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Home » Recipes » Salads

Beet Feta Salad

Published: Sep 28, 2021 by Lexi

95 shares
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Our roasted beet feta salad is made with yellow and red beets, a zesty, herby dressing, feta cheese, toasted walnuts and fresh greens for a dish that's full of color and brimming with bold flavors. It's easy to make this salad vegan, and it's delicious as a fall or winter side dish. It's also great for the holidays!

Overhead view of beet feta salad with walnuts and pomegranate on a white serving platter.
Jump to:
  • 🥗 Why We Love This Recipe
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 📋 Ingredient Notes
  • 🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
  • 💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
  • 🍽 Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

🥗 Why We Love This Recipe

  • Balanced flavor and textures: with leafy greens, tender and slightly caramelized beets, crunchy walnuts, creamy, salty feta and pops of pomegranate, this beet feta salad has it all. It really does taste as good as it looks!
  • Great use of beets: I'm not sure about you, but I often buy beets only for them to sit at the bottom of my fridge for weeks before I get around to using them. It's so easy to roast a few and add them to a delicious salad like this one. Plus, beets are so nutritious!
  • Perfect fall/holiday side dish: we love serving a salad like this at Thanksgiving – it's light and refreshing, but super flavorful. You can also serve it up as a side dish any night of the week, or add a protein and cooked grains for a main dish.
  • Easy to make allergy friendly: sub in vegan feta (like we do) to keep this beet feta salad dairy free. It's also naturally gluten free, and you can make it nut free by using pumpkin seeds instead of walnuts.

🥘 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this beet feta salad:

Overhead view of beet feta salad ingredients, including mixed greens, beets, and feta.

📋 Ingredient Notes

  • Beets: You can use red beets, golden beets, chioggia beets, or any variety your store has on hand. I personally prefer to use a mix of red and yellow (golden) because I love the subtle differences in their flavors/textures. Yellow beets tend to be a bit milder and sweeter, whereas red beets are more earthy, so it's nice to have a bit of balance. Of course, you could also add in just about any root vegetable or even squash. This is a versatile salad!
  • Feta: We personally used vegan feta in this recipe. (We really like this Violife feta!) If you don't have any dietary restrictions, feel free to use regular feta. You can also use goat cheese or another similar cheese of choice.
  • Greens: We used a basic mixed greens mix that comes pre-packaged at the grocery store. You can sub for whatever greens you prefer – spinach, baby kale, arugula, green leaf lettuce – they would all be great in this beet feta salad.
  • Walnuts: feel free to sub with pecans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, or another nut or seed of choice. If you're feeling extra fancy, make the walnut/pumpkin seed brittle from this recipe. It's delicious!
  • Pomegranate: totally optional! If you're making this during fall or winter months, it's in season, so you may as well add it if you have any on hand. We love the pop of tartness and acidity it adds to this beet feta salad, and it helps balance out the earthiness of the beets. You can also use dried cranberries or cherries.
  • Herbs: we use fresh herbs in the dressing, but you can also sub with dried if preferred. As a general rule of thumb, use about ⅓ of the quantity listed in the recipe if using dried instead of fresh.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

(1) Preheat oven to 400˚F/205˚C. In a small bowl, stir together olive oil, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and maple syrup.

(2) Trim and peel beets. Slice in half. Place beets on a small square of alumiunum foil (2 halves on each piece) and brush with olive oil herb mixture. Seal the foil, then roast for 40-45 minutes until beets are fork tender.

On top: herbs being stirred together. On the bottom: beets before and after roasting.

(3) Remove from oven and let them cool for 15 minutes before dicing into bite-sized pieces. Let cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

(4) Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients.

Overhead view of the salad dressing being whisked together.

(5) Add salad greens to a bowl and toss with half of the dressing. Then add beets, walnuts, feta and pomegranate seeds, and drizzle with the remaining half of the salad dressing.

