Truly one of the most delicious salads- Beet Salad with Feta and Pistachios! Red and golden beets are tossed with pistachios, cubes of feta, cilantro and orange zest in a simple citrus vinaigrette. This can be made ahead and kept for 3 days in the fridge. Perfect for special gatherings – a beautiful addition to the holiday table. 

Looking for more? Check out our 20+ Easy, Delicious Beet Recipes

Truly one of the most beautiful and delicious Beet Salads with Pistachios, Feta, cilantro and orange in a simple citrus vinaigrette. Can be made ahead and keeps for 3 days in the fridge. #beetsalad #holidaysalad #goldenbeets #beets

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside awakens.~ Carl Jung

This beautiful Beet Salad with crumbled feta cheese  & pistachios would be stunning on your holiday table. But it also works wonderfully for mid-week lunches! Meal-prep this delicious salad ahead, and it will keep 3-4 days in the fridge. A nice treat for yourself!

Not only are beets earthy, sweet and full of flavor, but beets are also a powerhouse of nutrients! They are full of powerful antioxidants, they lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation. If you looking for new ways to incorporate beets in the kitchen, take a look at our 20 Best Beet Recipes– you’ll find some delicious inspiration here!

What I love about this salad, is that it can be made in 45 minutes.

 Beet Salad | 60-sec video

What you’ll need:

  • beets (red, golden, or a mix) cooked, peeled and diced  (about 4 1/2 cups diced)
  • red onion
  • garlic clove
  •  olive oil
  •  red wine vinegar (or Apple Cider or Champagne Vinegar)
  • an orange – zest and juice
  • craisins ( or sub-dried currants)
  •  salt and pepper
  • fresh cilantro- or sub-Italian parsley, basil, mint  or dill (or a mix)
  •  pistachios
  • feta cheese , cut into cubes
  • Optional Garnish: For a festive twist you could top with pomegranate seeds!

Truly one of the most beautiful and delicious Beet Salads! Tossed with pistachios, feta, cilantro and orange zest in a simple citrus vinaigrette. Can be made ahead and keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Perfect for special gatherings - and beautiful addition to the holiday table. 

 

How to make Beet Salad

It starts with cooking the beets and of course, you can do this ahead and refrigerate until ready to make the salad.

I used my Instant Pot, and set the pressure to high for 16 minutes, then naturally released and put them in the fridge, making the salad the next day.

How to cook Beets: (Do this ahead!)

  1.  FASTEST: Pressure Cook! Use an Instant Pot to steam beets. Place the steamer basket in the Instant pot with 1 cup of water in the bottom, set to pressure High for 16 minutes for 3-inch diameter beets. Cut extra-large beets in half.  Naturally, release.
  2. 2nd Fastest: Boil beets in a big pot, totally submerged in salted water until fork-tender. 30-50 minutes, depending on size. Cut extra-large beets oil half for faster cooking.
  3. Steam Beets in a big pot on the stovetop, using a steamer basket. 35-55 minutes, depending on size. Again, I like to cut bigger beets in half for faster cooking.
  4. Roast Beets in a 425 oven. Oil, salt & pepper them, wrapped in foil or place in a baking dish or baking sheet, covered in foil, and bake 45-65 mins depending on size.
  5. Take your pick. 🙂

 

TIP: This Beet Salad with Feta is extra beautiful using all golden beets. I used both here, but golden beets will lose their color when mixed with red beets. For the photos I added the golden beets over the red, to preserve their color for the photos.

Truly one of the most beautiful and delicious Beet Salads! Tossed with pistachios, feta, cilantro and orange zest in a simple citrus vinaigrette. Can be made ahead and keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Perfect for special gatherings - and beautiful addition to the holiday table. 

Cut the feta into cubes.

I used a block of sheep’s milk feta here, rather than using crumbled, and sliced it into ½ inch cubes.

Feta holds its shape well in the salad!

Truly one of the most beautiful and delicious Beet Salads! Tossed with pistachios, feta, cilantro and orange zest in a simple citrus vinaigrette. Can be made ahead and keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Perfect for special gatherings - and beautiful addition to the holiday table. 

Add finely chopped red onion and ½ half a bunch of cilantro. ( If you have an aversion to cilantro, fresh mint or Italian parsley works here too.)

Truly one of the most beautiful and delicious Beet Salads! Tossed with pistachios, feta, cilantro and orange zest in a simple citrus vinaigrette. Can be made ahead and keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Perfect for special gatherings - and beautiful addition to the holiday table. 

The secret ingredient that brings this salad to life is the addition of orange- both its zest and juice!

Then add pistachios and craisins- which give it great flavor & texture!

Truly one of the most beautiful and delicious Beet Salads with Pistachios, Feta, cilantro and orange in a simple citrus vinaigrette. Can be made ahead and keeps for 3 days in the fridge. #beetsalad #holidaysalad #goldenbeets #beets To make it extra festive, top with pomegranate seeds.

This Beet Salad with Feta will keep 3-4 days in a salad container in the fridge.

I hope you enjoy it and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Other Recipes you might enjoy!

Have the BEST day,

Sylvia

 

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Beet Salad with Feta

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 48 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine| Feasting at Home
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8 1x
  • Category: salad, vegetarain
  • Method: tossed
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Description

Truly one of the most beautiful and delicious Beet Salads with Pistachios, Feta, cilantro and orange in a simple citrus vinaigrette. Can be made ahead and kept for 3 days in the fridge. Steam the beets ahead and the salad comes together in 20 minutes! 


