Beet and Feta Salad – refreshing but hearty salad of roasted beets, baby greens, creamy crumbled feta, roasted hazelnuts and a nice vinaigrette | by Let the Baking Begin!
Are you craving something fresh, yet hearty and satisfying? This Beet and Feta Salad is what you need in your life. Slavic people (this includes me) have a very fond love for beets, so it was only natural that I would fall in love with this salad from the first bite.
I made this salad for every party that we’ve had this holiday season and the plate was emptied faster than any other dish. This is the perfect salad for parties or potlucks because it can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated until you’re ready to eat. Right before serving, just drizzle the vinaigrette and voilà, you’re ready to go!
P.S. the picture above shows dressing made with a handheld blender, the one below shows one made with a whisk. Both work fine, but with a whisk, you will get a thinner dressing.
Enjoy!
P.P.S – check out the bottom of the post for a daily dose of sweetness 😀
Yield: Makes enough for 8-10 people as a side, or 4-5 people as the main entrée
Ingredients for Beet Salad with Feta:
- assorted baby greens or baby spinach leaves
- roasted, peeled, cubed to 1/2 inch beets
- feta cheese (Blue cheese will work as well)
- chopped roasted hazelnuts
Balsamic Vinaigrette (might make more than you will need ):
- balsamic vinegar (or champagne vinegar)
- honey
- mustard
- kosher salt
- garlic clove, peeled, pressed
- olive oil
How to make Beet and Feta Salad:
You can buy pre-cooked beets or cook them yourself.
- To cook by boiling– thoroughly wash beets without stems and place in a pot filled with water. Cook for about 1 – 2 hours or until a knife goes into the beet without resistance. Depending on how big the beets are, it might take more or less time. Let cool for about 10 minutes then peel the skin off.
- To roast in the oven – Wrap thoroughly washed beets in foil and bake in preheated to 375F oven, on a baking sheet for 1-2 hoursor until a knife goes into the beet without resistance. Depending on how big the beets are, it might take more or less time.Let cool for about 10 minutes then peel the skin off.
Completely cool before proceeding with the recipe.
Cut beets to 1/2 inch cubes, you will need from 2-3 cups.
- Roast hazelnuts in a preheated to 350F oven for about 5-7 minutes, or until fragrant and roasted, tossing every couple of minutes. Allow to cool.
- Once done, allow to cool, then rub the hazelnuts between the palms of your hands to remove the shell. Now pick out the peeled hazelnuts, leaving the shells behind. Roughly chop with a knife.
- To make the vinaigrette, you can make it two ways – with a whisk or a hand-held blender. Both ways will make a vinaigrette, but with a whisk, there’s more chances that it will be runny, while with a hand blender it will be thicker and somewhat resemble a thinned out mayonnaise.
To make it with a whisk:
- Mix together3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of mustard, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and one pressed clove of garlic until smooth. Now slowly drizzle in the 100 millilitersof olive oil while continuously whisking. The vinaigrette is ready and can be refrigerated until ready to use. If it separates, just whisk it before using. Because different types of balsamic vinegar will produce different flavor, once you’re done making your vinaigrette, taste it and adjust it to your liking. You might need to add some salt or vinegar.
To make it with a hand blender:
- In a cup of a blender combine and pulse together 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of mustard, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and one clove of garlic until smooth. While keeping the blender submerged and running, start pouring the oil a little bit at a time until all 100 ml are used.Because different types of balsamic vinegar will produce different flavor, once you’re done making your vinaigrette, taste it and adjust it to your liking. You might need to add some salt or vinegar. If you made your vinaigrette too thick, you can add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until desired consistency.
- Now just assemble all ingredients into a salad. Layer the greens, then beets, top with feta cheese and chopped nuts.
- At this point the salad can be refrigerated until ready to eat. Right before eating, drizzle enough dressing on top to your liking.
Try these other SALAD recipes:
- Beetroot Salad – Beets in a creamy dressing.
- Spicy Korean Carrots Salad – Carrots mixed with garlic, coriander, and hot oil. Great salad!
- Cucumber Tomato Salad– Salad recipe with cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and feta cheese.
Beet and Feta Salad Recipe
4.85 from 13 votes
A refreshing yet hearty salad recipe made with roasted beets, baby greens, Feta cheese, and hazelnuts mixed in a simple vinaigrette.
Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin!
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: beet and feta salad
Calories: 506 kcal
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 Makes enough for 8-10 people as a side, or 4-5 people as main entree
Ingredients
- 1/2lbassorted baby greens or baby spinach leaves
- 2-3cupsroasted beetspeeled, cubed to 1/2 inch beets
- 1cupfeta cheeseBlue cheese will work as well
- 2/3cupschopped roasted hazelnuts
Balsamic Vinaigrette (might make more than you will need )
- 3Tbspbalsamic vinegaror champagne vinegar
- 1/2Tbsphoney
- 1Tbspmustard
- 2tspkosher salt
- 1garlic clovepeeled, pressed
- 100mlolive oil
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
How to make Beet and Feta Salad
You can buy pre-cooked beets or cook them yourself.
