Nutritious Roasted Beet Salad with Feta Cheese

posted by Alex Aldeborgh, RD on Apr 21, 2023 0 comments »

This simple beet and feta salad recipe features delicious and nutritious roasted beets. Roasting beets in the oven amplifies their sweetness and leads to the perfect fork-tender texture. They are perfect paired with creamy feta cheese, fresh dill, and a homemade white balsamic vinaigrette! You’ll love this easy and healthy beet salad recipe as a side dish with any meal.

beet and feta cheese salad in a bowl with a beige dish towel on a light grey backdrop

This roasted beet salad with feta cheese is a simple yet impressive recipe to serve as a healthy side dish. Made with just three main ingredients + a homemade dressing, it’s easy to prepare and packed with flavor and nutrition. Beets are an excellent source of dietary fiber, folate, and more!

For this salad, you’ll roast whole beets in the oven before peeling them and chopping them up. Oven roasting beets concentrates their sweet flavor, reduces bitterness, and makes for the best fork tender texture. Plus, whole beets are MUCH easier to cut after they’ve been cooked, compared to raw beets!

This beet salad recipe takes about an hour and a half to prepare to account for the time it takes to roast beets. It’s pretty much all hands-off time, besides prepping the whole beets for the oven, assembling the salad, and whisking up the dressing.

Beets nutrition & health benefits

If you’re wondering “why are beets good for you?”, I’ve got answers! As a Registered Dietitian, beets are actually one of my favorite foods to include regularly in my diet since they pack such a big nutrition punch!

One cup of beets provides:

3.8 grams of dietary fiber (14% of your daily needs)
2.2 grams of plant-based protein
442 mg potassium (9% of your daily needs)
148.24 mcg folate (37% of your daily needs)
0.447 mg manganese (19% of your daily needs)

Beets naturally contain occuring chemicals called nitrates. When we eat beets, the nitrates are converted into nitric oxide in our bodies. This nitric oxide can help with blood pressure and blood flow. Some studies show that nitric oxide from beets can enhance athletic endurance (1).

Additionally, beets are rich in antioxidants called betalains. Betalains give beets their deep reddish purple color, and help fight inflammation in the body to keep our cells healthy.

beet and feta salad ingredients measured out on a light grey backdrop

Ingredients in beet salad with feta

Here are all the ingredients you need to make this salad:

Whole beets
Feta cheese – I prefer to use a whole block of feta in brine because it is creamier and more flavorful than pre-crumbled feta
Fresh dill
Olive oil
White balsamic vinaigrette – extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, shallot, tahini, salt, and pepper

Kitchen tools needed

To make this recipe, you’ll need parchment paper, a baking sheet, a small whisk for the dressing, a knife, a cutting board, and measuring cups and spoons.

How to roast beets without foil

Usually, I roast whole beets by wrapping them individually in foil. But for this recipe, I decided to keep it simple and roast whole beets without foil! They still turn out perfectly sweet and fork tender.

Here’s how to roast whole beets in the oven without foil:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scrub whole beets to remove excess dirt and trim any stringy pieces off.
Place whole beets on parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Drizzle each beet with olive oil.
Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Cook time will vary based on the size of beets you use.
Beets are done roasting when you can pierce the beet with the tines of a fork easily.
When the beets are cool enough to handle, you can peel off the skin, or use a knife to easily slice it off. Then, cut the beets into chunks for the salad.

whole beets on a baking sheet with white parchment paper — Roast beets whole on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

three cooked beets on a light grey plate — Whole roasted beets ready to peel and chop

beets on a plate that have been peeled — remove the skin from the cooked beets

beets chopped up on a wooden cutting board — Chop beets into chunks for the salad

How to make beet salad with feta cheese

This salad is very easy to make. It’s mostly hands-off time!

After you have the beets roasting in the oven, prepare the white balsamic vinaigrette. Add the salad dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk them together until emulsifed.
Chop up fresh dill and crumble the feta cheese into small bite size pieces.
Once the beets are cooked, peeled, and chopped, put them in a medium mixing bowl.
Add the feta cheese, dill, and vinaigrette dressing.
Use salad spoons to toss everything together until well combined.

Roasted beet cubes in a white mixing bowl — Put chopped beets into a mixing bowl

Chopped beets, dill, feta cheese, and dressing in a white mixing bowl — Add feta cheese, dill, and salad dressing to the beets

Beet and feta cheese salad mixed up in a mixing bowl with two spoons — Mix everything together

Can I prepare this recipe in advance?

Yes! This salad is a good recipe for meal prep or preparing in advance because it keeps well in the fridge. Store this salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Serving suggestions

Pair this beet salad as a side dish with your favorite meal. I would love it served with salmon, shrimp, cod, or tofu!

This salad is a good option to serve as a BBQ or cookout side dish. It is easy to prepare in advance and is meant to be served cold.

Let me know if you love this post by leaving a comment or star rating below, and check out Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy lifestyle inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!