How To Make Roasted Beet Salad

Let’s make a roasted beet and spiced walnut salad today. Roasting the beets will enhance their flavor making them more delicious.

Roasting beets is a simple and effective way to enhance their natural sweetness and earthy flavor. Here are some of the key advantages of roasting beets:

Enhanced Flavor

• Natural Sweetness: Roasting brings out the natural sugars in beets, resulting in a caramelized sweetness that enhances their flavor profile.
• Richness: The high heat of roasting concentrates the flavors, making beets taste richer and more complex compared to other cooking methods like boiling or steaming.

Improved Texture

• Tender Yet Firm: Roasted beets become tender on the inside while maintaining a slightly firm texture on the outside, providing a satisfying bite.
• Versatility: The texture of roasted beets makes them ideal for various dishes, including salads, sides, and even as a topping for pizzas or flatbreads.

Nutritional Retention

• Vitamins and Minerals: Roasting beets helps retain essential nutrients, including vitamins A and C, potassium, and fiber, which can be lost in boiling water.
• Antioxidants: Beets are rich in antioxidants like betalains, which have been shown to reduce inflammation and protect against oxidative stress. Roasting helps preserve these beneficial compounds.

Beets are loaded in nutrients and are very good for you. Here is a great recipe for a beet salad with toasted spiced walnuts. Here is what you need to do for this:

6 large beets
1/3 cup olive oil + more for coating the beets
1 cup walnuts – crumbled
¼ cup butter – melted
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 TBS Balsamic vinegar
1 TBS white wine vinegar
3 scallions – finely chopped (white, light green and dark green)
2 TBS parsley – finely chopped
½ TBS fresh mint – finely chopped
½ cup fresh cheese such as Farmers, Cotija, Panela or Feta – crumbled
Salt & Pepper

FOR THE WALNUTS:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Toss the walnuts with the butter, cumin, paprika, cayenne and garlic powder. Add salt and mix well.
Place the walnuts on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Place in oven and bake, shaking pan every 2 minutes, for about 6 to 7 minutes. Be very careful not to burn the nuts. Remove pan from oven and allow walnuts to cool down. Set aside.

ROASTING THE BEETS:
Increase the oven heat to 400 degrees.

Wash beets. Place in a foil lined roasting pan and coat with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast for 40 to 45 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from oven and allow cooling.

FOR THE DRESSING:
In the meantime, make the vinaigrette. Place the 1/3 cup olive oil and vinegars in a bowl. Whisk. Add
the white and light green parts of the scallions (reserve the dark green for garnishing). Add 1TBS parsley
(reserve the other one for garnishing) and the oregano. Season with salt and pepper.

ASSEMBLE THE SALAD:

Peel and slice the beets into a large bowl. Toss in the vinaigrette and add the cheese and the walnuts. Garnish with the remaining parsley and dark green parts of the scallions. Serve and enjoy!

Print the Beet & Spiced Walnut Salad Recipe Here