A Simple Beet Salad For Any Occasion
Beets are a thing of beauty—with their vibrant deep color and uniquely sweet flavor, we’re big fans. Loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, they’re healthy, too. Plus, even though they’re technically in season in the fall and winter, beets are available pretty much year round, because they’re easy to store. Pair this with a simple main—maybe Baked Salmon, or Perfect Roast Chicken with Lemon Herb Pan Sauce—and you’ve got yourself a gorgeous dinner, fit for company! For another wintery salad, try our celery, pear and hazelnut salad.
How to Prepare Beets for Salad
Learning how to roast beets is super simple, and once you’ve got it down, you’ll probably find yourself making them all the time. For an even easier beet salad, we love our Grated Beet Salad. Not only are they delicious in this salad, their earthy sweetness, brilliant magenta color, and lovely texture makes them a welcome addition to all kinds of things—salads, sandwiches, and sides. Here’s how to roast beets for salad:
Wash your beets. Because they’re a root veggie, beets tend to be a little dirty. Give them a good wash being sure to scrub the surface well.
Trim the beets. If you bought beets that have their whole tops, including the leafy greens, keep the greens! They’re extremely healthy and delicious sautéed in olive oil with a little garlic—prep them just as you would spinach or collards.
Wrap each individual beet in foil for roasting, and drizzle them with a little olive oil before sealing the foil packets.
Roast! Roasting beets takes roughly an hour, depending on the size of the beets. Smaller ones might be ready after 40 minutes or so. You can check for doneness by sliding a knife into the beet. If it slides in easily, the beet is done.
Our Favorite Roasted Beet Salad Dressing
This goat cheese green goddess dressing is the best salad dressing for all things, not just for this roasted beet salad. Plus, it’s not too hard to make! Just dump all the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend. If it’s a little thick—different kinds of chèvre have different moisture levels, so the thickness can vary—just pour in a little more olive oil until you’ve got the consistency you want. Here’s what you’ll need to make this fresh, creamy dressing:
Fresh goat cheese – This is our favorite way to add a tangy bite, and thicken our salad dressing.
Green onions and herbs – Herbs and green onions are what bring our green dressing into the realm of the goddess.
Fish sauce – This is the secret to success. A good fish sauce adds an unctuous flavor to any dish, and is a stand-in for the anchovies that traditionally gives Green Goddess Dressing an umami kick.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice – A little bit of acidity works to balance the creamy dressing, and adds brightness to the earthy beets and carrots.
How to Make Beet Salad
This salad is mostly prep—once you’ve got your ingredients lined up, all you need to do is assemble. You can even make a lot of the components ahead of time—roast the beets a few days before you need to serve, and even the dressing can be made a few hours ahead. Here’s how to approach this yummy beet salad recipe:
Roast the beets. Beets take a while to roast, and you’ll need to let them cool completely before peeling them, so get it going at least a few hours before you want to serve the salad.
Roast the carrots. You’ll pop them in the oven with the beets, but towards the end of the beet roasting time—they only need 15-20 minutes.
Make the goat cheese dressing. This is a simple affair in a high speed blender.
Peel and slice the beets. After roasting, the beet skin should come off easily—you can rub it off with a paper towel, or you can use a small knife or vegetable peeler to get it off.
Assemble the salad. Arrange the beets, carrots and watercress on a platter in a way that looks pretty and makes you happy. Drizzle with dressing, and eat up!
More Great Salad Recipes To Try
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