Pickled Beet and Citrus Salad

Sink your fork into an explosion of colors, flavors and textures this vibrant pickled beet and citrus salad brings to the plate. Creamy goat cheese and avocado, crunchy cucumbers, and a sweet and tangy orange-balsamic vinaigrette make this salad a total showstopper.

There is nothing like a salad plate that it the perfect canvas to play around with. It’s all about contrasting flavors and textures and beautiful bursts of color. This pickled beet and citrus salad hits all of the notes. Easy enough to make any night of the week yet elegant enough to entertain with, this salad tastes like pure Florida sunshine. Serve this up with Creamy Spinach Mushroom Orzo for the ultimate girl dinner.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Zero cooking required – This beet citrus salad is all about assembly, no cooking required. If you’re looking for something to take to a party that’s easy but will impress, this is it.
• Customizable – Use ingredients that are in season or that you like. You can play around with the greens, vegetables, cheese, and nuts to truly customize it to what you like.
• Balance of Flavors – Starting with a bed of peppery arugula and ending with a honey kissed orange-balsamic vinaigrette, the flavors all work together. The earthiness of the beets is mellowed by the pickling process. The fresh mandarins and oranges are sweet yet tart. No one flavor overpowers the other.

How to Make Pickled Beet and Citrus Salad

• Make your orange – balsamic vinaigrette. Add all of the ingredients to a jar and cover. Shake until emulsified. Taste and add additional seasoning if desired.
• Spread out the greens into an even layer.

• Top the salad with citrus slices. I used a combination of Sumo mandarins and Cara Cara oranges. Use your favorite seedless citrus.

• Add the sliced cucumbers and avocado. Space them out so you have a little crunchy and creamy in every bite.

• Top the salad with the pickled beets. Spread them out so they’re spaced pretty evenly.

• Add the flavor accents. Sprinkle the onions on top along with the goat cheese, pistachios, and basil or mint if adding.
• Drizzle the dressing over the top. Keep the remaining dressing on the side so everyone can dress their own salads. Season with additional salt and pepper when serving.

Variations on Ingredients

• Use baby kale, buttercrunch lettuce, or spring greens as a base. Avoid softer leaves like baby spinach.
• Other citrus work well like pink or ruby red grapefruit, blood oranges, and pumeloes.
• Instead of pickled beets use roasted beets. This is a great way to use up leftover beets.
• Instead of goat cheese use feta or blue cheese.
• Replace the pistachios with chopped pecans or walnuts.
• Make the salad but free and use sunflower seeds or pepitas.
• I used an orange olive oil in addition to regular olive oil. You can use all plain olive oil if desired. For a little more citrus flavor add a teaspoon of orange zest to the dressing.
• Instead of baby cucumbers use Persian or English cucumbers. You’ll want about 1/3 cup.

Tips From the Beach

• Mise en place makes this salad really easy to assemble. Feel free to slice all of your vegetables and citrus but keep them stored separately in the refrigerator until ready to make your roasted beet citrus salad.
• The salad dressing will last for up to a week. Keep it stored in a mason jar or other airtight container in the refrigerator. The olive oil in it will harden so just allow it to sit out and then give it a good shake to emulsify it again.
• Don’t add your beets to the salad until just before serving. The color of the beets will begin to bleed onto the other vegetables.
• Squeeze citrus of your choice onto the avocado slices to help slow down the oxidation process. I like lemon, but you can use your oranges if you like.
• Because the citrus will release a lot of moisture I don’t add a lot of dressing to the salad to keep the arugula crisp until serving. That way everyone can dress it to their liking.
• If there is any one ingredient you like more of, feel free to add additional. Salads should be fun and made just like you enjoy them.

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