This Vegan Beetroot Salad with "Feta" with Balsamic Vinaigrette is the perfect combination of sweet, sour and salty. It makes a wonderful light lunch or as a starter to a meal. Get the recipe below.
Heritage beetroots
Beetroot is one of my favourite vegetables. It's all sweetness and light but with an earthy heart which makes them great raw like in this beetroot and "feta" salad, roasted or pickled. No matter how they are cooked, I’ll happily eat them. There’s something incredibly satisfying about the way root vegetables need a little scrub under water to brush off some of the dirt before preparing. Seeing the purple skin and crumbly earth under the tap makes my mouth water – I just want to sink my teeth in for that distinctive beetroot flavour.
I also love beetroot for their rich, vibrant colours. You’d be forgiven for automatically thinking of the characteristic plum purple when you hear the word beetroot but delve a little deeper into the many varieties and you’ll find orange, yellow, pastel pinks and bright magenta. Some even have candy cane stripes running through their hearts, perfectly matching their sweet flavour.
This beetroot salad is now one of my favourite ways to show off the humble beetroot. It uses a variety of different beetroot varieties for colour and flavour. Don’t worry though, if you can’t get hold of heritage beetroot just stick to the fresh beetroot in your local store. They will taste just as delicious!
Beetroot - a super food?
But perhaps the best thing about indulging in a beetroot salad like this is that it is good for you too. Did you know that:
- Beetroot contains essential minerals and vitamins such as potassium, magnesium, iron, it A, B6 and C as well as folic acid.
- Just three baby beetroot equal one of your recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day!
- Beetroot has been proven to reduce blood pressure and the risk of heart attacks and strokes, as well as lower cholesterol and stabilise blood sugar.
- Beetroot contains the powerful antioxidant betacyanin.
- Eating beetroot can even help to slow the progression of dementia!
(These facts are courtesy of www.lovebeetroot.co.uk)
How to prepare beetroots for the salad
Beetroots are usually cooked by either roasting them or boiling them. Roasting can take up to 60 minutes so is a bit of a labour of love. Boiling however gets you a tender beetroot in roughly half the time.
I love both methods but for this recipe I boil them for 25 - 30 minutes for the perfectly cooked beetroot.
There's no real prep required other than giving them a scrub to remove dirt and trimming the stems (leave roughly 1 - 2 inches to prevent their colour bleeding.
After boiling for 30 minutes they should be tender when pierced by a knife. When they get to this point you need to plunge them into a bowl of cold water. The skins will then rub off easily exposing the brightly coloured flesh below.
Top and tail the beetroot removing the roots and stems. Then cut into quarters or eighths (depending on how large your beetroot are) and leave to cool before using in the salad.
Vegan "feta"
I think this beetroot and feta works so well because it takes your mouth on a journey. The raw, crisp beetroot gives you a taste of the earth, the balsamic vinaigrette gives a slightly sour tang, the feta then balances the whole dish by adding a salty dimension bringing your journey full circle. It also looks incredibly pretty with yellows, oranges, pinks and purples jumping off the white plate – this really is a simple summer salad.
To get that salty flavour it's essential to find a vegan feta alternative. It's becoming easier and easier to find these in supermarkets or you can shop at a vegan cheese specialist like La Fauxmargerie, my favourite vegan cheese shop and the first plant based cheesemonger in the UK.
My favourite vegan feta brands are: Fetamorphasis from I am Nut OK and Betta Feta from Strictly Roots Vegan.
The recipe
Vegan Beetroot and Feta Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the beetroot
- 6 beetroot
- 1 pinch salt
For the feta
- 150 grams vegan feta
For the vinaigrette
- 100 ml olive oil
- 50 ml balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Scrub the beetroot until clean and trim the stalks so they are 1-2 inches long.
- Add the beetroot to a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 30 minutes or until they are tender when pierced with a knife.
