We use fresh herbs in everything—you don’t want to ruin a nice meal with dried herbs. And it may seem obvious but make sure you actually like the taste of an herb before you flavor your dish with it! We often use mint but not everyone likes it, so just swap it for something you do like. At the end of the day, we’re not amazing chefs, we’re just two girls who love to cook, and having such fantastic and fresh produce is what makes our dishes work.–Kirsty Scobie & Fenella Renwick
Cooking with beets
While this recipe instructs you to peel them, you don’t have to. Peeling them makes them cook a little faster and allows them to absorb the dressing a little better. Like potatoes and carrots, beets can be eaten without the outer skin being removed and it will up your fiber intake. So if you don’t mind the taste of beet peel, then leave it on. Just give ’em a good scrub and start chopping
Roasted Beet, Feta, and Mint Salad
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 10 ounces raw beets*, any variety, peeled and cut into 1-inch (25 mm) chunks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Juice and zest of 1 lime, preferably organic
- 2 ounces feta, crumbled
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a medium bowl, combine olive oil, honey, and balsamic vinegar. Add beets and toss to coat.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange beet chunks in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until just tender, about 30 minutes.
- Dump beets into a medium serving bowl and allow to cool at least 15 minutes. Add lime juice and lime zest and toss to combine. Top with feta and mint and serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
If you are a beet lover, this roasted beet, feta, and mint salad is a delicious recipe. My husband isn’t a beet fan but I made this for myself and loved it after a couple of alterations. I ate it as a stand-alone dish but it would be a great side dish alongside a vegetarian or meat main.
I am of two minds on this recipe. With respect to the taste, it certainly deserves a Taster’s Choice recommendation. On the preparation, the recipe needs tweaking to match the beet texture to the celestial level of the flavor. I made the recipe twice to figure out how to modify it. The olive oil, honey, and vinegar produced a lovely caramelized taste that complimented the tartness of the lime and the feta.
The solution to beet nirvana appears to be roasting the chopped beets at higher temperatures, probably somewhere between 375°F and 400°F for closer 30-35 minutes.
We’re a big beet-loving family and I would say this recipe makes 2 to 3 servings for us. Next time, I’ll put the oil, honey, and vinegar in a bowl and toss the beets to get a more even coating, then salt and pepper after the beets are in the baking pan.
I also made a version of this with beets I had already roasted. I added the honey, a little olive oil, and the balsamic to a frying pan, reduced it slightly, and then added the beets to glaze them. I think I prefer the glaze/sauté method.
Either way, it’s a super simple, easy, tasty recipe that far exceeds the effort it took to make it.
Since I’m a big fan of the combination of beets and feta cheese, I was excited to try this roasted beet, feta, and mint salad. I was unsure if the addition of lime, mint, and balsamic vinegar would add or detract from the earthy beets. My biggest disappointment is that it didn’t make enough.
The honey and balsamic vinegar caramelized together along with the beets. The lime zest and juice brightened the dish, working together with the honey to create a tasty dressing. I waited until the beets cooled down before adding the feta and lime juice/zest. I served the beets over a bed of greens. There was enough “dressing” to easily coat the lettuce.
I served the beets at room temperature, over greens, and with the caramelized onion & gruyere galette.
This roasted beet, feta, and mint salad is a simple and fresh salad for a light meal, just served with some bread, or as an accompaniment for grilled meat. It´s really easy and quick to prepare, and if you want to serve it cold, you can cook the beets in advance.
If you like beets, this roasted beet, feta, and mint salad is an easy way to enjoy them a little bit spiffed up. After a trip to the farmers market (Yup—beets from the farmers market, olive oil from the farmers market, honey from the farmers market, feta from the farmers market, and mint from the farmers market!), a quick pre-heat of the oven, put away the rest of the shopping while roasting, and then, when the beets were tender, and without waiting for them to cool down, toss, top, and devour!
We served this solo, though salads generally call out to us for bread, and we also thought a handful of toasted walnuts or almonds, whole on the side, or chopped atop, could make a tasty addition. Also, if you’re not feeling minty, dill could be a terrific herbal sub.
