Beet Arugula Salad W Easy Homemade Dressing

It’s great as a fresh side dish and is perfect topped with grilled chicken or salmon. This looks like a fancy restaurant menu item but it’s still a quick recipe for any day of the week.

A Flavorful Side or Main Dish

This recipe only needs a handful of ingredients, plus roasted beets!
The Honey Dijon vinaigrette is flavorful & fresh and only takes a few minutes to make.
Ingredients can be prepared days ahead of time and quickly tossed at dinner time.
Easy enough for a weekday lunch, but fancy enough to serve at a dinner party!
The flavors pair well with grilled chicken, shrimp, or salmon.

Ingredients

ARUGULA (also known as rocket) is a peppery tasting super green (it’s loaded with antioxidants). Any fresh greens from your fridge would be a tasty addition, I often add a handful of spinach if I have it.

BEETS Beets are always in season and affordable. If you don’t want to cook beets, buy packaged or canned (but make sure they’re not pickled).

Kitchen Tip: Don’t throw away those beet greens. Use them to make sauteed beet greens or add them into soup!

OTHER ADDITIONS Oranges bring a tangy sweetness and feta adds a little salty, but creamy tone and texture.

DRESSING The honey Dijon dressing pulls all the ingredients together so every bite is fresh, sweet, and savory! If desired, substitute a lemon vinaigrette or a balsamic-based dressing.

Variations

Choose contrasting ingredients that still complement the basic recipe and dressing.

NO BEETS!? NO PROBLEM! If you don’t have beets, add another roasted veggie in their place. Sweet potatoes or winter squash are great options.

We love pairing a roasted root vegetable with the peppery bite of arugula.

We like adding a combination of sliced granny smith apples with crumbled goat cheese or feta. Or go for diced avocado with bleu cheese crumbles.
Thinly sliced rings from a bulb of fennel pairs perfectly with mandarin orange segments.
We also like an optional topping of sunflower seeds, pepitas, or toasted walnuts or pistachios.

How to Make Beet & Arugula Salad

Bake the beets according to the recipe below. Once cooked, rub the skins off and cut beets into pieces. Cool completely.
Segment the oranges (if you’ve never segmented oranges, find details here).
Combine arugula and onions in a large salad bowl & toss with dressing. Garnish with remaining ingredients & serve immediately.

TIME SAVING TIP

Beets take a while to roast and cool.

To save time, purchase pre-cooked beets which are usually found in the produce area near the beets or near the fresh salad mixes. Beets can also be prepared a few days in advance and refrigerated.

What Goes with This Arugula Salad?

If serving arugula beet salad as an entrée, we like to top it with a mild protein like Crispy Air Fryer Shrimp or chilled Glazed Salmon.

Serving it as a side salad, it pairs well with other strong entrées like Grilled Lamb Chops, Blackened Shrimp, or a decadent Balsamic Pork Loin.

Fresh & Fruity Salads

Blackened Salmon Salad – light & healthy
Pistachio Strawberry Salad
Orange & Fennel Salad – with zesty orange dressing
Easy Watermelon Salad (with feta)
Strawberry Spinach Salad – so fresh & flavorful
Winter Salad – with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette
Waldorf Salad
Easy Arugula Salad – perfect for lunch

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