Name: Cold Beet Salad
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 110 min
Ingredients: 4 medium beets; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/3 cup citrus vinaigrette; 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/4 cup white wine vinegar; 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice; 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons); 1/4 cup minced shallots (1 large); 1 tablespoon honey; 1 teaspoon salt

Recipe

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Forget about tasteless beets out of a can; with this simple, no-fuss recipe, you'll cook them to perfection and make an epic cold beet salad you'll want to eat again.

I’ll show you the easiest way to roast beets to build a delicious cold beet salad and the best homemade citrus vinaigrette to drizzle.

Cold Roasted Beet Salad

Beets have a certain reputation. If you have tried canned beets, you’re probably thinking: tasteless! And when you make them at home, a purple mess! Not.Any.More. I’m all about keeping things simple, that’s why this cold beet salad one you’ll make often.

And the flavor. THE flavor. Cooking beets in the oven is the best way to make them taste great because the oven brings out their sweetness as they bake, caramelizes them, and gives them a perfect texture.

After that, you just toss them with your favorite vinaigrette or my easy citrus vinaigrette below, and in 5 minutes, you can assemble a delicious beet salad.

Ingredients

You only need simple ingredients to make this cold beet salad happens. Amounts are in the printable recipe card, but first, check these notes:

Beets: the smaller ones are more tender and sweet.
Olive oil: to add flavor and keep the beets from sticking.
Salt and black pepper: the classic duet for seasoning!
Citrus vinaigrette: you’ll find my recipe below, or you can use your favorite vinaigrette!

How to Make Cold Beet Salad

With the following tips, you’ll be able to make a terrific cold beet salad without your kitchen turning purple! Here’s what you need to know about the process:

Prep
Preheat the oven and create tin foil squares to place the beets. Clean the beets and cut them in half if they are large. You don’t need to peel the beets since the skin will easily slide once baked.
Season
Place the beets on the tin foil squares, drizzle with oil and season. Wrap the foil tightly and transfer to a baking sheet.
Make the vinaigrette
Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine. Then, refrigerate until ready to use. Yep, it’s that easy!
Roast
Check doneness after 45 minutes in the oven. If the beets are fork-tender, remove them from the oven. Larger beets will take longer.
Chill and peel
Beets will be too hot to handle, so allow them to cool down for 10 minutes before peeling them and cutting them into half moons. Use a paper towel to grab them and keep your hands from turning purple!
Refrigerate
Let the beet salad chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Serve
Drizzle the vinaigrette over the cold beet salad and enjoy!

What to Serve with Cold Beet Salad

This cold beet salad makes a super nutritious and tasty side for proteins like salmon, steak, or your favorite chicken dinner. You can also serve it with other roasted veggies or with my healthy veggie mac and cheese for a more balanced meal.

Cold Beet Salad

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5

Chill time: 1

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 1 50

Forget about tasteless beets out of a can; with this simple, no-fuss recipe, you'll cook them to perfection and make an epic cold beet salad you'll want to eat again.

5 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

4 medium beets
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
⅓ cup citrus vinaigrette

Citrus Vinaigrette:

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 lemons
¼ cup minced shallots, 1 large
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Prep:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Create tin foil squares large enough to encase each beet.
Rinse the beets with water, removing any sand and debris. Pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel, and use a large knife to remove the green stems. If the beets are extra large, cut them in half but keep the skin on.
Place each beet in a tin foil square, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper. Wrap the foil tightly around the beet and place them onto a large baking sheet.
In a lidded jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, lemon juice, shallots, honey, and salt. Place the lid on the jar and shake well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use and for up to a week.

Roast:

Roast the beets for 45 minutes to an hour until they're fork tender. Check at 45 minutes, poking the beet with a fork. Larger beets will take longer. When done, remove from the oven.

Chill:

Let the beets cool for 10 minutes before unwrapping them from the foil -they'll be too hot to handle out of the oven.
Use a paper towel to grab one beet, then use your free hand with another paper towel to remove the skins; they should easily come off.
Slice the beets into ½-inch thick slices or half moons and place them in a bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour to chill.

Assemble & serve:

Pour ⅓ cup of the vinaigrette over the sliced beets. Toss them in the bowl to coat them with the vinaigrette and serve cold. You can return the beets to the fridge until ready to serve.