Do beets have to be peeled before roasting?

You can roast beets without boiling, without foil, and without peeling ! Simply slice the beets (a sheet of parchment will keep your cutting board clean), roast them with olive oil and seasonings, and then use the beets however you like.

What goes well with beetroot?

Walnuts: The crunchy texture and nutty flavour of walnuts complement the earthy taste of beetroot. Feta cheese : The tangy and salty flavour of feta cheese pairs well with the sweetness of beetroot. Herbs: Beetroot can be enhanced with fresh herbs such as dill, mint, and parsley.

How do you keep beets from bleeding when roasting?

Leaving the stem will stop the whole roasted beets from bleeding as much while they roast. You can also trim the pointy end of the beets, too. Then wash the beets well, using a scrubbing brush to scrub away any dirt – there's no need to dry them afterward.

Can you eat the skin on roasted beets?

No need to peel before or after baking. The skin, which is perfectly edible , just seems to disappear during the baking process. The trick to pan-roasted beets is to drop the temperature a bit. I always roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and pretty much all the other veggies at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

What makes beets taste better?

Roasting beets deepens their natural sugars while tempering bitterness. Bake whole, wrapped beets at 400°F for 60-75 minutes until easily pierced by a fork. Allow to cool before peeling and juicing. Incorporating roasted beets creates a smoother, mellower, almost nutty-flavored blended juice.

What flavor compliments beets?

Search for beetroot pairings We see that other root vegetables share their earthy aromas with the beetroot. Also ingredients like dark chocolate, nuts, coffee or roasted onions have earthy flavors and pair well with beetroot.

What is the most delicious way to eat beets?

You can use cooked beets in salads, to make hummus or to blend into smoothies . They can be diced for slaw, quartered for a grain bowl or mashed to make a dip or spread. Their thick and chewy texture is even great in a galette or quesadilla.

Can you cook beets with the skin on?

TIPS FOR cooking beets Size matters: tiny beets might be ready in 10 minutes where large ones might take up to 40. Keep checking whichever method you're using. Don't remove the beet skin before cooking . It's really not necessary and it's much easier to do so after cooking.

Is it better to peel beets before cooking?

Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking . They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.)

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Blood Orange and Feta (2024)

Published: Feb 14, 2021 by Samantha Ferraro · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

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A colorful beet quinoa salad with roasted yellow beets, tangy blood orange, salty feta cheese and sweet pomegranate seeds all dressed with a simple blood orange vinaigrette.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Blood Orange and Feta (1)

I practically jump up in glee once I see blood orange and pomegranates in season. Yes, I do love the winter for reasons of braising short ribs or osso buco, but it's these jeweled fruits that I can't get enough of.

Ingredients for Quinoa Beet Orange Salad

Like most of the recipes I make. this is another versatile one. Use what you have or can find but the pops of vibrant colors in this salad are so appealing.

Cooked Quinoa: use single or tricolor for this recipe. I like to make a batch and use the leftovers for different recipes, such as kale tabbouleh salad.
Roasted Beets: Another item I make in bulk to use for a number of things. Roast beets for roasted beet hummus or red and yellow beet soup.
Blood Orange: tangy and beautiful, the juice is also used in the vinaigrette. If blood oranges aren't in season, cara cara oranges would be wonderful.
Feta Cheese: just a bit crumbled for a layer of saltiness and goat cheese would be a great substitute as well.
Fresh mint: roughly chopped and thrown in for freshness.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Blood Orange and Feta

Samantha Ferraro

LittleFerraroKitchen.com

A colorful winter quinoa salad with roasted yellow beets, tangy blood orange, salty feta cheese and sweet pomegranate seeds all dressed with a simple blood orange vinaigrette.

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Beet Chilling 1 hour hr

Ingredients

▢ 2 yellow beets
▢ 2 cups cooked quinoa
▢ 1 blood orange peeled and cut into segments
▢ 1 cup pomegranate seeds
▢ ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
▢ Mint leaves roughly chopped

Blood Orange Vinaigrette

▢ ½ cup olive oil
▢ 1 blood orange zest and juice
▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
▢ 2 teaspoons honey
▢ Salt and pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and wrap beets in foil tightly. If any are very large, cut in half before wrapping in foil.
Place beets on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hours until cooked through. You can test this by inserting a knife all the way through. Once done, remove and let cool for about an hour.
Once beets are cool enough to handle, peel the outer peel off and cut into ¼ inch pieces.
In a large bowl, add the cooked quinoa, roasted beets, blood orange segments and toss to combine. Stir in crumbled feta, pomegranate seeds and mint.
For the dressing, Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl or mason jar and whisk or shake to incorporate. taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
Pour vinaigrette all over quinoa salad and gently toss and garnish with extra herbs if preferred.

Notes

This is a perfect recipe to prep ahead of time: Roast the beets a day ahead and let cool in fridge before adding to salad.

Do the same for quinoa and make a batch ahead of time.

Quinoa beet salad holds up very well in the fridge and the quinoa soaks up the dressing up. Will stay in an airtight container for 3-4 days, though the herbs will start to wilt.

If making ahead of time, add the fresh herbs and feta closer to serving for optimal freshness.

Nutrition

Calories: 465kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 8gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 250mgPotassium: 417mgFiber: 6gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 112IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 122mgIron: 2mg

Did you make this recipe?Let us know by leaving a comment and 5 star rating!

This post has been updated on February 14th, 2021 since originally posted in April, 2013. Post has been updated with nutritional info, updated photos and retested recipe.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Blood Orange and Feta (4)

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Kirsten says
December 02, 2013 at 10:05 am

Thanks for giving me the link to include in my upcoming Band Fruit Fundraiser Recipe Round Up! It will be published on 12/4/2013!
Reply
Dorothy at ShockinglyDelicious says
April 09, 2013 at 9:36 am

So, so pretty!
Reply
Karla @ Foodologie says
April 08, 2013 at 9:51 am

I'm totally with you on being behind the times. I've decided to pretty much just not blog about holidays for that reason haha!
This salad looks awesome! I would totally serve this on a bed of arugula and it would be dreamy
Reply
Miriam @ overtimecook says
April 08, 2013 at 4:57 am

Sam! You know I'm not a fan of beets but your gorgeous recipes make me think I should change my mind about that! 😉 absolutely gorgeous salad!
Reply
Miriam @ overtimecook says
April 08, 2013 at 4:57 am

Sam! You know I'm not a fan of beets but your gorgeous recipes make me think I should change my mind about that! 😉
Reply

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