This Beet Salad will turn anyone into a beet lover. The combination of roasted beets with citrusy orange slices, crunchy walnuts, and salty feta cheese is perfection, especially when topped with a balsamic vinaigrette.
Jump to:
I love beets, but know that not everyone is on board with their flavor (especially if you grew up being forced to eat canned beets!). But this salad is a game changer. Delicious flavors, simple ingredients, and so easy to make. This is a great side dish that goes with almost anything.
🥗 Ingredients
- Beets: Use red beets or golden beets, or a combination. Look for fresh beets that are hard, and not at all spongey. If you see beets with their greens attached, look for fresh and not wilted greens. (Then chop up the beet greens and sauté them for another side dish!)
- Oranges: Navel oranges are the easiest to use, since there are no seeds to remove, but any type of orange will work. Cara Cara oranges are delicious, and blood oranges add great color and flavor to the salad.
- Walnuts: These nuts add a welcome crunch to the dish. Feel free to substitute a different type of nut, such as pecans or almonds, or even pumpkin seeds.
- Balsamic Vinegar: An aged balsamic gives wonderful depth to this dressing. Red wine vinegar is a good alternative.
- Olive Oil: I love to use my fancy extra-virgin olive oils to make vinaigrettes, since you really can tell the quality of the vinegar and oil you use. But feel free to use any olive oil you like. Or replace with grapeseed oil or avocado oil.
- Feta Cheese: Feel free to replace with a similar cheese, such as ricotta salata or even a crumbled goat cheese.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
Add 1 cup walnuts to a small baking sheet, and put into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. (You should be able to smell them.) Remove baking sheet from the oven, and set walnuts aside to cool.
Turn oven up to 450 degrees.
Divide 1 ½ pounds of beets (about 4 medium-large beets) into 2 groups, keeping same-sized beets together. Put the first group of beets on a large sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with ½ tablespoon olive oil and ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar, then fold up the foil around them. Repeat for the remaining beets.
Bake for 45 minutes, then use a skewer to test whether they are tender. Depending on the size of the beets, this may take up to an hour.
While beets are roasting, make the vinaigrette by combining 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar with 1 ½ tablespoons dijon mustard in a small bowl. Whisk well, then slowly whisk in 4 tablespoons olive oil. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
When beets are tender, remove from oven, cool slightly, then peel with a knife or sharp peeler. Slice cooked beets in circles, half-circles, or chunks (whichever you prefer).
Use a sharp knife to cut off the top and bottom of an orange, then cut around the sides to remove the peel entirely. Try to leave as much orange flesh as possible. Slice the oranges into circles, removing any seeds.
Arrange the beets and oranges in a serving bowl. Top with ½ cup crumbled feta cheese and the toasted walnuts. Drizzle with balsamic dressing. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the salad before serving.
Storage Tips
Store salad components separately if possible, especially the nuts as they will soften in the refrigerator. The beets, oranges, feta, and dressing will last for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for this Beet and Feta Salad
Yes, this salad is great for make-ahead. You can roast the beets and make the salad dressing up to 5 days in advance. You can toast the walnuts up to 3 days in advance. For the freshest salad though, I would wait until the day you’d like to serve it to cut the orange and crumble the feta. However, you can do that a few hours before you want to serve, then bring all the ingredients together on a platter or large bowl, and refrigerate until you’re ready.
Definitely. I also love this Ginger Dressing and this Lemon Tahini Dressing with this salad, and a lemon vinaigrette using fresh lemon juice instead of balsamic vinegar is also a great choice.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Note that beet juice is famous for dying your fingers and clothing red, so be careful when peeling and chopping. Wear gloves if you like. This is also the reason why I like to serve this as a composed beet feta salad rather than stirring everything together.
When you stir the dressing, beets, and orange pieces together, everything turns a little bit purple-red. Still delicious though! As an alternative, you can toss just the beets with half the vinaigrette before putting in serving bowl, then drizzle remaining vinaigrette on top after adding the oranges, feta, and walnuts.
Roasting beets can be tricky when beets are different sizes, since they will become tender at different times. That is why putting them all in one foil packet isn’t a great idea. Break them into similar-sized groups and wrap those up. You may need to take the smaller ones out of the oven first. And, note that you can add fresh herbs to your roasted beets. Try adding a sprig of rosemary or thyme in your beet packet.
If you don’t want to roast your raw beets, you can try steaming them using a steamer basket or an instant pot. You can also roast them after peeling and chopping them, as in this Roasted Beets and Carrots recipe.
Use a sharp vegetable peeler to get the tough skin off the beets.
Want to add extra flavor to your salad? Try serving it on a bed of baby spinach, salad greens, or romaine lettuce. You could also add in thinly sliced red onions, either raw or sautéed. Or try Roasted Golden Beets in this recipe instead of, or in addition to, red beets.
This colorful salad is a great option in the winter, when delicate greens are not in season. If you're looking for another idea, try this Endive Blue Cheese Salad.
Other Salad Recipes
Salads are one of the best ways to take most advantage of seasonal fruits and vegetables. If you love beets, please try this Golden Beet Salad recipe next. And here are some other delicious salad favorites:
If you try this Beet and Feta Salad recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Vanilla Bean Cuisine.
Beet Salad with Feta
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts (about 3 ounces)
- 1 ½ pounds beets (about 4 medium-large beets)
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar divided
- 1 ½ tablespoons dijon mustard
- 5 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 oranges
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled (about 2.5 ounces)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
- Add the walnuts to a small baking sheet, and put the sheet into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Remove baking sheet from the oven, and set walnuts aside to cool.
- Turn oven up to 450°.
- Divide the beets into 2 groups, keeping same-sized beets together. Put the first group of beets on a large sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with ½ tablespoon olive oil and ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar, then fold up the foil around them. Repeat for the remaining beets.
- Bake for 45 minutes, then use a skewer to test whether they are tender. Depending on the size of the beets, this may take up to an hour.
- While beets are roasting, make the vinaigrette by combining 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar with the dijon mustard in a small bowl. Whisk well, then slowly whisk in 4 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- When beets are tender, remove from oven, cool slightly, then peel with a knife or sharp peeler. Slice beets in circles, half-circles, or chunks (whichever you prefer).
- Use a sharp knife to cut off the top and bottom of the orange, then cut around the sides to remove the peel entirely. Try to leave as much orange flesh as possible. Slice the oranges into circles, removing any seeds.
- Arrange the beets and oranges in a serving bowl.
- Top with feta cheese and toasted walnuts.
- Drizzle with balsamic dressing. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the salad before serving.
Notes
Store salad components separately if possible, especially the nuts as they will soften in the refrigerator. The beets, oranges, feta, and dressing will last for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Expert Tips:
Note that beet juice is famous for dying your fingers and clothing red, so be careful when peeling and chopping. Wear gloves if you like.
If you choose to stir the dressing, beets, and orange pieces together, everything will turn a little bit purple-red. Still delicious though! As an alternative, you can toss just the beets with half the vinaigrette before putting in serving bowl, then drizzle remaining vinaigrette on top after adding the oranges, feta, and walnuts. Roasting beets can be tricky when beets are different sizes, since they will become tender at different times. That is why putting them all in one foil packet isn’t a great idea. Break them into similar-sized groups and wrap those up. You may need to take the smaller ones out of the oven first.
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Beet Salad with Feta and Walnuts, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
sherry says
I have made a very similar dish to this. Beetroot is very popular in australia, and a must-have on a burger with the lot! This sounds delicious.
cheers
sherry https://sherryspickings.blogspot.com/
Molly Pisula says
Beets on a burger! I will have to try that!