Roasted beets blend beautifully with fresh oranges, tangy feta, and balsamic vinaigrette on a green bed of fresh spinach in this make-ahead salad! Crunchy walnuts, roasted chickpeas, and cooked quinoa contribute protein, making this Roast Beetroot Salad a complete lunch, if you wish.
I love to be able to serve an impressive, show-stopping salad that can mostly be prepared ahead of time. It's equally good warm or cold. If you're serving only one or two people, just keep the prepped ingredients separate and assemble the salad(s) as needed.
Simple Beetroot Salad Ingredients
- Walnuts - Make an effort to source fresh walnuts from a reliable source. I used to think I didn't like walnuts; I thought they tasted bitter. It turns out that walnuts need to be picked and shelled promptly, so they don't taste as bitter. Naturally, you'll want to consume them as soon as you can, too.
- Feta - Use whatever kind of feta cheese you prefer. I like goat feta, because it's easier for me to digest than cow's milk products.
- Beetroot Salad Dressing - Balsamic Vinaigrette is a perfect salad dressing for a beetroot salad, and it's easy to make your own!
Roast Beetroot and Feta Salad Instructions
Toss the chickpeas and beets in a little olive oil and bake them in the oven. Keep them apart from each other if you want to avoid messing beet juice all over the chickpeas.
Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa and cook it in water for 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff it with a fork and set it aside to cool a little.
Layer spinach, quinoa, beets, oranges, chickpeas, feta, and walnuts into a serving bowl or onto plates. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette, and serve.
Quinoa FAQ's and Tips
The ratio of water to quinoa is 2:1. In other words, you need to have twice as much liquid in volume as quinoa. One cup of dry quinoa plus 2 cups of water will give you 3 cups of cooked quinoa. You can also cook quinoa in vegetable or chicken broth for more flavour than with water.
Quinoa needs to be rinsed to remove the bitter-tasting saponins. If you've ever thought you didn't like quinoa, that might be because it wasn't rinsed.
Gluten Free Menu for a Healthy Lunch
- Roast Beetroot Salad
- Seed Crackers
- Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Roast Beetroot Salad
Equipment
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh beets (about 4 medium)
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas rinsed and drained
- ½ cup quinoa uncooked
- 1 cup water
- 1¾ ounces fresh spinach (about 4 handsful)
- 1 medium orange
- ¼ cup walnut pieces
- ½ cup Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 2 teaspoons olive oil for roasting
- salt and pepper, for roasting
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Preheat the oven to 400° F (204° C).
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Toss with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread out onto one end of the prepared baking sheet with some space between them.
- Peel the beets, and cut each into six wedges. Also toss them in olive oil and seasonings and spread them out on the other end of the baking sheet with some space between each one.
- Bake the beets and chickpeas in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, stirring the chickpeas every 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa. Combine the quinoa and water in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Turn it off and let it sit another 5 minutes. Fluff up the cooked quinoa with a fork, and set it aside.
- Peel and slice the oranges.
- Once the beets have cooked and cooled enough to handle, slice the wedges into thin slices.
- Assemble the salad. Layer in a bowl: spinach, quinoa, beets, oranges, chickpeas, feta, and walnuts. Drizzle with salad dressing. Serve the salad as soon as it as been assembled.
Notes
- To save time, you can prepare the ingredients ahead and assemble the salad just before serving.
- Serve this salad either from one bowl, or presented on individual plates.
- The salad can be served either warm or cold.
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