Roasted sweet red and golden beets, caramelized onions, vegan feta cheese crumbles, and tangy balsamic glaze is the most delicious flavor combination! This colorful and flavorful beetroot and feta salad is the perfect side dish to any main course or to serve for a holiday meal.
Tender roasted beets, sweet caramelized onions, vegan feta cheese, and tangy balsamic glaze is the most delicious combination! If you think you don't like beets, try this recipe and I bet it will change your mind! Besides tasting absolutely delicious, this recipe is awesome because it uses all parts of the beet!
Most people discard the beet greens and stems, but did you know that beet greens and stems are 100% edible and taste so good?! Beet greens taste slightly sweet and mellow like spinach, while beet stems also have a sweet flavor but their texture is closer to bok choy. This cooked beetroot salad makes a beautiful and colorful presentation that's perfect to serve as a side dish to any main course or for a special holiday meal with your family.
Before you can make this impressive side dish, let's talk about how to pick out the best beets and how to cook beets.
How to Pick Out Beets
The first step to making this vegan beet recipe is to pick out the best quality beets you can find.
- Look for two bunches of beets that are similar in size so they cook evenly and for the same amount of time.
- The beet leaves should be bright green and crisp, not yellow, slimy, or wilting.
- Pick beets that don't have any cuts or splits in the skin.
- Choose beets that are firm to the touch, not soft or squishy.
How to Make a Beetroot Salad
After you pick out the perfect bunches of red and golden beets, use a knife to separate the beets from the stems (Photo 1). Wrap each beet in parchment paper or foil and arrange them on a large baking tray. Bake the beets until tender.
While the beets are roasting, cut the beet greens into strips and put them in a large pan (Photo 2), cut the stems into small pieces, and quarter the onions. Arrange the onions and beet stems on a large tray (Photo 3) and season with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Bake the onions and beet stems until tender.
While the beets and onions are roasting, saute the beet greens until they start to wilt and then set them aside until the rest of the vegetables are done cooking. When the beets are tender, remove them from the oven and let them cool. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, cut off the top, pointy ends, and carefully use a paper towel to rub off the beet skin.
On a large platter, spread out the beet greens as a base and arrange the slices of the roasted beet slices, onion wedges, and beet stems on top of the greens. Crumble vegan feta cheese (Photo 4) over the vegetables and finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
Serving Suggestions
This roasted beet salad is a delicious side dish to serve with:
Can I Make it in Advance?
Yes, you can arrange this beetroot and feta salad one day in advance, but wait to add the crumbled feta and balsamic glaze until right before you serve. This warm beet salad can also be enjoyed cold if you prefer.
How Long Does it Last in the Refrigerator?
Store the vegan beet salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
Can I Freeze It?
You can freeze the sliced beets and onions, but not the vegan feta. The feta won't have the same texture and consistency after it has been frozen and defrosted. Put the cooked beets and onions in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 6-9 months. If you freeze the cooked beet greens, they won't have the same texture once they're defrosted, but you could add them to a pot of creamy chickpea soup.
Notes & Substitutions
- Beet Substitutions: You can substitute rainbow carrots or parsnips for the red and yellow beets.
- Onion Substitutions: I love the sweet flavor of roasted yellow onions in this recipe, but you can also use red onions or shallots.
- Beet Green Substitute: Spinach, thinly sliced kale, or collard greens can be used if your beet greens don't look too fresh.
- Vegan Feta Substitution: I love the Violife vegan feta cheese because it's super tangy and has the perfect texture. If can't find this brand, you can use any brand of vegan feta cheese that you like. You could also use vegan cream cheese if you can't find vegan feta. Dollops of Kite Hill chive cream cheese would be delicious with this cooked beetroot salad.
Success Tips
- Pick out beets that are uniform in size so they take the same amount of time to cook.
- Try to get the balsamic vinegar into the cracks and crevices of the onion wedges, because the natural fruit sugar in the balsamic is what will help to caramelize the onions while they roast.
