tablespoons crumbled feta
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add water, red wine vinegar, and slivered onion to a bowl. Let pickle for 10 minutes. Drain well after 10 minutes and set aside.
- Set aside ¼ teaspoon of orange zest. Peel orange. Rest the bottom of the orange on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut the thin white membrane off the outside of the orange. The orange should now be completely orange! Pick the orange up and place it in the palm of your hand so that you can easily see the membrane that separates each orange segment. Use your knife to cut between the membranes (lines between segments) to the center of the orange so that the segments pop out. Repeat until all segments are removed from the membrane.
- Add lettuce, endive, orange slices, beets and pickled onion to a large salad bowl.
- Whisk together orange zest, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Pour over salad and toss gently.
- Top salad with a generous sprinkle of feta and pomegranate seeds.
Video
Notes
- Optional: add Marcona almonds for a crunchy, protein pop!
- Buying pre-roasted beets helps cut out a lot of time! You can usually find them in the produce section of the grocery store, in the refrigerator. If you can’t find pre-cooked beets, buy ½ pound of small raw beets, wash and dry them, wrap them in foil, and roast at 375℉ for 50-60 minutes until fork tender. Let cool before peeling & slicing.
- Red wine vinegar is used to pickle the onions which gives them a beautiful pink color and adds richness. Sub white wine vinegar if you prefer to use just one type of vinegar throughout the salad!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I really loved it,Thanks For Sharing this with us ,i will definitely try this ..
Let me know how it turns out!!