This post was last updated on February 7, 2015 to include new images and a recipe video.
For four weeks straight, our CSA included a (deceptively) small brown bag full of baby beets. Did I mention this was for four weeks straight? Now, ordinarily, I would be excited at the opportunity to eat beets to my heart’s content. But, this was a lot of beets. Jordan and I can only eat so many. Trust me, we’ve tried.
This leads me to my dilemma: Dustin and my mother-in-law, AKA “The Beet Haters.” Not sure why exactly, but they both extremely dislike beets. But, after the fourth bag of baby beets, they both agreed they would entertain the idea of eating some of the beets. If I made them into something tasty. No pressure, or anything.
Ugh.
So, I figured I’d balance out the sweetness of the beets with some tangy, creamy feta cheese and a savory vinaigrette. The result? Well, they didn’t hate it. In fact, they ate it without gagging, spitting, complaining or even grimacing. Dustin even said, “I could see how someone who likes beets would really like this salad.”
Eh — I’ll take it! I call that progress, my friends. I, personally, really enjoyed the salad. But alas, there was still too much for just me to finish. Woe is the life of the beet lover in the Baier household.
Roasted Beet Salad With Feta
- 15 small beets baby
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp shallots minced
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp parsley minced
- 1 tsp fresh orange juice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta
-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay the baby beets, skin on, down on the baking sheet, with space surrounding each, if possible. Cover baking sheet with another sheet of aluminum foil. (You can bypass this step if you wish to individually wrap each beet, but this is kinda like wrapping them all together at once. Much easier.)
-
Bake beets in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until tender when poked with a fork.
-
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all other ingredients (for the vinaigrette). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
-
Once beets are tender, remove from oven and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, gently peel off beet skin using a sharp paring knife. Discard peel.
-
Slice each beet in about 1/4-inch slices. Arrange sliced beets on a plate. Drizzle desired amount of vinaigrette over the beets (you may not need to use it all). Sprinkle crumble feta over the plate.
I LOVE beetroot – so I would be right there with you eating this salad, don’t worry. I actually made a similar one earlier this year but added roasted pears and walnuts which also turned out to be a really good combination! Maybe you could start adding beets to brownies and chocolate cake to use them up – normally you can barely tell but it makes it that little bit healthier!!
I’m still at roasted pears and walnuts! That sounds amazing 🙂
Yes, I’ve been wanting to try out adding them to some sneaky recipes lately. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I pinned this the other day and liked it so much that I linked to it on my weekend healthy recipe round up. Us beet lovers will definitely be happy with this salad.
Yay! I’m so glad you like this salad recipe 🙂 Thanks for pinning and sharing on your blog!
This looks delicious! The only way I’ve been able to get my boyfriend to eat beets is by roasting them & then chopping them up to a semi-small size. I then toss them with sliced strawberries, sunflower seeds, cilantro, and a good balsamic vinegar. Now I’ll have to give this one a try!!
Thanks, Kristin! Your salad sounds delicious, too! 🙂
I make a beet salad that’s similar; but I add caramelized pecans and arugula. Very tasty!
Ooh, that sounds really good! I’ll have to give that a try next time 🙂
I have an amazing chocolate cake recipe that uses beets…no one ever knows there is anything but chocolate sugar and general cake goodness inside!
I however love love beets and would eat them anyway i could. your salad looks divine…i have a few ladies id like to try this one out on. 🙂
Ooh, how very interesting! LOVE the idea of beets in a chocolate cake.
Yum! Def planning on making this soon!
Yay! Enjoy 🙂
Well, I love beets and I think this salad looks fabulous. The combination of beets, orange and feta sounds amazing. Pickled beets on a good Greek salad with grilled haloumi cheese and balsamic vinagarette is one of my favorite salads. Mmmmmm… Thanks for posting one for the beet lovers, taking one for the team, boldly going where…you get the picture.
Oooh, I love pickled beets to on Greek salads. Yum! Always glad to help out the beet lovers 🙂
If you have a juicer, you can make my favorite juice from Whole Foods – carrot, apple, ginger, beet juice. Very tasty! The ginger makes it spicy. The carrot, apple and beet make it sweet.
What a great idea, Karen. That sounds so good! Will definitely keep that in mind.