Gorgeous beet root salad with a Turkish style garlic yogurt sauce, that comfortably sit next to your favorite protein. This beetroot salad is bursting with flavor and easy to customize.
Healthy salad for your holiday dinner! This Beetroot Salad is a fresh spin of the already delicious roasted beets.
Beetroot lovers, we’ve got the salad for you. With fall in full swing and winter soon approaching, it’s the best time of year for beets.
While many people turn their nose at this dark vegetable, its lovers know how tasty beetroot actually is. If you’re one of those people, look no further for a stellar beetroot salad.
Why We Love This Recipe
Beetroot salad is a great cold-weather dish. Salad may seem like a spring and summer dish, but beetroot salad proves everyone wrong, adding hearty, comforting, wonderful flavors, without being too heavy.
This Beet root salad is also easy to whip up. While the beets require some preparation, the rest of it can come together so quickly. You won’t believe something so simple can taste so good.
Main Ingredients
Just as it says in the name, the main ingredient in this salad is beetroot, followed by olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh parsley or choice of herbs.
Beet root has an earthy flavor, but it’ll brighten up with the other ingredients, and taste sweet if cooked (which we suggest).
The beetroots will of course be dressed in oil and vinegar but can easily be laid atop a bed of delicious greens. We suggest using a darker green like spinach, kale, or arugula, or even a spring mix.
Top your beetroot salad with a strong and crumbly cheese, like feta or goat, if preferred. This will add a new depth of flavor and beautifully complement the sweetness of the beetroots.
To really elevate your beetroot salad, add a crunchy element like slivered almonds, pecans, pine nuts, or even pepitas.
To finish, dress it with something bold like Dijon mustard or a balsamic glaze, or keep it light with a vinaigrette. You can’t go wrong!
Preparation Tips
Beetroots, no matter how you serve them, require preparation.
For a true Turkish style beetroot salad, after cooking the beets, they are then shredded and mixed with the garlic yogurt sauce.
However, in this recipe we are using a slightly different approach. The beets are cut into bite-size pieces then served with the yogurt sauce; that way, vegan eaters can have the option to enjoy this delicious salad as well.
You can eat them raw, but the taste and texture will be totally different. Roasting or boiling your beetroot will turn them from bitter, earthy, and crunchy to sweet and soft.
You’ll also need to peel your beetroot. If you choose to boil or roast them, there’s no need to peel ahead of time, as it’ll be much easier to do so after they’re cooked and leaving the peel won’t affect the cooking process or the taste and texture.
Any time you’re working with beets, be aware that they can stain your counters, cutting boards, tools, clothes, and skin.
Put on an apron and rubber gloves, cover your surfaces with wax paper, and wash your tools immediately after use to avoid stains.
Ingredients & How To Make Beet Salad
The full recipe with the exact measurements listed below in the recipe card, for now here’s what you’ll need to do, and a quick list of the ingredients used in this beet root salad recipe.
- Beets: Of course, this is the main ingredient. We recommend you use fresh beets instead of canned beets.
You’ll appreciate the both the texture and taste of fresh beets as opposed to those sitting in water on the shelf.
You can use any kind of beets to make this recipe – from yellow to red beets or a combination of both.
- Cooking Wine: If you do not have cooking wine, feel free to use lemon juice or distilled vinegar or balsamic vinegar.
- Turkish Style Dipping Yogurt (yoghurt): Plain yogurt will work for this recipe; however, it will not enhance the flavor. The yogurt will help balance out the acidic flavor in the beetroot salad.
- Fresh Parsley: Any herbs or combination of herbs will work well in this recipe. However, to keep it simple, in this recipe we are using fresh curly parsley.
- Salt and Pepper: Used to season the salad.
How To Make The Beet Root Salad
- Boil the beets until fork tender.
- Let the beets to cool then peel then cut into the desired shapes and size (bite-size pieces).
- In a separate bowl, mix the sherry, oil, salt and pepper and fresh chopped parsley. Pour the mixture over the beets and mix well to combine.
- Serve the beets in a plate with the Turkish style yogurt dipping sauce.
- For a true Turkish beetroot salad, peel the beets once cooled. Shred and combine the beets then mix the beets with the yogurt together. Refrigerate and serve when ready.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Yes, you can eat raw beetroot. We prefer the beets to be boiled or roasted as it will provide a sweet taste and smooth texture.
Beetroot is very versatile. Protein, fresh herbs, cabbage, cucumbers, celery, garlic yogurt sauce, and fresh greens all goes well with beetroot.
Yes, absolutely. Beetroots are rich in fiber and can help improve heart health.
The beet salad will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in stored in an air tight container.
Serving Tips
This Beetroot salad is a fantastic side dish to any fall and winter meal. Whether you’re serving stew, roast, casserole, or any of your other favorite cold-weather meals, beetroot salad is a great addition.
Although it’s great on the side, it can also become a meal on its own by adding a light protein.
Grilled chicken would taste great, as would roasted duck. You could even throw on some cold leftover steak for an easy weeknight meal. This salad has endless options.
Finally, don’t forget to add a carb. Whether you’re tossing quinoa in the mix or serving a dinner roll or baguette slice on the side, some grains will be the perfect finishing touch. Garnish with mint and enjoy!
More Beets Salad To Enjoy
If you loved this beet root salad recipe with garlic yogurt sauce, try our Haitian Beet salad (Salad Russe) next. We also recommend trying of these recipes:
Roasted Vegetables In Air Fryer
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How To Make The Beet Root Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Beets
- ½ Cup Garlic Yogurt Sauce
- ¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley
- ¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ Cup Sherry Or Lemon Juice
- ½ Tsp. Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Boil the beets until fork tender.Let the beets to cool then peel then cut into the desired shapes and size (bite-size pieces).In a separate bowl, mix the sherry, oil, salt and pepper and fresh chopped parsley. Pour the mixture over the beets and mix well to combine.Serve the beets in a plate with the Turkish style yogurt dipping sauce.
- For a true Turkish beetroot salad, peel the beets once cooled. Shred and combine the beets then mix the beets with the yogurt together. Refrigerate and serve when ready.
Lauren Michael Harris says
I don’t make beets often enough. This salad is such an easy way to get more of this healthy veggie. Great recipe!
Mirlene says
Thank you very much, Lauren.
Jess says
The color is stunning!! I’m in love!
Mirlene says
Thank you, Jess!
Emily says
This beet root salad is so good and it’s the perfect side for fall and winter dishes!
Mirlene says
Thank you, Emily.
Jessica Formicola says
The garlic yogurt sauce totally makes this salad the best! My whole family loved it!
Mirlene says
I am so glad to hear that Jessica.
Erika says
What a great side dish idea. The color is beautiful!
Mirlene says
Thank you, Erika.