Savory meets sweet in this vegan beet salad recipe dressed in an oil-free balsamic vinaigrette and topped with tofu feta cheese. Don't be surprised when they ask for seconds.
When I saw orange and red beets at the farmer's market, I thought about making a vegan beet salad recipe for dinner. I love beets, greens, and pretty much everything about beets. And they are so inexpensive this time of year. The best vegan beet salad, however, is a salad that makes even salad haters lick the plate.
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As a child, we always ate beets in my grandma's Greek salad, but I thought I would make a more savory beet salad today.
Whenever I make this vegan beet salad recipe, I try to pair it with the best ingredients to get the most flavors. So, I chose arugula as my base greens because of its textured leaves and peppery flavor.
Beets Nutritional Benefits
According to Healthline, beets boast an impressive nutritional profile.
They are low in calories yet high in valuable vitamins and minerals. In fact, they contain a bit of almost all the vitamins and minerals that you need (1).
Here is an overview of the nutrients found in a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of cooked beetroot:
- Calories: 44
- Protein: 1.7 grams
- Fat: 0.2 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Vitamin C: 6% of the RDI
- Folate: 20% of the RDI
- Vitamin B6: 3% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 6% of the RDI
- Potassium: 9% of the RDI
- Phosphorous: 4% of the RDI
- Manganese: 16% of the RDI
- Iron: 4% of the RDI
Beets also contain inorganic nitrates and pigments, plant compounds with several health benefits.
Add More Beets to Your Recipes
- Beet Burger
- Beet Dip
- Quinoa Greek Salad with OMG Oil-Free Dressing
- Greek Wrap
- Healthy Greek Pasta Salad
- Greek Quinoa Bowl
Vegan Beet Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Yellow Beets: I love the different colored beets to add variety to my vegan beet salad. Golden beets can vary in sweetness; they tend to be a bit sweeter and taste less earthy and more mellow than red beetroot. Thanks to their beautiful yellow color, roasted Golden beets can brighten up any food dish and look marvelous in all kinds of salads.
- Red Beets: The flavor of the deep red beet is synonymous with “earthy” and adds some much-needed color to green salads and roasted root veggie dishes, even if they sometimes stain your fingers blood-red.
- Arugula: With a distinct peppery flavor, arugula is known for its spicy, sharp bite. The green's flavor may vary depending on its maturity and variety. Baby arugula, for example, is a miniature, less mature version of arugula and is often milder in taste, whereas wild arugula has a fiercer flavor.
- Red Onion: Red onions have a much higher sugar content and are, therefore, sweeter than brown onions.
- Grape Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes are sweet and have fewer seeds.
- Watermelon Radishes: Despite the name, watermelon radishes do not taste like watermelon! They have a mild flavor that is slightly sweet yet peppery. Unlike other radishes, the flavor becomes mellower the longer it matures. And they are beautiful in color.
- Tofu Feta Cheese: I make homemade tofu feta cheese! It gives the salad a savory flavor and additional protein.
How to Prepare Beets for Salad
Selecting Fresh Beets
- When selecting beets at the store, choose beets that feel hard, avoid soft beets, and ones with leaves that appear wilted or unhealthy.
- If you have the choice, pick with their big leaves still attached.
- As a bonus, beet greens wilt can be added to stir-fries, pasta dishes, soups, or stews.
Roasting Beets
Despite popular belief, beets do not need oil to roast. Roasting oil-free yields better results than using oil.
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut off the leaves and as close to the top of the beet as possible. Save the beet greens for another purpose.
- Scrub the beets thoroughly, then wrap them loosely in aluminum foil. Leaving the best wet allows for any seasoning chosen to stick, so leave them wet.
- Separate the different colored beets so the red ones do not bleed into the lighter colored beets.
- Place the wrapped beets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Roast for 50 to 60 minutes. Check the beets every 20 minutes or so. If they are starting to look dry or are scorching on the bottoms, dribble a tablespoon of water over the beets before re-wrapping.
- Beets are done when a fork slides easily to the beet's center, similar to checking a potato.
- Remember, small beets will cook more quickly than large beets, so pair small ones and large ones separately.
- Once cooled, hold each beet in a paper towel and use the paper's edges to rub the skin away. The skin should peel away easily; if it doesn't, the beets likely need to cook for a little longer. Peel the remaining beets.
- Also, wear gloves to prevent your hands from turning red 🙂
- Then, cut the beets into bite-sized pieces; separate colors if not using immediately to prevent bleeding.
- Beets will last 1 week in the refrigerator in a sealed container.
Beet Salad Dressing (Oil-Free and Simple)
Because of the array of flavors in this beet salad, the dressing needs to be simple and oil-free to maintain the salad ingredients' integrity.
