You’re going to love this colorful beet salad recipe with peppery arugula, juicy oranges, crisp apples, and creamy feta! Use pre-cooked beets for a restaurant-fancy salad you can make at home any night of the week!
One of the first things I tell people about the Mediterranean Diet is that it’s as much about vibrant color as it is bold flavor. This beet salad is a perfect example: effortless, yet layered with so much flavor, color, and texture in one simple side dish!
To me, the best way to celebrate beets is to balance their natural sweetness. Beets with goat cheese get all the attention, but if you haven’t tried them with tangy feta you are in for a treat! Feta adds a salty, slightly sharp element that complements the beets in the most incredible way.
The best part? You can use pre-cooked beets to save time, or prep everything a few days in advance. I think of this as a “centerpiece salad” because it’s so pretty. Give it the spotlight it deserves with a simple main on the side, like grilled chicken breast or pan seared salmon.
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Beet Salad Recipe Ingredients
I wanted loads of variety for this beet salad recipe, with simple ingredients you can pick up at any market. You’ll need:
- Greek Salad Dressing (Ladolemono): Making your own salad dressing means high-quality oil and fresh produce, which makes a world of difference in terms of flavor. You’ll need lemons, dried oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil (I love a rich and fruity Greek olive oil with this recipe).
- Baby arugula: I like the delicate, mildly peppery flavor of baby arugula, but you can swap in so many tender greens here. Try baby kale, chickories like frisée, or a blend.
- Cooked beets: I like the concentrated flavor of roasted beets, but you can also boil them or buy pre-cooked beets (not canned). If you don’t like the mess of red beets, use golden beets instead–or a combination for even more color!
- Oranges: If you can’t find cara cara or navel oranges, tangerines or clementines would work as well. Just segment them instead of slicing.
- Apple: Any crisp, sharp variety adds flavor and texture (I used Granny Smith).
- Shallots: Add an oniony taste without overwhelming the salad. The best substitutes for raw shallots are green onions or chives.
- Feta cheese: Swap with goat cheese or shaved parmesan, or leave off the cheese for a dairy-free option.
- Walnuts: Swap with pistachios, pecans, or almonds. For a nut-free beet salad, use crispy quinoa, croutons, or broken pita chips.
How to Make this Beet Salad Recipe
This pretty “centerpiece salad” is sneakily very easy, particularly if you use the precooked beets from the refrigerator section of your grocery store (something like Love Beets, for example; not the canned kind).
- If you’re starting with 5 raw beets, you can either boil or roast them. Scrub and trim them first. To boil, add the beets to a large pot of boiling water with 1 tablespoon of vinegar and a dash of salt. Boil until easily pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes. To roast, rub with a glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Wrap with foil, then put them on a sheet pan and roast at 400°F until easily pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes. Allow the cooked beets to cool, then peel and slice into wedges. (Keep in mind that beets stain like crazy. You may want to wear gloves, use your least favorite cutting board, and wash it right away.)
- Prep your remaining beet salad ingredients: Thinly slice 1 to 2 shallots. Peel and slice 1 orange. Slice 1 apple into thin wedges. Make your Ladolemono Greek Salad Dressing.
- Just before serving, dress the greens. Add 5 ounces of baby arugula and the shallots to your serving platter. Drizzle with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the dressing, toss, and spread across the platter.
- Arrange the salad. Arrange slices of orange, apple, and beets on top. Add another drizzle of the dressing all over.
- Garnish and serve. Sprinkle crumbled feta cheese and chopped walnuts on top. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Beet Salad
Beet salad is a colorful side that plays so well with others, from simple weeknight dinners to holiday feasts. For a fuss-free weeknight, use the leftover Greek dressing to make my Sheet-Pan Chicken–one of our most-loved recipes with lots of veggies and protein! For a vegetarian option, serve with Acorn Squash Soup and perhaps some good crusty bread, like these no-knead French baguettes.
More Beet Recipes
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Roasted Beet Salad with Crispy Kale and Almonds
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Beet Salad with Orange, Arugula, and Feta
Ingredients
- 5 ounces baby arugula
- 1 to 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- Ladolemono Greek Salad Dressing
- 1 cara cara or navel orange, peeled and sliced into wedges
- 1 granny smith apple, sliced into thin wedges
- 5 cooked beets, sliced into wedges (see note)
- Feta cheese, crumbled for garnish (about 2 ounces)
- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Dress the greens. Add the arugula and shallots to your serving platter. Drizzle about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the dressing, toss, and spread across the platter.
