Beetroot salad is honestly one of the best ways to consume beets, IMO. They love being the star of the show, and they play so well with other ingredients. Big bonus: they're in season during the cold winter months - and sometimes a fresh, bright salad is exactly what I'm looking for when the sun sets at 4:30pm 🙁
Combining beets with orange makes it even more perfect for your holiday table. We're going to be using orange segments in the salad, as well as orange juice in the vinaigrette for a perfectly balanced bowl.
Beetroot salad with citrus dressing is a great addition to bring some lightness to your table. Plus, it's a great option for any vegetarians you might be hosting!
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Why You're going to Love this Recipe
- The flavors are big, bold, and delicious. Everything pairs so beautifully together.
- It's perfect for the holidays, with beets in season, along with citrus and pomegranate.
- The dressing takes about two seconds to whip up.
- It's so hearty, you could absolutely use this as a main if you want too.
Ingredients
The ingredient list on this one is fairly long for a salad, but don't be intimidated! Lots of this you can prep before hand (including roasting the beets).
- Mixed greens: this is the base of the salad. You can use whatever mix is your favorite! I love mixes that have some peppery arugula though, for added flavor.
- Roasted beets: These can take a bit of time in the oven, but are super easy to make. Don't worry, we'll go over how to do this. And they can be made up to a day ahead, and served cold on the salad.
- Orange: we're using this both in the salad and in the dressing.
- Walnuts: for texture and flavor.
- Goat cheese or feta cheese: pick your favorite, they both work well in this salad.
- Pomegranate seeds: for color, flavor and texture. Plus they're awesome around the holidays too.
- Olive oil: the base for the dressing.
- Maple syrup: the flavor goes so well with both beets and oranges!
- Grainy mustard: the emulsifier for the dressing.
- Salt and pepper - to taste in the dressing.
How to Make Beetroot Salad
This salad isn't too hard, but it does take several steps. And if you've never segmented an orange before, we're going to walk through it. You can also watch me do it in the video on this page (believe me, I'm not an expert at it, and it doesn't have to be perfect for this salad). Let's go through this step by step.
Step 1: Get your Greens in the Bowl
Spread your greens out in an even layer on a large platter or in a salad bowl. Set this aside.
Step 2: Roast your Beets
Preheat your oven to 400F.
Trim the beets, and then wrap them in tinfoil with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast the beets for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours (the cooking time for beets varies wildly depending on the size and the freshness. Just check them once in a while. Once a sharp knife can penetrate the middle of the beets easily, you're good to go).
Remove the beets from the tin foil, and allow them to cool until they're able to be handled safely. Gently rub off the outer skin of the beet using paper towel, and discard. You can also just peel using a knife if you find this easier!
Slice the beets into wedges, and set them aside for a moment.
Step 3: Segment your Orange
Slice a small piece of the orange off the bottom of the fruit. Stand the orange on a cutting board, and using a sharp knife, remove the skin, and the with pith with it. Once the skin is gone, slice the segments of the orange in between the pith (we're trying to eliminate as much of the bitter pith as possible, but don't worry if it isn't perfect!).
Set the segments of the orange aside. Take the remaining pith/juice/de-segmented orange, and squeeze any remaining juice into a small bowl (we're using this for dressing later!)
Step 4: Toast the Walnuts
Add the walnuts to a small, dry, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Toast for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Make sure you keep an eye on these, as they burn easily!
Step 5: Assemble the Salad
Add the beets, orange segments, cheese, pomegranate and walnuts to the bowl with your greens.
Step 6: Make the Dressing
Add the maple syrup, the olive oil, and the grainy mustard to the same bowl you squeezed the orange juice into.
Whisk everything thoroughly together.
Taste it for salt and pepper, and then adjust as necessary.
Drizzle over the salad, and serve it up!
Tips & Tricks
- You can use feta or goat cheese in this salad, both are great.
- You can customize the toppings as you like. I love this combination - but try making the walnuts candied instead of just toasted. Game. Changer.
- Roast the beets the day before!
- Make the dressing your own: add more maple syrup if you like sweet, more orange juice for citrus flavor. Or, if you like it really bright and tart, add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
What I'm Serving it With
📖 Recipe
Beetroot Salad with Maple Citrus Dressing
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 lb leafy greens
- 6-8 beets roasted, see notes
- 1 orange segmented, juice reserved
- ¾ C walnuts roughly chopped
- ½ C goat cheese or feta cheese
- ½ C pomegranate seeds
For the Dressing
- ½ C olive oil
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice from the above orange, see recipe for instructions
- 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
Instructions
- Place your leafy greens in an even layer in a large bowl or platter.
- Slice your beets into wedges of four or six. Set aside.
- Segment your orange: slice a small piece of the orange off the bottom of the fruit. Stand the orange on a cutting board, and using a sharp knife, remove the skin, and the with pith with it. Once the skin is gone, slice the segments of the orange in between the pith (we're trying to eliminate as much of the bitter pith as possible, but don't worry if it isn't perfect!). Set the segments of the orange aside. Take the remaining pith/juice/de-segmented orange, and squeeze any remaining juice into a small bowl (we're using this for dressing later!)If you need more instruction on this step, check out the video in this post!
- In a small, non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add your walnuts. Toast the walnuts for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Keep an eye on these, they can burn easily!
- Assemble the salad: add the beets, orange segments, walnuts, goat cheese or feta cheese and pomegranate seeds on top of the spring greens. Set aside while you make the dressing.
- Add the olive oil, maple syrup, and grainy mustard to the same bowl you added the squeezed orange juice to. Whisk until combined. Add a little salt and pepper - taste the dressing, and add more as needed.
- Pour the dressing over the salad, and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Cara! I'm a food writer, journalist, and recipe developer. I'm obsessed good food, good wine, good cocktails and entertaining. I've picked up a few tips over the years, and love sharing them with others.
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