Beet Green Salad
by Katie Webster
May 28, 2021 (updated 6/10/22) Jump To Recipe
This Beet green salad with feta and sherry vinaigrette will turn anyone into a fan of eating beet greens! If you happen to have a lot of them on hand then this is a great recipe to try! The bold and savory dressing pairs so well with the strongly flavored leaves.
This post was originally shared on June 3rd, 2014. I have updated the images and text today.
Why We Love This Recipe
This salad will turn anyone into a beet green fan. If you have tried them and didn’t like them, then this is the recipe to change all that. I used to hate beet greens until I unlocked the key to flavor pairings! And now I love them.
Or maybe you came to this recipe because you are wanting to try beet greens for the first time. If you buy beets and already know what to do with the beet root themselves, (roasted beets and pickled beets are two of our favorite ways to make them,) but need some help figuring out what to do with the greens, this recipe is the answer!
This recipe pairs well with garlic herb grilled chicken, lemon rosemary grilled pork tenderloin, pan fried fish or shrimp kebabs. Or you could simply serve it at a cookout or potluck party instead of a more traditional green salad!
Guide To Beet Greens
Beet Green Nutrition
The greens of beets are high in lutein and zeaxanthin which are good for eye health. They are a great source of Vitamin A and are off the charts for Vitamin K. They also have natural fiber which helps keep you full longer, and help with digestive health.
How To Wash Beet Greens
- Cut off the red stems at the bottom of the leaves. I cut the greens into bite-sized pieces because I think tearing takes too long.
- Fill the salad spinner with cool water.
- Place the greens in the salad spinner basket, and submerge them into the water.
- Swish them around a bit.
- Let all the sediment fall to the bottom of the salad spinner, and then lift the basket of greens out.
- Empty the water and repeat again.
- Simply running water over the greens will not wash away all the dirt and grit.
Beet greens are usually pretty dirty, so you may need to wash them twice. If they’re from your own garden, probably four times!
Flavor Pairing and Cooking Tips
When raw, beet greens are best paired with other strong flavors. The salad recipe below is the kind of thing that works well with the earthy flavors of the green.
When cooking the greens, keep in mind that they cook pretty quickly like sauteed Swiss chard. They take about 4 minutes or so for a saute and only a minute or two if they are simmered in soup or blanched in boiling water.
You can use the red stems but they need to cook longer. Chop them up and sauté them with onions and garlic or other longer cooking veggies. Then add in the greens once the stems are soft.
Ingredients For This Recipe
- Beet Greens: You will need eight cups of washed beet greens from one to two bunches of beets. If the leaves are large, cut or tear them into bite sized pieces.
- Feta Cheese: I adore goat feta and think it is great with this combo. It is creamier and less acidic than cow and sheep feta and contrasts with the sharp dressing really well. Of course regular feta is great too.
- Sherry Vinegar: The boldness and bright acidity of the sherry vinegar is key to blocking some of the bitterness that would normally come through on the greens. Bitter and sour balance each-other! You can sub in another vinegar if you cannot find sherry vinegar. Read more about different vinegars here in my guide to vinegars.
- Garlic: I find that the strong flavors of this dressing are what make the greens so pleasant to eat. So the pep of the raw garlic, paired with the mustard and strong vinegar are really key. To prevent big chunks of garlic it is made into a paste with the coarse salt.
How To Make This Salad
Step 1: Make a paste with the garlic and salt. Mash and chop the garlic with the salt until it becomes a smooth paste. This will prevent the dressing from having large chunks of raw garlic.
Step 2: Whisk the dressing together.
Step 3: Assemble the salad by combining the greens and feta in a large bowl.
Step 4: Whisk the dressing and then drizzle over the top. Toss well to combine.
Expert Tips and FAQs for This Recipe
Cut the greens off of the roots and store them in a resealable plastic bag. Leaving them out of the bag in the fridge will yield limp greens.
If the greens are limp when you are ready to use them, you can refresh them by completely submerging them in room temperature water for an hour. This works really well if the greens are cold from the fridge.
Use the greens within a few days of bringing them home from the grocery store. Fresh from the garden or CSA they will last about a week in plastic.
Though the beet root is a great storing crop, and therefore seasonal all year long, I would argue that the greens are at their best right now in the late spring and early summer. When they are young like they are now, their greens are tender and they are so yummy in salad. As the beets mature their greens are better suited for cooked recipes like in this savory galette.
The greens can be torn, washed and stored in a plastic bag up to four days ahead. The dressing can be made up to four days ahead. Store it in a jar in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature and shake it well before tossing the greens and feta.
We love this salad with grilled chicken (Try our Grilled Greek Boneless Chicken Thighs) and Baked Salmon with Mayonnaise. It is also great with Roasted Chicken Thighs or Veggie Lasagna.
More Beet Green Recipes
- Beet Green Pesto | Nutmeg Nanny
- Beet Green Pasta with Walnuts | An Edible Mosaic
- Beet Green and Garlic Scape Bruschetta | Love and Olive Oil
- Sweet Potato Bell Pepper and Onion Hash with Beet Greens | Barefeet in the Kitchen
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
Happy Cooking,
~Katie
Print
Beet Green Salad
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
Description
Don’t throw away those beet greens! Wondering what to do with your beet greens? Make this simple and delicious Beet Green Salad with sherry vinegar and garlic dressing with crumbled feta cheese. Simple, gluten-free, wheat-free and vegetarian.
