This beetroot and feta salad is a Mediterranean-style beet salad recipe with a delicious combination of sweet beets, savory and creamy feta, crunchy walnuts, and fresh dill.
Whenever I share a beetroot recipe on my blog I get mixed comments. Some of my readers share that they hate beetroot and some share that they love it and request more easy beetroot recipes.
So, today's recipe is for my beetroot-loving readers- a Mediterranean-style Beetroot and feta salad.
The deliciousness of this beet salad comes from the amazing combination of sweet beets, salty and creamy feta cheese, crunchy roasted walnuts, and the freshness of dill and lemon.
What goes in Mediterranean beetroot feta salad?
To make Mediterranean-style beetroot and feta salad, you will need the ingredients shown below:
Ingredient notes
- Beetroot: Pick small or medium-sized beets as they are sweeter than large, hairy beets.
- Lemon: I have used only the juice of lemon but you can add lemon zest too for extra fresh lemony flavor.
- Fresh dill: My favorite herb to use with beets is dill. No other herb makes beetroot taste so good. However, if you don't have dill or don't like it, feel free to use any herb of your choice like mint, cilantro, or parsley.
- Walnut kernels: You can use any nut or seed of choice. Just toast them slightly to make them more crunchy and flavorful. They add an interesting texture to salads.
How to make (step by step process)?
Step 1: Wash, peel, and chop beetroots into bite-size pieces.
Step 2: Put beet cubes in a pan and add around a cup of water.
Step 3: Cover the pan and cook covered for around 45 minutes. Strain the beets if any extra water is left in the pan or cook for a few extra minutes until the whole water gets evaporated. Keep the cooked beet cubes aside and let them reach room temperature.
Step 4: In a bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, ground black pepper, and a little salt to make salad dressing.
Step 5: Take a large salad bowl. Put the beet cubes, toasted walnuts, feta cubes, and chopped dill into the bowl. Pour salad dressing over them.
Step 6: Toss. Check and adjust the seasoning.
Your delicious Mediterannean beet feta salad with walnuts is ready to be enjoyed!
Serving tips
This beetroot feta salad can be served with a bowl of soup, any pasta dish, or a casserole.
It's so filling that you can also enjoy just a bowl of it as a healthy meal.
How to store?
Once prepared, it's best to eat this beet salad within 24 hours. If left for longer hours, feta will start releasing water and make the whole salad milky.
If you want to do some preparation in advance, chop and cook the beets and store them in an airtight container. They will be fine in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Before serving, mix beets with feta, fresh herbs, and salad dressing.
Variation suggestions
The recipe which I have shared here is my favorite and most frequently used method of making a feta beet salad. However, sometimes just for a change, I do bring some variations to it. You can also try them:
- Add thinly sliced cucumber for extra freshness.
- Add peeled and roughly chopped oranges to the salad and orange juice to the dressing.
- If you couldn't find feta cheese, use goat cheese.
- Instead of walnuts, you can also use almonds, pistachios, raisins, or pumpkin seeds. You can add a combination of different nuts, and seeds too.
- If you don't like dill, replace it with cilantro, parsley, or any other herb of your choice.
Recipe tips and tricks
- As feta is already very salt, add extra salt carefully and only if required.
- Before adding nuts to a salad, always toast them for a few minutes. They become more flavorful and crunchy.
- Roast the walnuts on low flame and don't leave them unattended as they may get burned fast.
- If you don't like big chunks of beetroot, use grated beetroot. In that case, instead of using feta cubes, use crumbled feta.
- For some heat, you may add chili flakes or finely chopped chili peppers to this beet salad.
- For extra flavor, you can also add balsamic vinegar and honey to the salad dressing.
- Instead of boiling, the beets may be roasted in the oven too.
Frequently asked questions
If you are in a hurry or don't have access to fresh beets then, of course, you can use canned beets in this recipe.
Personally, I prefer using fresh ingredients in my meals, especially salads, and I avoid canned ingredients as much as possible. That's the reason I have not yet acquired the taste for canned food, especially for ingredients that are the epitome of health and nutrition like beets.
Other Mediterranean salad recipes
I am a big fan of the refreshing flavors of Mediterranean salads. If you also love that and looking for more recipes then don't miss to check the following links:
- Greek Potato Salad
- Feta and watermelon salad
- Easy Greek Salad
- Greek black-eyed pea salad
- Mediterranean white bean salad
- Pomegranate feta salad
More easy vegan beet recipes
I have seen that people either love beetroots or just hate them. I keep on shifting between the two categories depending upon which beetroot dish I am eating. If you also love beets then don't miss to check the following easy beet recipes on my blog:
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in the recipe card below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest.
Recipe
Beetroot and feta salad
Equipment
- 1 Cooking pot
- 1 Large salad bowl
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized beets peeled and cubed into bite-size pieces, around 4 cups
- 100 grams Feta cheese cubes around 1 cup
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped dill you can use any herb of your choice
- ½ cup walnut kernels roughly chopped
- 1 cup water
Ingredients for dressing
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice adjust to taste
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced, adjust to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Salt to taste Add carefully as feta is already very salty.
Instructions
- Wash and peel the beetroots. Cut into bite-size pieces.
- Put the beetroot cubes in a cooking pot, add around a cup of water and cover the pot with a lid. Cook covered for around 45 minutes or until the beets are soft enough to be pierced by a fork or knife. Once cooked, switch off the stove, strain the beets, and allow them to reach room temperature.
- While the beets are getting cooked, dry roast roughly chopped walnut kernels in a pan for a few minutes or until they become fragrant. Switch off the stove and keep them aside.
- Cut feta cheese into bite-size cubes.
- Mix all the ingredients of dressing in a bowl and keep aside.
- In another large bowl add the cooked beets, toasted walnuts, feta cheese cubes, finely chopped dill, and the dressing. Toss well, check and adjust the seasoning. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Though fresh beets taste the best in this salad, you can use canned beets too if fresh is not available.
- Don't leave the walnuts unattended while roasting, they get burned fast.
- Instead of walnut, any other nut or seed can be used too.
- Add salt carefully and only if needed as feta cheese is also very salty.
- For some heat, you may add chili flakes or finely chopped chili peppers.
- More recipe tips and tricks are given within the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.
I wanted to verify the measurements. Does this recipe truly call for 1 cup of fresh dill? That seems like a lot of dill.
Hi Rosemary. Thanks for pointing that out. I am sorry, it was a typo error. 1/4 cup of dill will be sufficient. I have corrected it in the recipe card.
This salad looks beyond incredible! There's something about a beet salad with feta cheese that sets my tastebuds soaring. And this vinaigrette seems like a perfect companion! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks a lot Brittany :).