To cook by boiling -thoroughly wash beets without stems and place in a pot filled with water. Cook for about 1 - 2 hours or until a knife goes into the beet without resistance. Depending on how big the beets are, it might take more or less time. Let cool for about 10 minutes then peel the skin off.
To roast in the oven - Wrap thoroughly washed beets in foil and bake in preheated to 375F oven, on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours or until a knife goes into the beet without resistance. Depending on how big the beets are, it might take more or less time. Let cool for about 10 minutes then peel the skin off.
Completely cool before proceeding with the recipe.
Cut beets to 1/2 inch cubes, you will need from 2-3 cups.
Roast 2/3 cup of hazelnuts in a preheated to 350°F oven for about 5-7 minutes, or until fragrant and roasted, tossing every couple of minutes. Allow cooling.
Once done, allow to cool, then rub the hazelnuts between the palms of your hands to remove the shell. Now pick out the peeled hazelnuts, leaving the shells behind. Roughly chop with a knife.
How to make the Vinaigrette
To make the vinaigrette, you can make it two ways - with a whisk or a hand held blender. Both ways will make a vinaigrette, but with a whisk there's more chances that it will be runny, while with a hand blender it will be thicker and somewhat resemble a thinned out mayonnaise.
To make it with a whisk - Mix together 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of mustard, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 pressed clove of garlic until smooth. Now slowly drizzle in the 100 ml of olive oil while continuously whisking.
The vinaigrette is ready and can be refrigerated until ready to use. If it separates, just whisk it before using it. Because different types of balsamic vinegar will produce different flavors, once you're done making your vinaigrette, taste it and adjust it to your liking. You might need to add some salt or vinegar.
To make it with a hand blender - In a cup of a blender combine and pulse together 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of mustard, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and one clove of garlic until smooth. While keeping the blender submerged and running, start pouring the oil a little bit at a time until all 100 mls are used. Because different types of balsamic vinegar will produce different flavors, once you're done making your vinaigrette, taste it and adjust it to your liking. You might need to add some salt or vinegar. If you made your vinaigrette too thick, you can add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until desired consistency.
Assemble
Now just assemble all ingredients into a salad. Layer the greens, then beets, top with feta cheese and chopped nuts.
At this point the salad can be refrigerated until ready to eat. Right before eating, drizzle enough dressing on top to your liking.
Nutrition Facts
Beet and Feta Salad Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 506Calories from Fat 405
% Daily Value*
Fat 45g69%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Cholesterol 33mg11%
Sodium 1695mg74%
Potassium 491mg14%
Carbohydrates 17g6%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 10g11%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 825IU17%
Vitamin C 18mg22%
Calcium 229mg23%
Iron 2.4mg13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Thank you for following me on Instagram, Facebook & Pinterest!
Hashtag your photos #LetTheBakingBeginBlog so I can see your creations and for a chance to be featured!
Marina | Let the Baking Begin
Welcome to Let the Baking Begin! I'm Marina and my love and passion for eating only the most delicious foods drive me to share that love here on Let the Baking Begin (since 2009). With over 20 years of experience in the kitchen, you know the recipes are tested and retested until perfect. I'm so happy to have you here. Enjoy! Read more...
You might also like:
Join 11,000+ other food lovers enjoying weekly recipes.
Leave a comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Larisa
Absolutely love this salad. I make it over and over again for parties and for weeknight dinners, and always get rave reviews. Thank you for the recipe!
· Reply
Beth ponka
Too much salt! This is my first time making this recipe. I was skeptical about the amount of salt but trusted the recipe. Next time will try 1 tsp of salt but that may even be too much.
· Reply
Hi Beth,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. Salt is definitely something that can be adjusted to your liking, so trying 1 tsp might be a great idea.I do want to mention that if you’re using table salt, instead of kosher salt then 2 teaspoons will definitely be too much as table salt is saltier than kosher salt. Also, the amount of dressing in the recipe usually will leave some leftovers after you add some to the salad, so if you used it all, that might be the second reason why it was too salty. And lastly, if your feta cheese is saltier than typical, that might be another reason for the salad being overly salty. Those are just a couple of things that I thought of.
· Reply
Evnika
I decided to try out something different when planning a menu for about 50 people this last Sunday and this salad caught my interest. I accidentally over-roasted my hazelnuts and ended up using what I had on hand (pecans) instead and they went very well with the feta and beets.
I made two large batches and all was gone. I even had a few people asking me for the recipe. Thanks Marina! Will definitely make it again!· Reply
Oh thank you so much for your feedback Evnika! I’m glad you guys enjoyed it!
· Reply
Luba Z
Baby is soooooo cute.!!!!! I will try to make this salad sometime soon. Excuse me, all your girls are adorable.
· Reply
Recipes
Welcome to my Online Recipe Book!
Here you'll find beautiful European Cakes and Desserts as well as other savory dishes my Ukrainian family enjoys.
Read more »
