Our favorite beet apple salad with balsamic dressing. This raw beetroot salad is crunchy, sweet, refreshing, and utterly delicious.
This fresh and flavorful beetroot apple salad is one of my favorite salads ever! It's simple, made with just a few ingredients, incredibly tasty, crunchy, and refreshing.
Buying raw beets is a challenging task around here, but every time I get some, I make sure that I save a couple of them just for making this beet and apple salad. If you like beets, make this colorful Beetroot Pasta Recipe, too.
Check out our Spring Onion Potato Salad, Purple Cabbage Slaw, or the Chicken Salad with Cranberries.
Prep Time:ย 15 minutes |ย Cook Time:ย 3 minutes |ย Ingredients:ย 8 + oil, salt & pepperย |ย Servings:ย 4 |ย Difficulty:ย Easy
Recipe ingredients
- Raw beets: You will need about 1 lb of fresh beets (450 g); a bit more or less is fine. I had 3 small-to-medium pieces, but weighing the beets is preferable as they can vary in size. I often buy large pieces, where just one piece weighs almost 1 lb.
- Use golden beets instead of red beets.
- Apple: One crisp medium apple. I always leave the skin on, but you can peel the apple.
- Pecans: I love adding pecan nuts when I have them, but I often use crunchy walnuts because they are cheaper but just as delicious. Pine nuts are also great.
- Creamed horseradish: Horseradish is the perfect condiment for beets. You can leave it out if you don't like it, but I always find it the ideal match for anything made with beets.
- Other ingredients: Honey, balsamic vinegar, parsley, salt, and pepper.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Add or substitute
- You can make the salad with cooked beets, too. It will still be delicious but quite different in taste and texture. You can use boiled, steamed, or roasted beets, but not pickled beets from a jar.
- Add a medium-to-large grated carrot. Try this Carrot Pineapple Salad with walnuts, too.
- Top the apple and beetroot salad with other crunchy nuts like cashews, hazelnuts, or almonds. Sunflower or pumpkin seeds are also great. Or top it with some pomegranate seeds.
- Top it with crumbled creamy feta or goat cheese.
- Before serving, stir in a few handfuls of chopped rocket leaves (arugula) or baby spinach. Or add the finely chopped beet greens and stems.
How to make beetroot salad with apples?
Grate vegetables + toast pecans + whisk dressing + combine everything. That's it!
Tips
Scrub the beets very well before peeling; they are often covered with dirt.
If desired, use gloves when peeling and grating it to avoid staining your fingers. But even if you stain your fingers, the color will disappear by the end of the day after washing your hands a few times in between.
You can also grate the beets and the apple in a food processor fitted with a shredding blade. Or you can cut them both into very small cubes.
Make in advance and store
Refrigerate the beetroot apple salad in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Make ahead: Mix the grated beets, apples, and chopped onions in a bowl. Cover the bowl and keep it refrigerated for up to 2 days. The apples will take the beet's red color, but that never bothered me.
Mix the dressing ingredients in a small jar; the dressing will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge. Shake it well before dressing the salad.
Toast the nuts, let them cool, and keep them in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve.
What to serve it with?
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๐ Recipe
Beet Apple Salad
Equipment
- Box grater
Ingredients
Beetroot salad:
- 1 lb beetroot raw, Note 1
- 1 apple medium
- 1 small red onion finely chopped, about 1 ยฝ tablespoons
- ยฝ cup pecans chopped, Note 2
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon creamed horseradish
- fine sea salt
- ground black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
Beet salad:
- Grate vegetables: Scrub and peel the beets and rinse them again shortly. Dry them with a paper towel and grate them on the side with the largest hole size of the grater. Quarter and core the apple and grate it as well. Place beets and apples in a bowl. Add the finely chopped red onion.1 lb beetroot + 1 apple + 1 small red onion
- Toast the chopped pecans in a frying pan without adding any fat. Shake the pan often to ensure that the nuts don't burn. Once fragrant and golden, transfer them to a large plate immediately and let them cool.ยฝ cup pecans
Dressing:
- Whisk the vinegar, honey, creamed horseradish, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking until the dressing is slightly emulsified.2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar + 1 teaspoon honey + 1 teaspoon creamed horseradish + fine sea salt + ground black pepper + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Combine: Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and the pecans just before serving.1-2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Notes
- Beets: I had 3 small to medium raw beets. You can make the salad with cooked beets as well. The texture and taste will be different, but the salad will still be delicious.
- Walnuts or pine nuts are also perfect.
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