Ingredients
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
8 cups beet greens, washed and spun dry (5–7 ounces)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 1 ounce)
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mash garlic with kosher salt with the side of a chef’s knife on a cutting board to form a paste.
- Whisk garlic paste, olive oil, sherry vinegar and Dijon in a small bowl.
- Place greens and feta in a large bowl.
- Pour dressing over greens, season with pepper and toss to combine.
Notes
Make Ahead Notes
The greens can be torn, washed and stored in a plastic bag up to four days ahead. The dressing can be made up to four days ahead. Store it in a jar in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature and shake it well before tossing the greens and feta.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 329 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 3 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 4 mg
Keywords: Beet Greens, Beet Green Salad
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
I love that I learned something from reading this recipe. Chopping and mashing the garlic and adding it to the Dijon to get the flavors right. Makes a lot of sense.
★★★★★
I’m so glad to hear that, John!
The dressing is a perfect match for beet greens, even if you lightly saute the stems and older, larger leaves. I tossed the dressing while the beet greens were warm – the smell was so delicious I couldn’t resist a bowlful before refrigerating for a picnic tomorrow.
★★★★★
Sounds so good! Thanks Judith!
It did not take me 10 exposures to love this recipe – only one! First of all, the greens had been in the fridge for 2 weeks, and minus the beets for over half that time. I used Katie’s method of soaking them in room temp water for an hour, along with a few of the stems that also needed a boost, and it really worked. I didn’t have sherry, so I used Prosecco white wine vinegar instead. The salad turned out crisp and delicious – stems and all. Highly recommend!
★★★★★
My mom use to make wilted lettuce with leaf lettuce so im going to try that with my beet greens and my son says beets on a salad with thousand island dressing is the way to go
For some reason I always thought beet greens were bitter but this sounds so delicious!
★★★★★
The sherry vinegar and salt help to balance the bitterness. And the strong flavor of the feta and garlic really help to tame the muddy/earthy flavor of the greens.
Haven’t tried it yet but it sounds like a delicious salad, along with Colleen’s idea just above. Thanks for your recipes.
I love beets and recently oven “fried” the greens: washed them clean and dried them; rubbed the leaves lightly with olive oil, placed in single layer in sheet cake pan; sprinkled very lightly with sea salt. Baked for about 7-10 minutes in 375 degree oven. Just crispy enough! Added them to a salad of toasted walnuts, Boston lettuce red onion and blueberries with a balsamic dijon dressing. It was really good!!! And the beet greens were good all by themselves…which explains why about half of them didn’t make it into the salad!’
I love that idea Colleen. Thanks for the inspiration! Happy cooking!
Great recipe! I love to taste salads, now I’m try collecting innovative stuffs, I think this would be more of health conscious! I just loved it!
thanks for your great ideas. I love beets almost any way, but my very favorite is a raw beet and carrot salad. I grate both the beets and carrots with my cuisinart, then toss them with salt pepper olive oil and rice wine vinegar. So delicious! I hope you give it a try.
Sounds great Abby!
Hello! I have had a horrible time with the bunnies eating my beet greens this summer. I was getting so irritated, because it stunts the growth of the beets…the prized fruit of the plant. (Yes, I have a fence. They crewed right through it!) It occurred to me that they may know something I don’t so I have been perusing the internet to find uses. I’m intrigued and I am going to give them a try. Thanks for the ideas.
I am so mad at the bunnies this year too Alicia! They have been getting into everything! I can’t believe they chewed right through your fence! Wow! determined little critters aren’t they! Glad you found me and welcome.
Especially like the beet green pesto idea:)
That one sounded good to me too Cindy!
Just in time for our CSA boxes!
Exactly! Hope you got some good ideas here Samantha.
Beet greens are the best! I like to just wilt them quickly with olive oil and garlic. This salad sounds great — love the contrast with pungent cheese!
Mmm wilted with garlic is a no-fail way to use them. Thanks for dripping by Eileen.
Sounds good to me!
Thanks Kalyn and for coming by 🙂
I thought I hated cantaloupe… and then while we were in Burlington, they served it every morning in my fruit cup. Something clicked. I’m not “hooked” on it… but I’m eating it this week at my mom’s, so I guess I’m “over it” 🙂
I can understand that about cantaloupe for sure. It has a little rotten musky thing going on. Nice job pushing through and getting over it. I love it. Especially when it is really good and fresh from the fields in late summer. The best I ever had was from a place in NY called Hand Melon. I’ll never forget it.
I’ve always composted beet greens after trying sauté a few batches but found them to be too bitter. This salad has just changed that! Came home from farmer’s market today with lots of beets and sea salt feta cheese so this recipe was a perfect match. I love garlic, but felt the raw garlic was a little too harsh. Tomorrow I will add a splash of lemon to the garlic paste 15 minutes before making dressing to mellow this. There’s some science I saw on a cooking show about how adding lemon to raw garlic for 10-15 mins reduces the harshness.
Thank you for sharing this
Yay to changing your mind about beet greens. That makes two of us now. Haha! I think that sounds like a plan with the lemon juice. Another thought is you could use less next time too.