Overhead view of beet feta salad with walnuts and pomegranate on a white serving platter.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

  • For some extra flavor, you can opt to toast the walnuts in a pan before chopping them. Just be sure to stir frequently because they burn easily.
  • Sensitive to raw onion/shallots? We rinse the shallots in super hot water for 10 seconds, followed by 10 seconds under cold water. This helps remove that harsh bite so they don't overpower your palate.
  • Fork test: The beets are finished cooking when you can easily insert a fork into them. If there's any resistance, leave them in for a bit longer – you don't want a mouthful of uncooked beet!
  • Do I need to use aluminum foil? Technically, no, but wrapping the beets in foil helps them become super tender without drying out. If you don't use aluminum foil, the beets may start to burn on the exterior before they become fully tender.
  • Fresh vs. dried herbs: We used fresh herbs in the oil mixture that goes on the beets, but you can opt for dried herbs, just make sure to adjust the quantity since dried herbs are much stronger than fresh herbs. ½ tablespoon of fresh herbs = ½ teaspoon of dried herbs.
  • We kept the red and yellow beets separate until we added them to the salad to ensure that the colors of the salad don't get muddled. If you don't care how the salad looks, go ahead and roast them all together!
  • Make ahead: roast the beets up to a week ahead of time and assemble your beet feta salad whenever you're ready to serve!
  • Storage: you can store beet feta salad leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. The longer the salad sits, the soggier it will get, so we suggest consuming within 2 days for best results.
Close up of beet feta salad, showing walnuts, pomegranate, beets, and feta.

🍽 Related Recipes

  • overhead view of vegan beet risotto topped with microgreens.
    Vegan Beet Risotto
  • overhead view of vegan creamy beet pasta in large pot.
    Creamy Beet Pasta
  • Roasted Beet and Berry Salad
  • Creamy Roasted Beet Soup

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.

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📖 Recipe

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Overhead view of beet feta salad.

Beet Feta Salad


  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

Our roasted beet feta salad is made with yellow and red beets, a zesty, herby dressing, feta cheese, toasted walnuts and fresh greens for a dish that's full of color and brimming with bold flavors. It's easy to make this salad vegan, and it's delicious as a fall or winter side dish.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Salad:

  • 2 medium yellow beets, peeled and halved
  • 2 medium red beets, peeled and halved
  • 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
  • ½ tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 5 oz mixed greens
  • ½ cup raw or toasted walnuts, chopped
  • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese (vegan or regular)
  • ⅓ cup pomegranate seeds

Dressing:

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced shallot
  • 1 ½ tablespoons orange juice
  • ½ teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • ½ tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
  • ½ tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400˚F/205˚C. In a small bowl, stir together olive oil, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and maple syrup.
  2. Trim and peel beets. Slice in half. Place beets on a small square of aluminum foil (2 halves on each piece) and brush with olive oil herb mixture. Seal the foil, then roast for 40-45 minutes until beets are fork tender.
  3. Remove from oven and let them cool for 15 minutes before dicing into bite-sized pieces. Let cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
  4. Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients.
  5. Add salad greens to a bowl and toss with half of the dressing. Then add beets, walnuts, feta and pomegranate seeds, and drizzle with the remaining half of the salad dressing.

Notes

Feta: We personally used vegan feta in this recipe. If you don't have any dietary restrictions, feel free to use regular feta. You can also use goat cheese or another similar cheese of choice. 

Greens: We used a basic mixed greens mix that comes pre-packaged at the grocery store. You can sub for whatever greens you prefer – spinach, baby kale, arugula, green leaf lettuce

Fresh vs. dried herbs: We used fresh herbs in the oil mixture that goes on the beets, but you can opt for dried herbs, just make sure to adjust the quantity since dried herbs are much stronger than fresh herbs. ½ tablespoon of fresh herbs = ½ teaspoon of dried herbs.

Make ahead: roast the beets up to a week ahead of time and assemble the salad whenever you're ready to serve! 

Storage: you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. The longer the salad sits, the soggier it will get, so we suggest consuming within 2 days for best results.

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Category: Salads
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bowl
  • Calories: 267
  • Sugar: 10.1 g
  • Sodium: 702.5 mg
  • Fat: 22.1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 15.4 g
  • Fiber: 4.1 g
  • Protein: 5.2 g

Keywords: beet feta salad, beetroot and feta salad

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