- Balsamic Vinegar: The taste of Balsamic Vinegar is intense, sweet and sour, lingering, and aromatic, and when it's aged, it has complex flavors given by aging in barrels.
- Dijon Mustard: We love Grey Poupon brand mustard, and I tend to use it most often in my oil-free dressings.
- Garlic: I prefer using fresh garlic cloves in vegan dressings and sauces.
- Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is a natural sweetener without refined sugar.
- Lemon Juice: I prefer using fresh lemon juice in dressings and sauces.
- Salt: Salt enhances the flavors in the dress.
- Black Pepper: Balck pepper gives the dressing more depth of flavor.
Serving Suggestions
- Tofu Feta Cheese is the tangy, savory, and salty component that garnishes the salad as a bonus. I loved vegan feta cheese, and just a little sprinkle on this beet salad is all needed for a euphoric end.
- Since I planned, I made Tofu Feta Cheese and planned to use it for various recipes throughout the week.
- As a result, a whole recipe goes a long way and lasts a week in the refrigerator.
- However, tofu feta is a garnish, so feel free to leave it off the salad.
- Another option that works well with the ingredients is adding a few pecans. The crunchy, nutty flavor also makes this beet salad fabulous.
Recipe FAQs
Steaming beets is a healthy cooking method because they retain most of their vitamins and minerals—not boiled out in water—and stay incredibly vibrant.
Beets are a hardy root vegetable grown all over the world. The most common type of beet sold in grocery stores is Beta vulgaris, but there are many varieties. They generally have an earthy, sweet taste that many people enjoy and are packed with nutrition.
Beets have more sugar than many other vegetables—about 8 grams in a serving of two small beets. But that's hardly the same as getting 8 grams of sugar from a cookie.
Tips
- Although many recipes suggest adding oil while roasting beets, it isn't necessary. You can season and roast them without oil; they taste and cook perfectly.
- If using the tofu feta recipe, make it ahead of time so it has time to chill in the refrigerator.
- If you don't like arugula, choose another green choice, such as spinach or kale.
- Do not dress the salad in advance; keep it separate, so the salad doesn't get soggy.
- When adding nuts to salads, add them right before serving so they don't get soggy.
So, the next time you want a little savory in your salad, try the best vegan beet salad you will ever make.
More Delicious Vegan Salad Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Beet Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 6 medium 2 lbs beets, roasted (I chose red and yellow)
- 5 ounce baby arugula, rinsed and spun dry 6 cups
- 1 red onion sliced thin
- 1 watermelon radish cut in slices and then halves
- ½ cup tri-colored tomatoes cut in half
- 4 ounce or ½ cup tofu feta cheese diced or crumbled**
- ½ cup pecans toasted
Oil-Free Dressing
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Roasting the beets
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut off the leaves and as close to the top of the beet as possible. Save the beet greens for another purpose.
- Scrub the beets thoroughly, then wrap them loosely in aluminum foil. Leaving the best wet allows for any seasoning chosen to stick, so leave them wet.
- Separate the different colored beets so the red ones do not bleed into the lighter colored beets.
- Place the wrapped beets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Roast for 50 to 60 minutes. Check the beets every 20 minutes or so. If they are starting to look dry or are scorching on the bottoms, dribble a tablespoon of water over the beets before re-wrapping.
- Beets are done when a fork slides easily to the beet's center, similar to checking a potato.
- Remember, small beets will cook more quickly than large beets, so pair small ones and large ones separately.
- Once cooled, hold each beet in a paper towel and use the paper's edges to rub the skin away. The skin should peel away easily; if it doesn't, the beets likely need to cook for a little longer. Peel the remaining beets.
- Also, wear gloves to prevent your hands from turning red 🙂
- Then, cut the beets into bite-sized pieces; separate colors if not using immediately to prevent bleeding.
- Beets will last 1 week in the refrigerator in a sealed container.
Oil-free Dressing
- Whisk all the ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Making Tofu Feta Cheese (optional)
- Make 1 recipe of Tofu Feta Cheese (this should be done ahead of time)
Making the Beet Salad
- Place a generous amount of arugula on each plate.
- Place the beets, onions, tomatoes, and watermelon radishes on top of the arugula.
- Drizzle with oil-free dressing and garnish with tofu tofu feta cheese.
Notes
- Although many recipes suggest adding oil while roasting beets, it isn't necessary. You can season and roast them without oil; they taste and cook perfectly.
- If using the tofu feta recipe, make it ahead of time so it has time to chill in the refrigerator.
- If you don't like arugula, choose another green choice, such as spinach or kale.
- Do not dress the salad in advance; keep it separate, so the salad doesn't get soggy.
- When adding nuts to salads, add them right before serving so they don't get soggy.
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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