I’m on the hunt for delicious and different salads to kick off my January. This Golden Beet Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette is a wonderful salad that works well as a side dish to a wide number of meals or could be used as a light lunch option maybe with some shredded chicken.
For those interested, I’ve been doing a food journal on TikTok this month, detailing everything I eat (and drink) for every day of the week in January! It’s going well so far and I’ve already lost a few pounds, ran 10 miles, and have drastically limited my alcohol intake. All wins!
Anyway, I digress.
Back to the delicious salad! Let’s dive in!
- See my tutorial on roasting golden beets!
The best beets to use
In the U.S., there are only two easily available options when it comes to beets. You can buy the standard red beets or you can go with golden beets.
Quite honestly, you can use either for this recipe, but I prefer the golden beets just so they don’t stain everything blood red.
If all you can find are the red beets though, by all means use them in this recipe! The only change you might need to make is to roast them for longer since red beets tend to be slightly larger than golden beets in my experience.
How to roast beets for this salad
I do recommend roasting the beets for this salad, although if you wanted the beets super crunchy you could add them raw to the salad. You could also boil them if you are short on time.
Personally, I like to roast them in the oven though until they are tender, with a little crunch to them. This intensifies their flavors and makes them easier to peel and eat.
Start by cutting the stems off the beets and then places beets on a sheet pan. You can wrap them in foil if you want or just roast them on the pan. Roast them at 350˚F for about 40 minutes until they are fork-tender.
Once they are roasted, let them cool briefly and then peel them with a paring knife and slice them up.
How to wash beet greens
If you buy whole beets, they will come with the greens on them. Some people will just discard these greens, but I like to use them in my salad. They can be very dirty though so I recommend going through them and discarding any leaves that are looking rotten or are falling apart.
For the good leaves, add them to a bowl with cold water and swish them around well to really clean them. There is a ton of dirt and stuff on these leaves. Sometimes I’ve even found bugs.
Once you have the greens washed well, chop them up and add them to the base greens for the salad.
Making the vinaigrette
You could use any vinaigrette for this salad that isn’t too heavy. You don’t want to overpower the beets and other flavors. This time of year though I love grapefruits and really like this Grapefruit Vinaigrette.
Juice about 1/2 of a fresh grapefruit and add some mustard, sugar or honey, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Whisk it all together and drizzle it over the salad! YUM!
Finishing the Golden Beet Salad
Once you have the beets and vinaigrette ready, there are just a few other ingredients you need to make this golden beet salad as pictured.
For the base of the salad, I like to use a mix of baby arugula and chopped beet greens. I also like to sprinkle on some sliced shallot, crumbled goat cheese, sunflower seeds, and pomegranate seeds.
The finished salad is super colorful and uses a lot of great winter ingredients.
Substitution Ideas
There are a lot of variations you could make to this golden beet salad. It’s flexible! Here are a few ideas!
- Substitute pistachios for the sunflower seeds. Pistachios might be the more classic ingredient, but I had sunflower seeds so that’s what I used.
- Play around with different cheeses like feta cheese or blue cheese. Many soft cheeses go very well with roasted beets.
- Use different greens for the base. You could try romaine lettuce, radicchio, or a mix of greens.
Golden Beet Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 4-5 medium golden beets, roasted
- Golden beet greens, washed
- 3 ounces baby arugula
- 2 shallots, sliced thin
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- Grapefruit Vinaigrette
Instructions
- Cut of beet ends and reserve greens. If you aren’t using the greens, use five ounces of baby arugula. Wash greens well in cold water and chop. Set aside.
- Place beets on a baking sheet and roast at 350˚F for 40 minutes until they are fork-tender. Remove and let cool. Then peel with a paring knife and chop.
- Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette by whisking together ingredients.
- Add greens to a bowl and top with roasted beets, pomegranates, goat cheese, sunflower seeds, and shallots. Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately.
- NOTE: Leftover salad keeps fine for a few days, but beets will turn brown due to oxidation.
