Roast Beetroot Salad with Feta and Candied Pecans

Beetroot salad with feta and candied pecans is a delicious blend of sweet beets and pecans, with savory feta cheese and arugula. Topped with a light balsamic vinegar glaze is all that’s needed for a perfect blend of flavors. 

Serving beetroot feta salad with pork chops, your favorite roast recipe, chicken, or vegetarian bean salad is an ideal accompaniment. It also makes a fantastic lunch idea just on its own.

This salad turned out so delicious that even my kids who claimed they didn’t like beets, gobbled up beetroot and feta salad! Using beetroot in salad is such a brilliant use of garden beets.

There’s 3 parts to making the recipe:

• Roasting the beets
• Toasting the pecans
• Assembling the salad ingredients and drizzling with oil and vinegar

While the beetroot is roasting, it’s easy to toast the pecans and prep the salad while they cook. The roasted beetroot can also be cooked up to 3 days in advance of preparing the salad; just reheat if desired. While we ate the salad with warmed beets, I’m sure they’re so good cold also.

Recipe Note:

To lighten the recipe up and cut back on sugar, we’ve included easy adaptions for people looking for a low carb version of the salad. In addition to being a low carb beet salad, this is also gluten free and vegetarian.

The recipe was made with U.S. measurements, the European equivalent is listed in parenthesis. This is an easy recipe to adjust measurements up and down to your personal preferences and also depending on how ingredients are sold locally. Likewise, if some ingredients are harder to find near you or cost prohibitive, substitute a close equivalent (for example you can substitute fresh parsley for fresh cilantro).

Beetroot Feta Salad Ingredients

• Beets
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Arugula
• Feta cheese
• Fresh cilantro (or parsley)
• Balsamic vinegar (or balsamic glaze)
• Pecans
• Butter
• Sweetener – Sugar (or monkfruit or erythritol for sugar free)

Roasting Beetroot for Salad

Roasting the beetroot for salad is super simple. This is our go-to way of roasting beets for a variety of uses. They’re also delicious as is or roasted with other vegetables too.

Why use roasted beetroot instead of boiled? While boiled beets makes for a another quick and easy option, roasting beetroots brings out an incredible amount of caramelized flavor.

In a pinch, you can definitely swap out boiled beets instead of roasted ones. We’ve made it this way many times (or have purchased pre-cooked beets) and it’s fantastic.

What you need:

• 1.5 lb beets, (about 680 grams) peeled and cut into 1.5 inch (38mm) chunks
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4  tsp ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (200 celsius). Place the beet pieces on a baking sheet, making sure to leave space in between the pieces. Drizzle with the olive oil, salt and pepper.

Bake 15 mins, flip the roasted beetroot and bake 15 mins more until cooked through and you can easily piece it with a fork. 

Making Candied Pecans

Making your own candied (or glazed) pecans is super simple and they make SUCH a great addition to salads, ice cream, or they can be eaten as a snack on their own. The pecans get quick cooked on the stove top in a butter sugar mixture that only takes 5 minutes to put together.

This batch of candied pecans is just enough for the recipe, it’s easy to double or triple if you want to make extra to snack on later or use as a salad topper for another type of salad.

• 3 Tbsp pecan halves (roasted and salted)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• Dash of salt

If you’re wanting to make this a no sugar version of candied pecans, read our recipe for making low carb keto glazed pecans. You can also skip the sugar glaze completely and just add in roasted nut pieces.

Heat a small saucepan on medium low heat. Melt the butter and add the sugar and salt. Stir constantly until the sugar is melted down. Add the pecans and stir constantly until the nuts are warm and roasted, making sure not to burn the butter. The butter/sugar mix will harden as the pecans sit. Set aside until needed.

 

Making the Best Beetroot Salad Recipe

This is a summary of all ingredients needed for the beetroot feta salad recipe, including to making roast beetroot, candied pecans, and assembling the salad.

4 oz (113g) arugula (or your green of choice)

2+ ounces (56g) crumbled feta cheese

3 Tbsp pecans or caramelized pecans (roasted and salted pecan halves)

3 Tbsp cup chopped cilantro (or parsley)

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp+ Sea salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp + 1/2+ Tbsp Olive oil – divided

1/2+ Tbsp Balsamic vinegar (or balsamic glaze)

To roast the beetroot (beets)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (2oo celsius). Spread the beet pieces onto a baking pan and drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black ground pepper.

Bake 15 minutes, flip the roasted beetroot and bake 15 more minutes until cooked through and can be easily pieced with a fork.

While the beetroot is roasting, toast the pecans

Toasting candied pecans

Heat a small saucepan on medium low heat. Melt 1 Tbsp butter and add 1 Tbsp sugar, and a pinch of salt. Stir constantly until the sugar is melted down.

Add the pecans and stir constantly until the nuts are warm and toasted, making sure not to burn the butter.

The butter/sugar mixture will harden as the glaze cools. Set aside until needed.

Assembling the beetroot salad

Spread the arugula (or other type of salad greens) on the bottom of a medium sized salad bowl

Add the warm beetroot on top of the arugula

Sprinkle the caramelized pecans, cilantro, and crumbled feta cheese

Add a drizzle of olive oil (about 1/2 Tbsp), 1/2 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar (or balsamic glaze), and a dash of sea salt to the top of the salad.

Adjust seasonings to taste, whether that being adding more cheese, nuts, vinegar, salt or herbs. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Serves 4 as a side salad.

More Beetroot Salads Ideas

This is such a versatile recipe it’s easy to adapt into other types of beetroot salad recipes. Here’s just a few suggestions:

Instead of roasted beetroot, use boiled ones or pre-cooked beets from the store

Swap the feta cheese for goat cheese

Skip the cheese altogether and make this a vegan beetroots salad by adding avocado

Instead of arugula, try another green like spinach or whatever your favorite might be

Skip the nuts completely and add another type of crunch, use unsweetened nuts or try a different variety all together

What other salads with beetroot can you come up with?

Other Recipes You’ll Love

Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Broccoli Salad with Bacon

10 Amazing Low Carb Chicken Salad Recipes

 

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