- Be extra careful when you handle the cooked red beets (or wear gloves) because the color bleeds and the juice will stain your hands, countertop, and wooden cutting board (I know this from experience!) if you don't wash it right away. Cut the beets on top of something that won't stain easily like a plate or plastic cutting board. If you don't want to deal with the red beet juice, you could use all golden beets.
- Store the leftover vegan beetroot and feta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
More Roasted Vegetable Recipes You'll Love
Roasted Maple Dijon Brussel Sprouts
Roasted Butternut Squash Pita Wraps
Roasted Lemon Garlic Asparagus
Roasted Pesto Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Roasted Beetroot and Feta Salad
Equipment
- (2) Large Sheet Pans
- Large Platter
Ingredients
- 1 bunch red beets (3 medium beets)
- 1 bunch golden beets (3 medium beets)
- 3 small yellow onions peeled
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ¼ tsp himalayan pink sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- 3 oz vegan feta cheese (I used half a block of Violife vegan feta)
- 2-3 tbsp balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Make a cut right above the top of the beet to separate the stems from the beet. Wrap each beet in parchment paper and arrange them on a large sheet pan. Bake the beets for 50-60 minutes (depending on their size) or until tender. Check the beets every 20 minutes to make sure they're not burning on the side they're resting on. If they seem dry, add a drizzle of water over the beet.
- While the beets are roasting, cut the greens into 1-inch strips, cut the stems into 2-inch pieces and quarter the onions. Arrange the onion wedges (don't separate the slices) and beet stems on a large parchment-lined sheet pan. Drizzle 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar over the onions (this is what helps the onions to caramelize!) and stems. Season with a ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Cover with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and let it cook for 10-15 more minutes or until tender.
- Next, put the sliced beet greens in a large pan over medium heat with a little bit of water to help soften the greens. Season with ¼ tsp of garlic powder, ¼ tsp of onion powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let the greens cook for 5-6 minutes or until they start to wilt.
- The beets are done roasting when you can stick a knife easily into the beet. Let the beets cool for 5-10 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle. Cut off the top and the pointy end of each beet.
- Put a paper towel in one of your hands and put the beet on top of the paper towel. Hold another paper towel in your other hand and use it to gently rub the skin off. If the skin doesn’t easily peel off, it needs to be cooked longer. Slice each beet into ½-inch slices and then cut each slice in half.
- On a large platter, lay the beet greens down first and then arrange the beet slices, onion wedges, and beet stems in a decorative pattern on top of the greens.
- Crumble the vegan feta cheese over the vegetables and then drizzle 2-3 tbsp of balsamic glaze right before you serve.
Notes
- Pick out beets that are uniform in size so they take the same amount of time to cook.
- Be extra careful when you handle the cooked red beets (or wear gloves) because the color bleeds and the juice will stain your hands, countertop, and wooden cutting board (I know this from experience!) if you don't wash it right away. Cut the beets on top of something that won't stain easily like a plate or plastic cutting board. If you don't want to deal with the red beet juice, you could use all golden beets.
- Store the leftover vegan beet salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Nutrition
*This beet and feta salad recipe was originally shared on 5/26/16, but I updated it with better recipe instructions on 7/6/20.
Oh MY STACEY!!! Each of your recipes are bonified WINNERS!!!! How attractive, colorful and downright healthy they all are!!! I can hardly wait to see what you come up with next. You are my INSPIRATION!!!! xoxoxo
What a GORGEOUS veggie dish, Stacie! I am a wannabe beet fan, but I'm sure this dish would totally convert me! Also, roasted onions are the jam! ? I could probably eat a whole plate of them as a meal they're so good! I really love how you creatively used the whole beet too, as I typically toss the stalks as well. I've never tried golden beets though..do they taste different than regular beets?
Thank you, Joscelyn! It converted Travis too! I started off easy with your beet hummus which he loved, so I thought I would try this next because of all the toppings. It worked! I did end up eating a whole plate for dinner one night lol
The golden beets are delicious too, I don't think they're as sweet as the red beets but they're not bitter at all. I really want to try the candy cane beets, I haven't been able to find them anywhere tho!