This Beetroot Avocado Feta Salad is sure to be your new favourite salad. It's packed full of nourishing ingredients and drizzled with a zingy lemon dressing. Plus, it comes together in no time. What's not to love?
I don't know about you but I love a good salad. And I mean a real good salad, not just a plateful of sad, uninspiring leaves; but a hearty salad that's packed with all kinds of interesting produce and which most importantly tastes amazing too! I was stuck for ideas in my kitchen the other day, until I remembered this little salad packed with avocado and beetroot chunks that I started making last year. After making it again, I knew I had to post the recipe here!
How do you make a delicious salad?
To make a seriously flavourful salad, you can't just throw a bunch of lettuce into a bowl and expect it to taste good. It's all about balancing flavours and textures and making sure you have a little bit of everything from a few categories which will take your salad from okay to amazing.
- Start with a base of salad leaves - my favourites to use here are tender pea shoots and baby chard. You could also use lambs lettuce, watercress or spinach.
- Add some grains - if there's one thing that's guaranteed to be a salad deal breaker in my eyes, it's a salad that leaves me feeling hungry. One way to avoid that is to add a good helping of grains to your salad. Don't fear the carbs, they're amazing! I love using the pre-cooked mixed grain packets you can get in supermarkets as not only are they convenient, they allow you to easily incorporate a variety of grains without having to cook them all individually! My favourite includes bulgur wheat, pearl barley, wheatberries, quinoa, amaranth and green lentils. Alternatively, you could use any of those on their own, or use freekeh, buckwheat, farro or even rice!
- Add some veggies - in this salad we're using beetroot and avocado. If you've never experienced this pairing before, just trust me, it's incredible! I like to use pre-cooked beetroot for ease but you can boil or roast your own if you prefer! I like to use the beetroot that's been pre-cooked and packed in bags without vinegar instead of the vacuum-packed kind but use what you have. Also, make sure your avocado is perfectly ripe for this salad! Use Hass avocados for the best texture and pick ones that have dark skin (not green) and yield slightly to a gentle squeeze (don't push your thumb into the flesh!).
- Add some extra flavour - I love to make sure to have something extra punchy in my salads, to give them a real boost of flavour. Here we're using salty feta cheese the creaminess of which helps to make this extra satiating!
- Add some herbs - fresh basil really takes this salad over the top - it seriously works so well so don't skip it!
- Add something crunchy - like I said, it's all about texture! So far we've got soft salad leaves, chewy grains, soft beetroot and avocado and creamy feta so now we're adding something crunchy. Toasted pumpkin seeds are perfect but you could use any seeds you like or even some sourdough croutons!
- Tie everything together with the best dressing - we've already got a lot going on in this salad so I've kept things simple with the dressing. Simple doesn't mean boring though! We're talking about a zingy lemon Dijon dressing with just a drizzle of honey to balance it out perfectly. Yum!
This salad is really easy to put together, too! Simply whisk together the ingredients for the dressing, chop your veggies, toss it all together and serve!
FAQs
This salad makes a satisfying lunch all by itself. I might add a good slice of sourdough bread on the side if I'm feeling extra hungry. It's also great served mezze-style with another salad or some hummus and crackers. For dinner, I love to serve it with a simple protein on the side - we ate it with a piece of crispy-skinned grilled mackerel and it was fantastic - so fancy! Grilled chicken or salmon would be excellent too.
This salad is best made fresh when you want to eat it but can be made ahead. If you want to prep this salad for work lunches then I'd recommend keeping the dressing separate until you want to eat. Toss the avocado in a little lemon juice before adding to the salad to stop it browning, or add it fresh to the salad once you're ready to eat. If you have leftovers after tossing the salad with the dressing, you can keep them in an airtight container until the next day, but the greens might be a little wilted.
I hope you'll give this beetroot feta avocado salad a try! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment, rate the recipe and tag me on Instagram! I love to see your creations!
And if you're looking for more salad recipes, why not try one of these:
- Superfood Chicken Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa Salad with Pesto and Peas
- Indian-Spiced Parsnip Lentil Salad
- Strawberry Asparagus Buckwheat Salad
- Beetroot Feta Walnut Salad with Dukkah
- Roast Pumpkin Salad with Chorizo
Beetroot Avocado Feta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe avocado
- 4 small beetroots (beets)
- ¼ cup basil leaves
- ⅓ cup feta chunks
- 2 cups baby salad leaves, (I like pea shoots and baby chard)
- 250 g packet cooked mixed grains (about 2 cups) , (or sub favourite grain)
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
Dressing
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Peel the avocado and chop into ½ inch chunks. Chop the beetroot into ½ inch chunks. Finely slice (chiffonade) the basil leaves.1 medium ripe avocado, 4 small beetroots (beets), ¼ cup basil leaves
- Place the avocado, beetroot, sliced basil, feta chunks, salad leaves and grains into a large mixing bowl.⅓ cup feta chunks, 2 cups baby salad leaves, 250 g packet cooked mixed grains (about 2 cups)
- Place a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and toast until they begin to pop out of the pan, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- Add the dressing ingredients to a small bowl or jar. Whisk or shake until the dressing is emulsified and well combined.2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon honey, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
- Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and toss gently to combine.
- Divide the salad between two plates to serve and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds.
Notes
- If you'd like to serve this on a platter, toss the grains with half of the dressing and spread the grains out on the platter. Top with the salad leaves and then the avocado, beetroot and feta chunks, dotting them about so that they look pretty. Finish by sprinkling with the sliced basil and toasted pumpkin seeds. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.
- Serves 2 as a main meal, but would stretch to 3-4 people for a side dish or light lunch.
Susan says
I love a good salad and this hits the mark for sure. Sooo tasty!
Flo says
I love beets, this salad will be a great way to use them up from the garden!
Kate says
Anything with avocado is a win! The salad dressing was delicious. However, as my children are not fond of beetroot (they think it tastes of dirt) I put less beetroot in. So the 4 star rating is probably because of user error and not the recipe.