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

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.

Beet Salad with Mandarin Oranges
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 4 ounces cooked beets sliced
- 7 ounces can of mandarin oranges
- ⅓ cup walnuts
- ⅓ cup feta cheese
- ½ bag field greens
Ginger honey mustard dressing ingredients
- 1½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 T honey or maple syrup
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1½ teaspoons minced ginger
- Dash of salt
Instructions
To cook the beets:
- 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.
Prepare the rest of the ingredients
- Drain the mandarin oranges.
- Put the walnut pieces in a skillet.
- Heat on medium heat for about three-to-four minutes or until browned.
- Remove the walnuts from heat and set aside to cool.
- 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.
- Whisk together the ginger honey mustard dressing ingredients to make the dressing.
- Just before serving, mix in about half of the dressing and add the toasted nuts and feta cheese.
Notes
- Use about half of the dressing for this recipe that serves two.
- You can use pre-cooked, canned beets instead of cooking them in an Instant Pot.
- You can serve the salad with just field greens, beets, and mandarin oranges, and let each person add their own dressing, feta cheese, and walnuts.
- Purchase prepared ginger honey mustard dressing instead of making your own.
- The nutrition information does not include the ginger honey mustard dressing.
Nutrition


WELLLLL, ours wasn’t as pretty as yours, but there were NO LEFTOVERS! And we doubled the recipe!!
We will definitely be making again!!
I see it becoming a regular in our household!
Thanks Julia!!!
Thanks, Cookie! I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s a favorite of Pat’s now.
Recipe sounds lovely, but a comment about your site. While reading the recipe, I find the multiple ads with both text and PHOTOS for EARWAX REMOVAL a really big turnoff amidst a recipe. Any way to choose what appears?
Thanks for the comment. I went through my ads and removed unappetizing ads and other types of ads that might be offensive or distracting. I appreciate you letting me know because it spurred me into action. It might take a day or two for the ads to stop displaying, but I hope they’re gone soon. Thanks for stopping in at cookneasy!