- Arrange the salad. Arrange slices of orange, apple, and beets on top. Add another drizzle of the dressing all over.
- Garnish and serve. Sprinkle the feta and walnuts on top. Enjoy!
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Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the Mediterranean olive oil used in this recipe.
- For the cooked beets: Use ready cooked beets from the fridge section at your grocery store (something like Love Beets, for example; not the canned kind). Or, to cook the beets from scratch, scrub and trim them. Then either boil or roast them:
- Boil: Add to a large pot of boiling water with 1 tablespoon of vinegar a dash of salt. Boil until easily pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool, then peel and slice.
- Roast: Heat your oven to 400°F. Rub with a glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Wrap with foil, then put them on a sheet pan and roast until easily pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool, then peel and slice.
- Make ahead: Make the Ladolemono Greek salad dressing up to 1 week ahead and store it in the fridge in a tight-lid Mason jar. And if you plan to cook the beets from scratch, you can make them up to 2 nights in advance and store them in a tight-lid container in the fridge.
- You will end up with more dressing than this salad needs, but that’s not a problem! Store it in tight-lid mason jar the fridge to use throughout the week for salads, or on simple proteins.
- Nutrition information is a best estimate and does include the dressing.
Nutrition
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Lots of compliments! I added butter lettuce…the dressing was superb!
Yay! Thanks, Fran!
This was so good. I made balsamic beet chunks, roasted pecans and arugula spinach mixture. So delicious 😋! Thank you for sharing this recipe. One of my all time favorites.
That sounds so interesting! Thanks for sharing, Sheree!
This sounds wonderful. I like beets and oranges together and sometimes make an orange sauce for cooked beets. I have started steaming beets. It seems less messy than boiling them.
I’m looking forward to eating this!
Hope you enjoy it, Essie!
This salad is so pretty, and it tastes just as good as it looks! I used some leftover roasted beets, and clementines instead of oranges, and it turned out amazing!
how many tablespoons should i drizzle after arranging oranges and apples on salad.
Hi, Ghanyah. It is hard for me to advise on that… it just really depends on your personal preference.
I love salad, but this is my new favorite. I didn’t even know I liked beets, they have a unique earthy flavor, but when combined with the oranges, apple and feta cheese, it is a winner! The dressing brings it all together and my mouth was happy. Made this for Christmas dinner and it was a hit. Highly recommend. I will have this recipe on repeat for sure.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind review, Michelle!
Apples and oranges in a beet salad? Heck yeah! I’ve eaten many beet salads over the years, but this one was the BEST. It was light and refreshing,and every ingredient complemented the other. It was a very pretty salad. I even drank up the little bit of dressing at the bottom of the bowl. Sooo good. Thanks for another winning recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it, Ellen!
This salad is GORGEOUS and full of FLAVOR. I got a ton of complements serving it at our Memorial Day cookout. The only thing I would change is the apple. For me, the Granny Smith is a little too tart so next time I think I’ll use a milder apple like a Golden Delicious or other yellow apple. I wasn’t too sure about the beets, but that turned out to be perfect and now I’m thinking about what other salads I can toss some beets into.
Thank you, Deirdre! So glad you enjoyed it!
I never worry about stained hands when preparing beets. Just rub some baking soda on moist hands and watch the red vanish like magic – or science!
Thanks for the tip!!
I used to eat similar salad in a local restaurant and loved it! Tried to reproduce at home several times, but always messed up with dressing. So basically I was looking for a similar salad recipe mainly for the dressing, but here I found one more ingredient to add to this perfect salad – orange! It gave even more flavour! Also instead of walnuts I prefer pan-roasted sunflower seeds! Love love love this recipe! Best wishes from Lithuania!
Yay!! Thank you for the kind review, Asta!
This was totally delicious. All the textures, colours and different tastes went beautifully together and the dressing simple but absolutely gorgeous. I didn’t have walnuts but did have pistachios- delightful. Best salad recipe I have tried in a long time and a firm favourite with the family. Thank you.
That’s wonderful to hear! Thank you, Jane!
Very fresh and delish! Love it!!
will be making this and the dressing soon i never had salad before perfect for my after office meals will tag you on twitter if i make this Thanks Ramya
Thank you, Ramya! Hope you enjoy it!!
I was so excited To get your email with this recipe featured. I happen to have almost everything but walnuts, so I tried it out already and I absolutely love it.
Awesome, Amanda!