Beet Salad with Mandarin Oranges

Try this beet salad with mandarin oranges, toasted walnuts, and feta cheese on top of mixed greens. It’s colorful, delicious, and refreshing.

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About this recipe

Full disclosure: I’m not a huge fan of beets. However, I love beet greens and those delicious greens are often attached to the beetroot. I’ve tried various ways to prepare beets because I’ve heard that they’re good for you. And it turns out that they are. See the health benefits below or just go here to read about it. With this beet salad, I have finally settled on a very tasty beet recipe. The combination of ingredients and the tart ginger honey mustard dressing combine to make this a delicious and healthy salad.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this beet salad:

• Cooked beets – cook them yourself or purchase pre-cooked beets.
• Field greens or mixed greens – add color and flavor.
• Mandarin oranges – their sweetness offsets the other ingredients.
• Ginger honey mustard dressing – combines sweet and tart flavors that complement but don’t overwhelm the other flavors in this salad.
• Toasted walnuts – add crunch and healthy oils.
• Feta cheese – goes well with the other ingredients and adds some protein.

Making Beet Salad with Mandarin Oranges

1. Prepare the beets and oranges

You can use pre-cooked beets or try this Instant Pot method:

• Place about four ounces (four small-to-medium-sized beets) on the metal insert of the Instant Pot.
• Add a cup of water.
• Set the pressure setting to 12 minutes.
• After the cooking cycle is complete, release the steam.
• Remove the beets and allow them to cool to room temperature.
• Slice the beets into bite-sized pieces and set them aside for later.
• Drain the mandarin oranges.

2. Toast the walnuts

• Put the walnut pieces in a skillet.
• Heat on medium heat for about three-to-four minutes or until browned.
• Remove the walnuts from the skillet and set them aside to cool.

3. Assemble the salad

• Add the greens to a serving bowl.
• Arrange the beet slices and mandarin orange slices on top of the greens.
• Cover and refrigerate until you plan to serve the salad.

4. Serve the beet salad

• Just before serving, mix in about half of the dressing and add the toasted nuts and feta cheese.
• Alternatively, you can serve the salad and let each person add their own dressing, feta cheese, and walnuts.

Make the ginger honey mustard dressing

Whisk together the following ingredients in a mixing cup or bowl. Only half of this dressing is needed for two servings of this salad.

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine (or apple cider) vinegar
• 1 T honey (or maple syrup)
• 2 T Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1.5 teaspoons minced ginger
• Dash of salt

Is Beet Salad Healthy?

This beet salad with mandarin oranges, walnuts, and feta cheese is not only delicious, it’s a healthy choice for a salad or side dish. See the close-up of these healthy ingredients below.

• Beets are low in calories, but they contain many nutrients and minerals that are good for you. Read more about beets here.
• Walnuts contain healthy fats and fiber, plus lots of nutrients and vitamins. Read more good news about walnuts here.
• Fresh leafy greens are a good source of fiber and vitamin A.
• The feta cheese and walnuts add some protein to this beet salad.
• Canned mandarin oranges retain much of their vitamin C and most of the added sugar is removed when you drain them.

Tips for making this beet salad

• If you don’t want to make your own dressing, try Brianna’s honey-ginger vinaigrette.
• Cook the beets ahead of time and refrigerate them until you make the salad.
• Purchase pre-cooked beets for a quicker salad.

Other recipes you might like

If you like ginger honey mustard dressing, try my sweet potato black bean bowl. A favorite salad of mine that also contains walnuts is my carrot cranberry salad.