Beetroot Salad with Walnuts and Feta

This Beetroot Salad with Walnuts and Feta is an easy and healthy side dish to make for weeknight meals or dinner parties! It takes only 10 minutes to put together and is customizable! Make it as a side dish for 2 people, upscale it for a larger group or even pair it with other ingredients to make a full meal.

Making salads more exciting and satisfying

Salads have traditionally had a bad rap for being boring “rabbit food”. They can lack diversity in flavour, texture and substance. Unfortunately, I can understand why some people are not a fan of salads. Especially at this time of year when there isn’t a huge variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, it can be hard to make a salad inspiring.

This Beetroot Salad with Walnuts and Feta is here to challenge the traditional salad and make things a bit more exciting. In this salad recipe, we use ingredients with complimentary flavours and colours!

It’s also important to consider how satisfying a salad can be. To help keep us full and satisfied, this salad uses a lot of fibre-rich ingredients. The walnuts add a great crunch and a source of omega 3 fatty acids. These can support fullness, as well as brain and heart health.

Not only is this salad vibrant and delicious, it’s also fun to put together and keeps you satisfied for longer!

 

Ingredients for beetroot salad with walnuts and feta

It was important to make this Beetroot Salad with Walnuts and Feta approachable and easy to make all year round. To make this happen, I used just a few ingredients that don’t require any cooking and should be available regardless of the season. These include:

• Arugula or spring mix
  • If you prefer another type of leafy greens like baby spinach or romaine, you can use this instead.
• Canned rosebud beets
  • These canned beets make the entire preparation process SO much easier. No peeling or cooking required, which also means you don’t have to scrub your fingertips free from the natural red dye.
  • If you can’t find canned whole rosebud beets, you can use canned sliced beets. This would reduce your prep time even more!
  • If you choose to cook your own beets, follow the instructions below for roasted beets.
• Canned sliced peaches
  • Opt for the canned peaches in lite syrup, since this will be used as part of the dressing.
  • If you can’t find canned sliced peaches, you can used canned whole peaches and cut them yourself.
• Walnuts
  • You may be able to find some pre-chopped walnuts at your local grocery store but if not, chopping whole walnuts will take less than a minute to do.
  • You could also use pumpkin seeds or sliced or chopped almonds if you prefer these to walnuts.
• Feta cheese
  • You can crumble or cut up the feta into small or large pieces, depending on your preference!
  • If you prefer goat cheese, this will also work. You may just want to lightly salt the salad before serving.
  • If you are lactose-intolerant, consider a lactose-free feta cheese or a plant-based salty cheese.
• Lite syrup from canned peaches and balsamic vinegar
  • These two ingredients make up our “dressing.” It’s incredibly simple but ties all of the flavours together. Feel free to adjust the amounts if you prefer a sweeter or more acidic dressing.

How to cook beetroot

There are many different methods to cook beetroot, from steaming to roasting to air frying and more! This article does a great job at running through all of the options.

My favourite way to cook beets is by roasting them. Here’s how to do it:

1. Wrap your beets individually in tin foil and place on a baking sheet.
2. Bake at 400°F for 40-55 minutes, depending on their size.
3. Once they are cooked through, set them aside until you can handle them with your hands.
4. Using a knife, spoon or paper towel, peel or rub off the skin of the beets. They are now ready to be used in this recipe!

How to make beetroot salad with walnuts and feta

This salad is extremely quick and easy to put together. All you need to do is:

1. In a medium sized bowl, add the arugula, beets and peaches slices.
2. Sprinkle on the feta cheese and chopped walnuts. Drizzle the lite syrup from the canned peaches and the balsamic vinegar over the salad.
3. Season with salt and pepper to your preference and serve immediately.

It’s that simple! If you plan to make this salad as a side dish for a large dinner party, just double, triple or quadruple the ingredients to suit your needs.

I don’t recommend making this salad in advance as the peaches and beets can make the arugula soggy over time. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare so can be done right before serving your meal.

What flavours go best with beets?

Beets naturally have a very earthy flavour. This allows them to pair well with a variety of ingredients and flavours. I like to pair them with sweet foods to balance out any mild bitterness from the earthy beets. This is why I have included peaches in this salad recipe.

Alternatively, you could also use some citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruit or mandarins to act as an acidic component. Balsamic vinegar is used in this recipe and is a great acidic partner to beets.

Beets are also often flavoured with fresh herbs to compliment the earthy flavour. There are so many options!

What protein goes with beetroot salad with walnuts and feta?

If you want to make this Beetroot Salad with Walnuts and Feta a meal, there are a variety of protein sources you can use. Add roasted chicken, fish or steak on the side or directly to the salad. For a plant-based option, consider crumbled tofu or lentils as a protein-rich addition.

You may also want to add a source of fibre-rich carbohydrates to really balance out the meal. To this salad, you can add:

• quinoa
• rice
• couscous
• buckwheat
• roasted potatoes

Including whole grain bread, pasta or crackers on the side would also be a way to add some carbohydrates to this meal.

However you decide to prepare and enjoy this salad is entirely up to you. I hope you love it!

I hope this Beetroot Salad with Walnuts and Feta is a fun way and creative way to add vegetables to your diet. Don’t forget to check out some of these other vegetable-based recipes:

• Herbed Bean and Rice Salad
• Blueberry Lentil Salad with Halloumi
• Hot Honey Brussels Sprouts with Feta
• Spicy Cauliflower Wings

 

If you make this Beetroot Salad with Walnuts and Feta I would love to see your comment and rating below. It also makes my day seeing your creations of my recipes on Instagram- don’t forget to tag @allnutrition.rd!