TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)
- What it is: A vibrant, gluten-free side featuring earthy roasted beets tossed with salty feta and fresh mint in a sweet balsamic-honey glaze.
- Why you’ll love it: It is incredibly easy, taking just 15 minutes of prep. The warm beets create a stunning, flavorful contrast with zesty lime.
- How to make it: Coat beet chunks in oil, honey, and balsamic. Roast until tender, cool slightly, then toss with lime and top with feta and mint.
For us, this is a pantry meal. We always have beets, feta cheese, and a few limes on hand. We usually turn this salad after one of use has rooted around in the fridge or pantry and comes up empty-handed. Then the lightbulb moment: 💡 beet salad!
Waht I love about this salad is it’s infinitely adaptable. I’ve added nuts (variously roasted pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, and sweet and spicy pecans), fruit (orange, blood orange, pear, and apple), and even swapped in different cheese (goat, mozzarella balls, and pan-seared or fried halloumi).
☞ One note: Because the beets bleed, I’ll always add the cheese on top right before serving.
Chow,
Notes on ingredients
- Beets—I’ve used everything from plain ole red beets to golden and Chioggia (striped) ones. Red beets’ll give you that classic, vibrant look, but golden beets won’t bleed as much into the feta for a cleaner look.
- Feta— Grab a good, tangy block of feta that you can crumble yourself. If you aren’t a fan of the saltiness, cow feta is a creamy, way milder alternative.
- Honey and Balsamic Vinegar—They create a dead-simple glaze that caramelizes beautifully in the oven. I’ve found that an aged balsamic adds a lovely depth, but whatever you’ve got in the pantry’ll work.
- Lime—Don’t skip the zest! The juice provides the acid, but the zest is where all those bright, floral oils live. It’s what really makes the mint pop.
- Mint—Fresh is a must here. It provides a cooling finish that cuts through the earthiness of the beets and the richness of the cheese.
Substitutions & variations
- Fruit—To lean into the sweetness of the roasted beets, I’ll often add citrus. Slices of orange or blood orange are classic, but crisp pieces of pear or apple also add a nice textural contrast.
- Nuts—If you want some crunch, I’ve found that toasted pine nuts, slivered almonds, or walnuts are great. If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll use my sweet and spicy pecans to give it a little kick.
- Cheese—If you’ve got a little extra time, try swapping the feta for mozzarella balls or even some pan-seared or fried halloumi. The warmth of the halloumi against the beets is ah-MAZ-ing.
- Greens—This salad is great on its own, but if you need to feed more people, I’ll often bulk it up by serving the whole mess over a bed of peppery arugula or watercress.
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Your roasted beets salad questions, answered
While this recipe instructs you to peel them, you don’t have to. Peeling them makes them cook a little faster and allows them to absorb the dressing a little better. Like potatoes and carrots, beets can be eaten without the outer skin being removed and it will up your fiber intake. So if you don’t mind the taste of beet peel, then leave it on. Just give ’em a good scrub and start chopping
In part, yes! You can definitely roast the beets and whisk together the dressing a day or two in advance. However, don’t assemble the whole salad until you’re ready to serve. Beets are notious bleeders, so they’ll color the cheese and the mint will wilt and turn dark if it sits too long in the lime juice. Keep the components in separate containers in the fridge, then toss ’em together at the last second for the best look and flavor.
If you’re short on time or it’s way to hot to turn on the oven, pre-cooked vacuum-packed beets (the kind you find in the produce aisle) are a great shortcut. Now, you won’t get that same caramelized, roasted edge, but they’re still delicious. Just slice them and toss them with the honey-balsamic mixture before adding the lime and feta.
I’d skipped the can beets though. I find them rather blech and water-logged.
More earthy beet salad recipes
Beet Salad with Feta and Orange
1 hr 45 mins
Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Honey
1 hr 30 mins
Beet Salad with Feta and Pumpkin Seeds
3 hrs 15 mins
Pomegranate Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese
1 hr 45 mins
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If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Roasted Beet, Feta, and Mint Salad
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 10 ounces raw beets*, any variety, peeled and cut into 1-inch (25 mm) chunks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Juice and zest of 1 lime, preferably organic
- 2 ounces feta, crumbled
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a medium bowl, combine olive oil, honey, and balsamic vinegar. Add beets and toss to coat.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange beet chunks in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until just tender, about 30 minutes.
- Dump beets into a medium serving bowl and allow to cool at least 15 minutes. Add lime juice and lime zest and toss to combine. Top with feta and mint and serve warm or at room temperature.
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Nutrition
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
If you are a beet lover, this roasted beet, feta, and mint salad is a delicious recipe. My husband isn’t a beet fan but I made this for myself and loved it after a couple of alterations. I ate it as a stand-alone dish but it would be a great side dish alongside a vegetarian or meat main.
I am of two minds on this recipe. With respect to the taste, it certainly deserves a Taster’s Choice recommendation. On the preparation, the recipe needs tweaking to match the beet texture to the celestial level of the flavor. I made the recipe twice to figure out how to modify it. The olive oil, honey, and vinegar produced a lovely caramelized taste that complimented the tartness of the lime and the feta.
The solution to beet nirvana appears to be roasting the chopped beets at higher temperatures, probably somewhere between 375°F and 400°F for closer 30-35 minutes.
We’re a big beet-loving family and I would say this recipe makes 2 to 3 servings for us. Next time, I’ll put the oil, honey, and vinegar in a bowl and toss the beets to get a more even coating, then salt and pepper after the beets are in the baking pan.
I also made a version of this with beets I had already roasted. I added the honey, a little olive oil, and the balsamic to a frying pan, reduced it slightly, and then added the beets to glaze them. I think I prefer the glaze/sauté method.
Either way, it’s a super simple, easy, tasty recipe that far exceeds the effort it took to make it.
Since I’m a big fan of the combination of beets and feta cheese, I was excited to try this roasted beet, feta, and mint salad. I was unsure if the addition of lime, mint, and balsamic vinegar would add or detract from the earthy beets. My biggest disappointment is that it didn’t make enough.
The honey and balsamic vinegar caramelized together along with the beets. The lime zest and juice brightened the dish, working together with the honey to create a tasty dressing. I waited until the beets cooled down before adding the feta and lime juice/zest. I served the beets over a bed of greens. There was enough “dressing” to easily coat the lettuce.
I served the beets at room temperature, over greens, and with the caramelized onion & gruyere galette.
This roasted beet, feta, and mint salad is a simple and fresh salad for a light meal, just served with some bread, or as an accompaniment for grilled pork loin. It´s really easy and quick to prepare, and if you want to serve it cold, you can cook the beets in advance.
If you like beets, this roasted beet, feta, and mint salad is an easy way to enjoy them a little bit spiffed up. After a trip to the farmers market (Yup—beets from the farmers market, olive oil from the farmers market, honey from the farmers market, feta from the farmers market, and mint from the farmers market!), a quick pre-heat of the oven, put away the rest of the shopping while roasting, and then, when the beets were tender, and without waiting for them to cool down, toss, top, and devour!
We served this solo, though salads generally call out to us for bread, and we also thought a handful of toasted walnuts or almonds, whole on the side, or chopped atop, could make a tasty addition, as would a base of whipped feta dip. Also, if you’re not feeling minty, dill could be a terrific herbal sub.
