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beetroot salad with citrus fruit and goat cheese on white plate
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5 from 8 votes

Beetroot Salad With Oranges

Beetroot salad with oranges is a quick and easy recipe and looks beautiful on the table. Fresh, vibrant and tasty. I make the salad with earthy beets, sweet oranges and an orange vinaigrette drizzle, then pretty it up with tangy goat cheese, nuts and pea sprouts.
Prep Time12 minutes
Total Time12 minutes
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings (change as needed): 4

Ingredients

  • 2 cooked whole beets, Note 1 (or 3 small)
  • 2 large fresh oranges, Note 2 (use a little for juice in vinaigrette)

Garnish

  • 2 ounces goat cheese, Note 3 optional
  • handful of pea sprouts or mache or watercress
  • 1/4 cup toasted chopped nuts, any kind optional

Vinaigrette Dressing

  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or sub, champagne vinegar or rice wine vinegar)
  • 1/2 teaspoon orange zest (or less)
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey or more to taste or maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon each, salt and black pepper

Instructions

  • PREPARE ORANGES and BEETROOTS: Peel oranges and cut into sections in between the membranes on cutting board. Alternatively, cut into orange slices 1/4 inch/63 mm. Here is a video on how to peel and segment an orange. Slice beets into thin wedges or half rounds. Note 4 to roast your own beets.
  • MAKE VINAIGRETTE: Place all vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl or glass measuring cup and whisk well to blend. Taste and adjust to your liking.
  • ASSEMBLE SALAD: Scatter orange segments and cut beets on a serving platter. Garnish with a little goat cheese (crumbled), pea sprouts and nuts if using around the beets and oranges. Drizzle on vinaigrette just before serving. You may not need it all. Serve at room temperature.

Notes

  1. Beets: Cooked beets come in a vacuum sealed package. If you want to roast your own, buy raw medium or small beets. Red or golden or both. 
  2. Oranges: Cara cara oranges are amazing if you can find them.  But any oranges will do - navels, blood oranges, valencia, even mandarin oranges. You can even mix in a grapefruit. If you prefer something non acidic, try a papaya. Needless to say, you can experiment with all types of fruits - kiwi, pears, peaches, etc. 
  3. Goat cheese and substitutes: This is an optional garnish. Use it sparingly as it has a strong flavor and you don't want to overwhelm the other flavors. If you don't like the flavor, try mild ricotta cheese or salty feta cheese or leave it out.
  4. How to roast beets: Cut off the green stems of the beets. Scrub the beets under running water to remove dirt and sand. Oil the beets, then wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Place them on a foil-lined pan (in case they drip) and roast for about an hour or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool a bit. Over the sink, slide off the skins. Wash your hands right away to avoid stains from the beet juice. 
  5. Other variations: 
    • Pea sprouts: If you don't have pea sprouts, watercress, mache or other kinds of sprouts , you can use chopped parsley or fine slivers or curled green onion (place them in ice water to curl up).
    • Vinaigrette: Feel free to substitute your own favorite citrus vinaigrette or another type (not a creamy one).
    • Nuts or other garnish: Instead of nuts, try pomegranate seeds.
  6. Make Ahead: You can make the beetroot salad with oranges a couple of hours ahead without the dressing. Drizzle on the vinaigrette just before serving. If the salad sits around too long, juices will start seeping from the beets and oranges. Not a problem taste-wise of course. It's more for presentation. Dab with plate with a paper towel if necessary to soak up the juices 
 
Nutrition values are estimates based on 1/4 of salad.
Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 320mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 318IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1mg