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 1/2 pounds beets (red, golden, or a mix) cooked, peeled and diced (see notes)
  • 1/3 cup red onion, very finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced, use a garlic press
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or Apple Cider or Champagne Vinegar)
  • 1 orange (2 tablespoons zest and 4 tablespoons juice)
  • 1/21 cup craisins ( or sub-dried currants)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup cilantro, chopped, tender stems OK ( or sub some mint, Italian parsley, basil)
  • 1/21 cup pistachios
  • 1 cup feta, cut into cubes
  • Optional Garnish: For a festive twist you could top with pomegrante seed!

Instructions

  1. Boil, roast or steam beets until fork tender (See notes-you can do this ahead and refrigerate, or purchase steamed beets). Trim and rub under cool running water to remove skin. Dice into small, 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a large bowl.
  2. Add diced onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, orange zest and orange juice, craisins, salt and pepper and mix to combine well.  Add cilantro, pistachios and feta. Gently toss.
  3. Taste, add more pistachios, craisins or feta to taste. Adjust salt and pepper. Sometimes I’ll add another squeeze of orange juice.
  4. Serve in a bowl and garnish with cilantro.

Notes

Cooking Beets:

  1. Lately I like using my Instant Pot to steam beets ahead ( like the day before). Place the steamer basket in the Insant pot with 1 cup of water in the bottom, set to pressure High for 16 minutes for 3 inch diameter beets. Cut extra-large beets in half.  Naturally release. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. You can always boil beets in a big pot, totally submerged in water or steam them in a big pot on the stovetop, using a steamer basket. Again, I like to cut bigger beets in half for faster cooking. Of course, they can be roasted in the oven as well. ( 425F, oiled, salted & peppered, wrapped in foil or in a baking dish covered in foil, or in a dutch oven 45-65 mins depending on size. ) Take your pick.

This salad is beautiful using all golden beets. I used both here, but golden beets will lose their color when mixed with red beets. For the photos I added the golden beets over the red, to preserve their color for the photos.

This salad will keep 3-4 days in the fridge. If making ahead, toss in the cilantro and pistachios right before serving, and re-taste for salt and vinegar, adding more if necessary.

If you opt to leave the dried cranberries out you may need to balance this with a little sweetness- a small spoonful of maple syrup may do it!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 214
  • Sugar: 12.9 g
  • Sodium: 212.7 mg
  • Fat: 14.7 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 17.9 g
  • Fiber: 2.8 g
  • Protein: 5.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 16.7 mg

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Comments

  1. LOVE this beet salad. Finding this recipe prompted me to make beets myself for the first time (rather than buying them in a jar). It is perfect to prep for work lunches.






  2. Fabulous. The orange rind and juice permeate the salad to give it a delightful taste. The pistachios add crunch and the raisins add sweetness.Very colorful. I will make it again and add quinoa and perhaps substitute goat cheese for the feta






  3. This salad is delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and would not change a thing. Even my 13-year-old son, who is not a fan of beets, loved it. Thank you for sharing. I can’t wait to make it for quests someday, and next time around, I’ll try it with pomegranate.






  4. Great recipe! Adapted a little and added baby spinach + made the feta out of the oven – made it a real main course salad 🙂






  5. This is so so good! I was going to leave the craisins out, but added them anyway. What a mistake it would have been if I had left them out! Flavor galore! I love all your recipes, have not had a bad one yet and I have tried a few! Keep them coming!






  6. Recipe # 2 another resounding success. Simply scrumptious with lots of flavor and texture! Very pretty too!






  7. Wow! Delicious and easy. We paired it with grilled salmon, grilled corn and rose wine. Outstanding and our new favorite beet salad.






  8. This salad was a triumph: got my hitherto beet-hating other half to really enjoy it and reconsider his relationship to beets! Thank you SO much.






  9. This sounds amazing. But I really don’t like cilantro. It calls for 1 cup, so I feel like leaving it out would really impact the recipe. What could I substitute for cilantro that would compliment the recipe? Thank you!

  10. Really amazing! I told my friend that I didn’t like dealing with beets but if Sylvia had a recipe on her blog it would be worth trying. Thanks!






  11. Made this tonight to go with pork loin, it is delicious. I love the sweetness of it, and even though cilantro is not a favorite at our house it compliments the rest of the salad wonderfully. Your recipes never disappoint 🙂






  12. I was so excited to try this recipe – and it did not disappoint! Made it last night – amazing.
    It is even better today – everything did turn pink or red – but the taste is fabulous!






  13. My daughter and I just made this for dinner. It was delicious and visually beautiful. We loved the combination of flavors.

  14. This salad tastes so good! We enjoyd the mix of the ingredients. Pistachios and dried cranberries are a must. Full of flavor! But I didn’t add the feta cheese because we do Veganuary (very popular in the UK where I live) and we don’t like vegan cheese. I will try it again next month with the feta. 🙂






  15. This was just delicious! I didn’t have pistachios, so I used pepitas. I will definitely be making it again.






  16. Made this for a New Years Day party. It was delicious and was the hit of the party. Thankfully I made double the recipe because of guests asking to take some home and I wanted some for myself! This dish has such depth of flavor and gives winter a wonderful fresh salad!






    1. Yay!!! I’m so glad you and your guest enjoyed it. I appreciate you letting me know Ellen…I was beginning to wonder! Haven’t heard a peep until now. 🙂

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