Bright Beet Salad With Quinoa + Toasted Pepitas
Hello; I am in love. I’d normally drop a joke about this tasty salad demystifying the belief that you “can’t make friends with salad”, but that joke has run its course — especially on this blog. I’m pretty sure I’ve used it in several salad posts, actually. I need a new line; I am just too predictable.
This salad, however, is anything but predictable.
This bowl of goodness is a dream for anyone that harbors a strong love and appreciation for earthy beets. These ruby gems are shredded, then tossed in a citrusy vinaigrette along with creamy chunks of avocado, carrots, edamame, hearty quinoa, and toasty pepitas.
Over the weekend, we hosted dinner for our recently engaged friends. Since I take great joy in hosting and feeding the ones I love, I always want something to be a colorful show-stopper. It’s similar to how Michael Scott from The Office treats the annual ‘Secret Santa’ — “I love you this many dollars worth”; only for me, it’s more along the lines of “I love you this much efforts worth”.
It’s not that this salad is a hassle per se, but between preparing hors d’oeuvres, a veg side and parchment fish packets, grating beets was the last thing I wanted to do. But it was oh-so-worth it. It’s also definitely worth mentioning that the leftovers are fantabulous.
Bright Beet Salad With Quinoa + Toasted Pepitas
I’m not the mastermind behind this recipe, though. I adapted this bad boy from Kate over at Cookie + Kate. My tweaks reflect the simple fact that I wanted a salad that celebrated beets and quinoa a little harder than the greens. I love me some greens, but since I just gave you all my (very) green roasted romanesco salad, I wanted to bring you a healthful mix that focused more on the nourishing goodies like beets, wholesome quinoa, edamame, and toasted pepitas.
The vinaigrette for this is also worth its own little para. Holy cannoli, it is legit. I love whipping up my own vinaigrettes; there is great satisfaction in coming up with an impromptu dressing that boasts a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness. (Or am I just a nerd?) I used Kate’s vinaigrette recipe as a guide, but I changed a few things out of personal preference. I swapped the lime juice for lemon (love lime, but I don’t utilize lemons enough), and I used less cider vinegar. For the fresh herbs, I tossed in some chopped parsley. My sweetening agent was none other than my trusty and beloved pure Canadian maple syrup.
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Get the Recipe:
Bright Beet Salad With Quinoa + Toasted Pepitas
Ingredients
The Salad
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- Vegetable broth (optional), This is for cooking the quinoa in, as opposed to water; measured amount will depend on package instructions.
- 1 cup edamame, The boiled + salted edamame you can purchase at Whole Foods is perfect for this; otherwise, prepare as per package instructions.
- 1/3 cup pepitas, toasted
- 2 medium-sized uncooked beets, peeled
- 1 medium-sized carrot, peeled and julienned or shredded
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 2 cups torn or roughly-chopped supergreens; spinach, chard, arugula, and/or kale, You can use one of these or a mix.
The Vinaigrette
- 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 2 TBSP pure maple syrup
- Juice of one small lemon
- 1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- Cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
The Quinoa
- Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer under running water for a minute or until water runs clear.
- Place quinoa in a medium-sized pot or sauce pan along with vegetable broth (or water) — amount may vary, so go by the package directions. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to a low simmer, and let it go for 15 minutes.
- When the quinoa is cooked, remove it from the heat and let it rest, covered, for approx. 5 minutes, then fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside.
- Toasting Pepitas
- Place the raw pepitas in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Stir often to keep them from burning. When ready, the pepitas will be fragrant and will turn a light golden color around the edges; a few may even make popping sounds. When done, remove from heat and let cool.
The Veggies
- Grate the beets and transfer to a large bowl. To avoid a red mess, do this at the sink and run the beet under cool water every so often while grating. You could also spiralize the beets using a spiralizer and simply chopping the ribbons into bite-sized pieces afterward.
- Peel the carrots, and either shred them or julienne them. Toss them into the bowl with the beets.
- Once the quinoa has cooled off a bit, add it to the bowl with the beets and carrots, along with the edamame, cubed avocado, greens and toasted pepitas.
The Viniagrette
- Place all of the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until well blended and emulsified. You could also place the ingredients into a jar and shake until well mixed.
Assembly
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat. Give it a taste, and season with S+P if needed. Serve.
22 Comments on “Bright Beet Salad With Quinoa + Toasted Pepitas”
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Yumm, this looks and sounds delicious! Love all the colours!
Thanks, Heather!
Just made it — shoveling it in. I had cooked beets that I made the other day so I just chopped them up and put them in. I’m using the dressing liberally on it. This is so good … and beautiful!
I’m so glad you love it, Deb! I just made another batch today. I have a feeling this will become a regular in my rotation.
Dana! This salad is GORGEOUS! Love all the fresh colors and flavors!
Thanks, Laurel! Totally making another batch tomorrow. I can’t help myself — it’s just *too good*. I guess being addicted to a healthy salad isn’t the worst thing, right? ;)
I think you can never go wrong with starting a post with a classic Simpsons quote, especially when it’s a salad recipe. :) And I totally get your excitement for homemade vinaigrette. The first time I made my own, it was like instant shock for what I had been missing in my life. I usually never know what to do with beets, so I’m excited to give your recipe a try.
Haha — The Simpsons, forever and always :)
And yes, omg. I can’t remember the last time I bought bottled dressing. You don’t realize how icky it is until you’ve made you’re own fresh batch! Not to sound like a food snob, but man. There’s a *huge* difference.
Definitely let me know if you give this a go!
What a beautiful recipe! I love the vinaigrette! It reminds me to experiment a little more than just my typical olive oil and balsamic dressing. Thanks!
Thanks, Dylan! I hear you — I’ve gotten so comfortable with my usual mix, and it’s nice to mess around with flavors when the inspiration hits.
I love me a big, fat salad full of different colours and textures and flavours, so this beauty is totally screaming my name. Adding this to my must-make list for the weekend.
BTW, I totally hear you about the hassle of grating beets. I don’t mind nearly as much now that I have a food processor with a grater disc, though… that thing is positively life-changing when it comes to grating vegetables, even if it does mean one more thing to wash at the end of the meal. :)
YES. As boring as it sounds, sometimes I just crave a big salad with tons of goodies and it’s the most satisfactory thing ever. I always loved warm roasted beets in my salad, but this recipe is great since you don’t have to deal with roasting times; simply grate it and chuck it in. I contemplated using my spiralizer for the beets, and then just chopping them into bite-sized pieces, but I didn’t feel like washing the spiralizing blades and attachment. Haha. It’s a choosing game — do I want this to be easier, or do I want to just do it the hard way and clean less later? I usually opt for the latter ;)
This is my kind of salad, all colourful, flavourful and with creamy and crunchy bits. It looks perfect to me :)
Thanks, Natalie! If you love an assortment of textures, this is definitely right up your alley. Let me know if you give it a shot.
What a beautiful hearty salad! That dressing looks amazing! We grow beets in our garden and still have several keeping well in storage, so I’m pinning this recipe to try.
Thanks, Cathy! I’m am super envious of you and your beet growing! I want to grow beets when I have the space to break ground and build a garden. Let me know what you think of this bad boy when you try it, k?
I just had someone ask me about how I get to eat so many amazing things around the world and I responded that the thing I loved most was a good salad. You’ve inspired me today to get out the quinoa and my favourite veggies.
Salads truly can vary so much, especially from region to region. I’m glad you’ve got a use for your quinoa now — let me know what you think!
Yum! I love putting edamame in salads!
They’re basically the best :)