- Immediately plunge the cooked beetroot into a bowl of cold water.
- Rub the skins to remove.
- Cut the stalks off of the top and the roots off of the bottom of the beetroot.
- Depending on their size, cut into 4 wedges or 8 wedges.
- Leave to cool completely.
- In the meantime make the vinaigrette by combining all of the ingredients in a jar and shake well until all combined.
- Once the beetroot is cool, assemble with the feta and some micro greens.
- Drizzle over the dressing and serve.
Nutrition
How to serve
This salad is a delicious light lunch but also works really well as a starter for a main meal. If you have guests coming over this is a simple recipe that you can make in advance. Prepare the beetroot in advance and assemble just before serving.
More beetroot recipes
If you like these recipes you might also like my beetroot hummus.
Brand Of Beauty says
That sounds delicious 🙂
Brand Of Beauty says
That sounds delicious 🙂
Celia from http://Brandobeauty.uk xx
efwalt says
Thanks Brand of Beauty 🙂 I love salads like these which you can enjoy entirely guilt free!
Sarah Bailey says
Oh yum this sounds absolutely delicious - I am a total cheese fiend so I love it has that little touch. x
efwalt says
Thanks Sarah! I'm a sucker for cheese in salads. Goats cheese, mozzarella, parmesan. In fact you should have a look around! I've also got a mozzarella, fig and cured ham salad as well as a goats cheese and grilled nectarine salad you might like 🙂
mycupofbeauty says
looks so delicious! I am posting some recipe on my blog tomorrow as well! thanks for the inspiration
xx
Dominika
efwalt says
Hi Dominika! Thanks for stopping by. I'm intruiged now. I look forward to seeing your recipe tomorrow! X
Linda says
I love beet salads and this one looks really good! Thanks for posting...
efwalt says
Thanks Linda 😀 I love it so much I had it again for lunch today! This is one of my go-to salads now 🙂
familyfriendsfoodblog says
Looks gorgeous! I love those stripy beets 🙂
efwalt says
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by 😀 they are stunning aren't they. Almost too good to eat.
Nayna Kanabar (@citrusspiceuk) says
What a beautiful and eye catching salad. Very pretty and tasty too.
efwalt says
Thanks 😀 I was pretty happy with the way the photos came out but its much easier to take nice photos when the produce is so beautiful. xx
jensfood9 says
Heritage beetroots are so pretty, salad is definitely the best way to show them off 🙂
efwalt says
Hi Jen! I'm on a mission now to grow all the most interesting ones. Food tastes so much better when it's colourful 🙂 Thanks for stopping by x
recipesfromapantry says
I think I need to eat more beetroot and like the combination in your salad.
efwalt says
I knew beetroot was good for you but didn't realise how many health benefits there were until I researched this post. You should definitely give this a try 🙂
Anita-Clare Field says
I LOVE beetroot and I've been planting mine up recently. I adore the golden and candy stripped varieties. This recipe looks absolutely amazing, right up my street.
efwalt says
Thanks Anita! I'm glad you like it 🙂 I'll have to come up with a few more beetroot recipes for you!
LifestyleswithLia says
As a beetroot lover for life, this salad looks incredible! Your photos make it look even more mouthwatering!
My poor dad who says he doesn't like beets would even be won over with this recipe!
Cheers, my friend!
*Lia
efwalt says
Thanks Lia! I'd love it if you could convince your dad to eat this!!! All the best x
LifestyleswithLia says
Oh that would be great! Poor guy hates Brussels sprouts and cauliflower! Gotta get him to eat more veggies!
efwalt says
Haha sounds just like my Dad! When I lived at home I did almost all of the cooking and I was always trying to find inventive ways to hide veggies in food 🙂 how funny! X
LifestyleswithLia says
Ah! That's a great idea! Like zucchini in brownies:)
efwalt says
Definitely! In fact I do have a chocolate beetroot cake recipe somewhere...