Beetroot and Feta Salad is a delicious and colorful side dish made with roasted red beets, tangy feta cheese, sweet pear, and walnuts tossed with green leaves. It is extremely easy to make and ready in just 10 minutes. This beautiful salad is perfect for special gatherings, and a great addition to your holiday tables.
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This delicious Beet Salad with feta cheese and walnuts has the perfect balance of tangy, salty, and sweet flavors. It is lightly dressed with olive oil, balsamic and lemon juice. You can roast your own beetroot if you don't want to use cooked beets. A detailed explanation of how to roast beetroot is attached to the recipe card.
Why This Recipe Works
- This Beet Salad With Feta is versatile. You can serve it on special occasions along with Slow Roasted Turkey Leg, or Individual Salmon en Croute, as well as for a quick weekday meal along with Smoked Salmon Pate, Air Fryer Sausage, or Thai Fish Cakes - Tod Mun Pla.
- It is a very easy recipe made with simple ingredients and is ready in just 10 minutes.
- Beets and feta are a great combination and they make a perfectly delicious and healthy salad. However, if you don't want to use feta cheese, you can substitute it with goat's cheese or blue cheese.
- The dressing for Feta Beetroot Salad is extremely simple and made with only 3 ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, and balsamic.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Beetroot - I prefer already cooked beets as it makes life easier. However, you can cook your own beetroots if you prefer so. You can roast them ahead and keep them refrigerated for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Any color beets will be delicious!
- Feta - One of the main ingredients is feta cheese so try to use a good quality one, preferably made with sheep milk. Use a block with a creamy texture that's been refrigerated in the brine. Stay away from crumbled feta, which usually is too salty and dry.
- Walnuts - They add texture and nutty flavor to this colorful Beetroot Feta salad. Lightly toast them before using them for intensifying the flavor.
- Pear - I use conference or William pear for this recipe. You can use any variety you prefer, or substitute it with orange segments.
- Salad leaves - You can use your favorite mixed salad greens. Rocket/arugula and spinach leaves are great alternatives for this healthy Feta Beetroot Salad.
- Olive oil - Extra virgin olive oil is the best option for salad dressings.
- Balsamic glaze - It has a thick & syrupy consistency and a slightly sweet taste which goes perfectly with earthy sweet beets and tangy salty feta cheese. You can use balsamic vinegar and add a pinch of sugar to the dressing instead of the glaze.
How to Make Beetroot & Feta Salad?
This recipe is very easy to make and only takes 10 minutes when you use ready-cooked beetroot.
If using raw beetroot, you can boil, steam or roast it. I prefer roasting as it gives the beets extra sweetness and a richer flavor.
To roast raw beets, preheat the oven to 190°C (375° F) and wrap them in tin foil.
Place them on a baking tray and cook them until you can pierce them with a small knife easily. Depending on the size of the beetroot, this might take 45 to 75 minutes.
Let the beetroots cool down before peeling them. You can bake your beetroots for up to 5 days in advance and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container until you want to use them.
If using cooked beetroot, remove them from the packaging and let them drain on a colander.
Cut the beetroots in halves and then into wedges. Set them aside.
Prepare the rest of the ingredients before starting to build your Beetroot Salad With Feta.
Cut the feta cheese into small cubes.
Lightly toast the walnuts and cut them into chunks.
Peel and cube the pear and sprinkle on a tablespoon of lemon juice to prevent it from browning.
To build your Beetroot Walnut Feta Salad, place the salad leaves into a large bowl. Drizzle with half of the olive oil and balsamic glaze, and gently toss to combine.
Arrange the salad leaves into a large serving bowl or individual bowls. Add the beetroot wedges, feta cubes, walnuts, and chopped pear along with the lemon juice.
Drizzle on the rest of the olive oil and balsamic, gently toss them, check the seasoning and add some salt if necessary.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full, printable recipe!
Serving Suggestions
This salad is a perfect accompaniment to many dishes such as Turkey Shepherd's Pie, Et Sote, Braised Beef Cheeks, Fellah Koftesi, Ali Nazik, and Moules Mariniere - French Mussels.
Top Tips From The Chef
- Use a block with a creamy texture that's been refrigerated in the brine. Stay away from crumbled feta, which usually is too salty and dry.
- Roast the walnuts in a preheated oven to 140° C (285° F) for 20 minutes for intensifying the flavor.
- If you are worried about beets staining your hands purple, wear a pair of plastic kitchen gloves. I personally don't mind it as they go off after a couple of washing up!
- You can bake your beetroots for up to 5 days in advance and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container until you want to use them.
- Dress the salad leaves just before serving to avoid them getting soggy.
- If you don't want the beets to turn everything pink, don't toss them into the salad, sprinkle them separately on top after tossing the rest of the ingredients together.
Recipe FAQs
You can cook the beetroot up to 5 days in advance and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container. Also, you can toast the walnuts and keep them for up to a week or until you need them.
This Beetroot Feta Salad is best when consumed freshly made. I don't recommend keeping the leftovers as the leaves will get soggy within an hour when tossed with dressing.
If you don't have walnuts or prefer other nuts, you can use pine nuts, almonds, pistachio nuts, pecans, and hazelnuts.
Related Recipes
For more delicious and healthy salad recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this colorful and healthy Beetroot Feta Walnut Salad as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Beetroot and Feta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 g cooked beetroot
- 100 g feta cheese
- 40 g walnuts
- 100 g mixed salad leaves
- 1 medium pear
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze
Instructions
- If using raw beetroot, roasting is the best option as it gives the beets extra sweetness and a richer flavor.
- Simply preheat the oven to 190 °C (375° F) and wrap your beets in tin foil.
- Place them on a baking tray and cook them until you can pierce them with a small knife. Depending on the size of the beetroot, it might take 45 to 75 minutes.
- Let the beetroots cool down before peeling them. You can bake your beetroots for up to 5 days in advance and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container until you want to use them.
- If using cooked beetroot, remove them from the packaging and let them drain on a colander.
- Cut the beetroots in halves and then into wedges. Set them aside.
- Prepare the rest of the ingredients before starting to build your Beetroot Salad With Feta.
- Cut the feta cheese into small cubes.
- Lightly toast the walnuts and cut them into chunks.
- Peel and cube the pear and sprinkle on a tablespoon of lemon juice to prevent it from browning.
- To build your Beetroot Walnut Feta Salad, place the salad leaves into a large bowl.
- Drizzle with half of the olive oil and balsamic glaze, and gently toss to combine.
- Arrange the salad leaves into a large serving bowl or individual bowls.
- Add the beetroot wedges, feta cubes, walnuts, and chopped pear along with the lemon juice.
- Drizzle on the rest of the olive oil and balsamic, gently toss them, check the seasoning and add some salt if necessary.
Notes
- Use a block with a creamy texture that's been refrigerated in the brine. Stay away from crumbled feta, which usually is too salty and dry.
- Roast the walnuts in a preheated oven to 140° C (285° F) for 20 minutes for intensifying the flavor.
- If you are worried about beets staining your hands purple, wear a pair of plastic kitchen gloves. I personally don't mind it as they go off after a couple of washing up!
- You can bake your beetroots for up to 5 days in advance and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container until you want to use them.
- Dress the salad leaves just before serving to avoid them getting soggy.
- If you don't want the beets to turn everything pink, don't toss them into the salad, sprinkle them separately on top after tossing the rest of the ingredients together.
Nutrition
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Anne
This was such a delight! I used white balsamic and toasted pine nuts instead.