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Try this Beet Salad Recipe with Feta and Dill: it's an easy side dish recipe and is a great alternative to the usual dinner sides. Served cold with citrus and olive oil as a dressing it is a healthy and fresh option for any season!
Try these other great salad recipes: Strawberry Salad, Marinated Vegetable Salad and Cajun Black Bean Salad.
Beet Salad
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Full disclosure: I've never been much of a fan of beets (what a way to start a post about a beet salad, right?!). I don't have a huge sweet tooth and I know their earthy flavor can be divisive. Interestingly, if they're part of a salad, I tend to leave them in because I'm ok with a bit of that earthy flavor seeping into my dressing. Weirdo.
All that to say, this salad is is delicious and I'll happily eat beets in this form. I roast beets and cut them up then added some really thinly sliced red onions for crunch and flavor. Feta cheese was obviously a must! I opted for olive oil and lemon juice for brightness and couldn't resist chopping some fresh dill and throwing it in because I can never seem to get enough dill in my life. The result was a crazy delicious and easy-to-make cold beet salad that can turn anyone into a beet-believer!
When handling the beets, I highly recommend using gloves when working with them if you don't want to end up with pink hands.
I'd encourage you to hold off on adding the feta cheese until just before serving. If you do it earlier, it'll still taste the same, but the beet juices will turn the feta purple, so you won't get the prettycontrast of the white against the purple beets.
Don't throw those beet greens away- once washed, they're tasty sautéed with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper.
Serve this at any dinner party or as a tasty alternative option to the usual suspects on any holiday table!
Ingredient information that's helpful to know:
Beets:I used standard purple beets, but this is also delicious with golden beets if that's what is available.
Feta cheese:I buy mine already crumbled and prefer full-fat.
Red onion:Slice these as thin as possible (with a mandolin or a very sharp knife). If the flavor of raw onions is too much for you, soak them in very cold water for 10-15 minutes and then drain really well before adding to the salad; this will take the edge off the flavor and mellow the onions out a bit.
Fresh dill: Don't leave the dill out, it adds a fresh, lovely flavor. If you can't get your hands on fresh dill, dried dill works too.
How do you roast beets?
Roasting the beets is a breeze! Wash them well, remove the top and bottom, drizzle with a little EVOO and wrap tightly in foil before popping them into the oven. Roast at 400 degrees for around an hour (or more if needed). Cool and peel.
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Try this Beet Salad Recipe with Feta and Dill
Jessy Freimann
Try this Beet Salad Recipe with Feta and Dill: it's an easy side dish recipe and is a great alternative to the usual dinner sides. Served cold with citrus and olive oil as a dressing it is a healthy and fresh option for any season!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lay out a piece of foil for each beet.
Place each beet onto a piece of foil. Drizzle a small amount of oil into it and wrap each beet tightly so that the steam stays in the packet.
Roast for around 1 hour- check them for doneness (they should be fork tender) and if need be, bake for longer (mine took around 1 hours and 15 minutes).
When the beets are done, refrigerate until they've cooled completely.
Once cool, peel off the skins (they should peel off really easily with your fingers or a knife, if you'd prefer) and cut into bite-size wedges.
Drizzle with a little oil and the juice of 1 lemon and toss with onion, dill, salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, top with crumbled Feta cheese to taste.
My favorite way to cook beets is to roast them, which gives a sweeter, richer, and deeper flavor than boiling does. Another advantage is that they don't bleed as much, especially if they're roasted whole.
Steaming beets is a healthful cooking method because they retain most of their vitamins and minerals—they're not boiled out in water—and stay incredibly vibrant. Plus, steaming small beets or beet quarters is quick and easy for weeknights.
Roast until the beets are just tender when pierced with the point of a knife, about 1 1/4 hours. Unwrap the beets and let them cool. Meanwhile, whisk oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl to make the dressing. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins.
Directions. Place the beets in a large saucepan and add water to cover and the lemon juice or vinegar. This will help to keep the beets from bleeding. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Steaming will retain more nutrients than boiling. Slow-roasting beets in a foil packet or covered baking dish takes away much of the earthy taste and intensifies the flavor, but you will still have a bit of bleeding and nutrient loss. Grilling beets over wood or charcoal will add a layer of smokiness.
Beetroot and its juice help your heart and lungs work better during exercise. Nitric oxide from beets increases blood flow to your muscles. Some athletes eat beetroot or drink beet juice when exercising to improve their performance. Beets are rich in folate (vitamin B9), which helps cells grow and function.
Keep checking whichever method you're using. Don't remove the beet skin before cooking. It's really not necessary and it's much easier to do so after cooking. Some also find that removing the skin prior to cooking takes away some of the beet's earthy test.
No, beets can be eaten raw as well as cooked in many different ways. I suggest you try both and then make the juice and put them in your salad the way you prefer them. One of my favorite juices is a beet, an apple and a carrot or two- all raw.
Beets are naturally sweet and earthy, making them a versatile vegetable to incorporate into your meals. By adding vinegar to the boiling process, you can elevate the flavors of beets and give them a delightful tangy kick.
How to Boil Beets. Trim the stems and greens off of the beets, then scrub the beets clean and place them in a large pot. Add 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar to the pot with 1 teaspoon salt, then fill the pot with water, enough to cover the beets.
One of the easiest and more popular ways to incorporate Feta to a dish is to crumble it. Feta Crumbles are so versatile that you can use them to garnish pasta, watermelon, grapes, nuts, chickpeas, potatoes, salads, pizza, or eggs. It's the perfect tangy touch to elevate any dish.
A simple trick to prevent your beets from bleeding color, according to The Spruce Eats, is to add a tablespoon of lemon or vinegar to the boiling water.
As much as I adore Beet Salad, I rarely made it at home, because by the time I finished the beets, my hands, cutting board, and counter all were stained with telltale red juices. Then, I picked up a transformative piece of information: you do not need to peel beets when roasting.
Like many vegetables, the longer you cook beets—especially in water—the more the colorful phytonutrients leach out of the food and into the water. Retain the good-for-you nutrients in beets by roasting them or sautéing them instead. Or lightly steam them for just a few minutes, suggests Doyle.
You can even enjoy them raw, either sliced thinly or grated. Choose beets that feel heavy for their size with fresh, unwilted green leafy tops still attached, if possible. Because dietary nitrates are water-soluble, it's best to avoid boiling beets if you'd like to maximize their nitrate content.
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