Arugula beet salad with a flavorful balsamic vinegar dressing. This simple salad is a hearty mix of warm roasted beets, walnuts, toasted tofu all tossed in a flavorful vinegar dressing and topped with crisp fresh arugula. Vegan and gluten free.
For more warm winter salad recipes please check roasted sweet potato salad, easy winter salad, vegan pasta salad, apple walnut salad recipes.
Long time no salad recipes, let’s remedy the situation shall we ? Presenting before you this super simple to make, hearty and simple salad that will warm and satiate you with fresh seasonal beets and crisp baby arugula leaves.
Come winter, our salads tend to get more hearty and warming with more satiating ingredients. These are still fresh, lighter but more suited to the weather.
This arugula beet salad is exactly all these what I am talking about. This is a simple salad with roasted beets, tofu, walnuts in a super simple dressing that spicy and sweet. The fresh crisp arugula adds a peppery touch and much needed sharpness to this salad.
If you love adding fresh beets in your cooking you may like these beetroot recipes too – beetroot raita, beetroot tikki, beetroot halwa, fresh beet juice recipes.
Now lets get back to the salad recipe, for starters its super simple and super delicious, lets go.
About This Recipe
Are you a salad person? I am a big fan of colorful salads and try my best put one together at least few times a week.
For me these recipes work best as light meal in itself or a part of spread depending upon the other courses.
During winters I make these hearty warm salads to keep up with the season and seasonal produce. I got some really fresh and sweet organic baby beets from the latest veggie haul. Some peppery arugula cut from the terrace garden, some leftover tofu cubes and few walnuts for crunch, perfect! Best salads are built on the go 🙂
This beet salad with arugula is our current go to every day salad whenever I harvest arugula from the terrace garden. I have a steady flow of organic baby beets, so making this is a breeze.
Why This Recipe works?
This is a very versatile and easy recipe to make beet salad with arugula where you can easily change the ingredients and seasonings to suit your taste.
Nest this salad is just delicious, whether or not you are a fan of beetroots. This truly nothing less than a gourmet salad you will find in fancy restaurant menus.
The ingredients come together so beautifully and toasted tofu beautifully eliminates the need for crumbled feta cheese or some parmesan shavings in this salad. However you can totally add those too 🙂
The dressing of this arugula salad is one of my all time favorites and stick to this while making continental salads. It is a delicious mix of balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, red chili flakes, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Simple, clean and flavorful. I like to keep the dressing just enough to coat the ingredients and not drench them.
The sweet taste of slightly caramelized beets is perfectly balanced by crisp fresh peppery arugula in this arugula beet salad.
You can serve this salad both warm or at room temperature, it tastes good either way as side salad or side dish in any continental meal. Do try out this arugula beet salad that is
warming, hearty
filling yet light meal
easy to male
vegan and gluten free
flavorful & tasty.
Arugula Beet Salad Recipe Ingredients
Beets– Use fresh seasonal beets for best taste. If you have baby beets you can just halve them or even use them whole if they are very tiny.
Here I have roasted the beets but you can steam them or even boil them as you like.
Walnuts– To add some crunch and balance the sweetness of beetroot and also boost the nutrition of this salad, I have added some walnuts. We love the slight bitter taste of walnuts in this salad. You can also use toasted pecans, almonds too or even a mix of nuts.
Tofu– This is an optional ingredient and I usually add if I have it handy. Press the tofu cubes for 20 minutes and toast with few drops of oil.
If you do not want to use tofu, see notes for other cheese options.
Dressing– The dressing of this arugula beet salad recipe is a simple mix of balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, chili flakes, salt and pepper. You can also use dijon mustard in the dressing.
Arugula Leaves– Addition of this arugula or roquette leaves add a sharp note and fresh peppery taste to this salad. Instead of adding arugula you can any of your favorite salad greens or even a mix of micri greens.
How To Make Beet Salad With Arugula
Scrub and peel the beets and cut into 1 inch cubes.
Heat a pan with few drops of oil or cooking spray. Place the beet cubes and also chopped walnuts as single layer.
Roast in low flame until walnuts turn golden and beets are well roasted and caramelized. Walnuts will get l get roasted first, remove them as they get roasted.
Now once the beets are well roasted and caramelized remove the roast beets to a plate.
In the same oil toast the tofu cubes until golden and crispy. Remove to a plate.
While the beets are getting cooked, rinse a handful of baby arugula leaves and spin dry or set aside few minutes. Make sure there is no moisture in the greens before adding to the salad. Roughly chop them if preferred. Place the cooked beets, roasted tofu, roughly chopped arugula leaves and walnuts in a salad bowl.
In another small mixing bowl mix the ingredients for dressing and whisk well.
Toss the dressing into the salad ingredients. Mix well.
Serve arugula beet salad immediately. You can add a dash of black pepper while serving.
Tips + Variations
Cooking beets
I absolutely love roast beets in this salad. However you can steam or boil the beets. Just make sure they are soft yet firm before adding to the salad.
You can also cook beets in an instant pot.
With Feta Cheese Or Goat Cheese
Instead of tofu or along with it, you can add some crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese in beet salad just before serving.
Dijon Mustard
You can add 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard to the dressing for a creamy dressing with sharp flavor.
Citrus Vinaigrette Dressing
Sometimes I make this salad with a citrus dressing to pack more zing and flavor. To make citrus vinaigrette dressing just add 2-3 tablespoons orange juice or a mix of equal amounts of orange and lemon juice in along with other ingredients for dressing.
Make Ahead And Storage
You can roast, beets, walnuts and tofu well ahead and store. They stay good for 3 days in refrigerator. Dressing also stays good for a week. Store them in separate containers.
Just bring the salad ingredients and dressing to room temperature, toss and serve.
More Salad Recipes
I hope you will try this vegetable cutlet recipe and enjoy as much as we did. Please give a star rating ★ in the recipe card below if you have tried this recipe. Follow us on Pinterest , Instagram, Facebook for more recipes and ideas.
Recipe Card
Arugula Beet Salad Recipe
1 CUP = 250 ml
Ingredients
- 2 cups beets peeled and cubed
- 3 tablespoons walnuts chopped
- 3/4 cup tofu cubed
- 1 cup baby arugula leaves
For dressing
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Scrub and peel the beets and cut into 1 inch cubes.
- Heat a pan with few drops of oil or cooking spray. Place the beet cubes and also chopped walnuts as single layer.
- Roast in low flame until walnuts turn golden and beets are well roasted and caramelized. Walnuts will get l get roasted first, remove them as they get roasted.
- Now once the beets are well roasted and caramelized remove the roast beets to a plate.
- In the same oil toast the tofu cubes until golden and crispy. Remove to a plate.
- While the beets are getting cooked, rinse a handful of baby arugula leaves and spin dry or set aside few minutes. Make sure there is no moisture in the greens before adding to the salad. Roughly chop them if preferred. Place the cooked beets, roasted tofu, roughly chopped arugula leaves and walnuts in a salad bowl.
- In another small mixing bowl mix the ingredients for dressing and whisk well.
- Toss the dressing into the salad ingredients. Mix well.
- Serve arugula beet salad immediately. You can add a dash of black pepper while serving.
Leave a Reply