This healthy Beet and Grapefruit Salad is a delicious vegetarian anytime recipe! Sweet toasted beets are paired with tart slices of grapefruit, all topped with toasty walnuts and blue cheese crumbles. Vibrant and nutritious, I look forward to making this tasty salad as soon as my favorite citrus fruits come into season.
Why Make This Salad?
Beet and grapefruit salad is perfect for packed lunches, meal prep, or a lovely starter for a wintery roast meal. Beets and Grapefruit are a fresh tasting and delicious combo, and the salad will keep well in the fridge.
Peeling Beets
This beet and grapefruit salad includes fresh ingredients that are local and organically grown right here. Beets, like other root vegetables, keep well, which is a blessing at this time of year. BUT, beets are messy. Do you hate staining your hands, countertops and cutting board? Try this tip from Real Simple: How to Peel Beets.
Here's What You Need
For the Roasted Beets:
- Beets: Most of the time allotted for this recipe is the roasting time for the beets. You can roast the beets anytime and keep in the fridge until you want to make this salad, or you can use leftover beets.
- Red grapefruit: Peeled, sectioned, with the pith removed, this beet and grapefruit salad would be incomplete without this delicious, tart citrus fruit.
- Oranges: I had some blood oranges, so I used them in this beet and grapefruit salad along with the walnuts. But regular oranges would be even better, for a more colourful salad. Use those if you have them, but the salad is so good either way.
- Other ingredients: Sliced shallots, salt, and pepper.
For the Salad Dressing:
- Blue cheese: I know that not everyone is a fan of blue cheese, so swap it for feta if you aren’t. It will be just as delicious. Or you can leave out the cheese altogether to make this a vegan beet and grapefruit salad.
- Green onions: Sliced
- Toasted walnuts: If you or someone you are serving has a nut allergy, you can leave out the nuts. The slightly bitter crunch is what they bring, so if you can, substitute arugula, or radicchio.
- Other ingredients: Green onions, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt.
How to Make It
Step 1: Prep
Preheat oven to 400° then wrap beets in foil, and place on a baking tray, along with sliced shallots.
Step 2: Cook Beets
Roast until beets are fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, open foil, and allow to cool. When beets have cooled, rub the skins off with paper towel. Cut them into cubes.
Step 3: Make Dressing
In a bowl, combine beets, grapefruit and orange segments. Whisk together olive oil, cider vinegar, and salt. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Finally, add the walnuts and blue cheese and gently combine.
Step 4: Garnish and Serve
Refrigerate beet and grapefruit salad for about an hour, then top with green onions for serving.
More Beet Salads To Try
If you’re still hungry for beet salads, check out Wild Rice and Roasted Beet Salad, Roasted Beet and Apple Salad or Beet Pistachio & Orange Salad.
Beet Salad with Grapefruit, Blue Cheese & Walnuts
Ingredients
Roasted Beets
- 4 medium beets
- 2 shallots sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 large red grapefruit peeled, sectioned, with pith removed
- 2 oranges peeled, sectioned, with pith removed
Dressing
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ cup walnuts toasted
- ¼ cup blue cheese crumbled
- 2 green onions sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Wrap beets in foil, and place on a baking tray, along with sliced shallots.
- Roast until beets are fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, open foil, and allow to cool.
- When beets have cooled, rub the skins off with paper towel. Cut them into cubes.
- In a bowl, combine beets, grapefruit and orange segments.
- Whisk together olive oil, cider vinegar, and salt. Pour over salad and toss to coat.
- Add walnuts and blue cheese and gently combine.
- Refrigerate for about an hour.
- Top with green onions for serving.
Notes
- Most of the time allotted for this recipe is the roasting time for the beets. You can roast the beets anytime and keep in the fridge until you want to make this salad; or, use leftover beets.
- If you or someone you are serving has a nut allergy, you can leave out the nuts. The slightly bitter crunch is what they bring, so if you can, substitute arugula, or radicchio.
Nutrition
Suzanne
When and how is the balsamic vinegar incorporated?
Looks like a great recipe, can't wait to make it!
Colleen
Hi Suzanne, Thanks for this question, because I had recently updated the recipe for roasting the beets in their skins. It used to be for roasting them, peeled with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and I neglected to update that piece. I like the cider vinegar better, because it keeps the pretty colour of the salad, while balsamic muddies it a bit. My apologies for the confusion, it is now fixed! Enjoy the recipe, it's delicious!
Anita
It was fantastic. My chef husband loved it and didn’t want to change anything. Thanks for sharing on this snowy day in Chicago.
Colleen
Anita, this is so great to hear! So glad you and your hubby enjoyed it, and, I hope spring comes along soon for you, in beautiful Chicago!
Anita
I don’t understand. Why the olive oil and vinegar at beginning and then again at the end. No mention of oranges in title. Where do shallots come in?
4 medium beets
2 shallots sliced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large red grapefruit peeled, sectioned, with pith removed
2 oranges peeled, sectioned, with pith removed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp course salt
1/2 cup walnuts toasted
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbled
2 green onions sliced
Colleen
Hi Anita, The olive oil and vinegar do happen twice: when roasting the beets, then in the dressing. I have modified the post to make that more clear. And thank you so much for letting me know about missing the shallots in the instructions! As a blogger, and a human, I do sometimes make mistakes, and I appreciate you so much for keeping me on my toes. I have fixed that. (Shallots should go in the oven with the roasted beets) As for the oranges, it's not possible to include every ingredient in the title of a recipe. This one is pretty simple and would work without the oranges. Thank you so much for your feedback, and I hope that you will visit often.
Laura
I need this colourful bowl in my life! Love the flavour combinations! I never thought of beets with grapefruit but - of course! I look forward to trying it. The nuts and blue cheese must make it rich and satisfying too.
Colleen
Thanks Laura! It is a very tasty combo. I hope you enjoy it!
Kelly Ohnona
This looks absolutely gorgeous... the colors, the presentation!! I am so inspired for my next beet salad! With love!
Colleen
Kelly, Thank you so very much! I'm honored to inspire you. Cheers.
Heather
This looks fantastic! I would sub in goat cheese as I just cant do blue cheese lol.
Colleen
Thanks Heather! I know, blue cheese is not up everyone's alley. But feta or goat cheese is also perfect in this salad.
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices
I've had enough of this Canadian winter! 🙂 Well, at least, this colorful, cheerful salad is able to brighten my day. I love citrus fruits and although I never paired them with beets, I'm sure they are the right complement. Great salad!
Colleen
Nicoletta, I know, right? This morning I did a happy dance to wake up and it was not snowing. Spring will be here soon, we just have to hope. 🙂 I'm glad I was able to brighten your day. Cheers.