This tangy fennel and beetroot salad is paired with fennel and red onion in a maple balsamic dressing. It’s light and refreshing with a touch of citrus flavor.
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Today, I’m bringing you a light, refreshing, healthy vegan salad made with beets, fennel, red onion, and a sweet and tangy dressing! It’s perfect to serve alongside a holiday meal, take with you to a picnic, or enjoy a light lunch!
It’s versatile, tasty, and easy to pull together even if you haven’t worked with beets all that often, I’m here to give you all the tips and tricks to making beetroots one of your new favorite vegetables.
When I’m done sharing what I know about beets, you’ll run to the grocery store to experiment with this often-overlooked root vegetable!
💗 Why You’ll Love This Beetroot Recipe
- Healthy and vegan ingredients
- Oil-Free
- Low calorie and low in fat
- Full of bright, beautiful colors
- Light, tangy, and refreshing
- Naturally gluten-free
🥣 Ingredients and Notes
Beets: Beets are root vegetables that are packed with vitamins and minerals. The part of the plant that you eat is the bulb. They come in various colors, including red, pink, and yellow. You can use a combination of colors or your favorite variation for this recipe. For this recipe, you can use fresh beetroots. If you do, you will need to roast them. You can also use pre-cooked beets.
Fennel: In this recipe, you’ll slice the fennel bulb. Fennel has a licorice flavor. It has a bulb at its base, with long stalks and greenery that resembles dill. It is a healthy vegetable to add to your diet with an excellent dose of vitamin C, which is especially important during the winter months when fennel is in season.
Red Onion: The red onion in this salad adds a nice bite and added color.
Watercress: A watercress is a leafy green that grows in spring water. It is usually used as a garnish but contains nutrients like vitamin K and antioxidants.
Chopped Pecans: I used chopped walnuts. However, you can use pecans or even almonds if you prefer. It provides a nice added crunch to this salad.
Dressing: The dressing for this salad is made with a combination of maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, orange juice, and coriander. It’s a slightly sweet and tangy dressing that pairs nicely with the natural sweetness of the beets.
📖 Variations and Substitutions
Can’t find watercress? Use cilantro, fresh mint, or parsley. Both have a different flavor than the watercress but add a nice bright green to the salad. You could even add baby spinach.
Can’t find fennel? Substitute the fennel for celery, bok choy, or leeks.
Additions: For a sweet and salty combination, add feta cheese. If you’re vegan, try this vegan feta. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and one minced garlic clove with a hint of black pepper for the vinaigrette.
👩🏻🍳 How to Prepare Raw Beets
There are two methods to choose from when preparing raw beets: roasted and boiled.
Roasting Beetroots
There is no need to peel the beets before roasting them. Removing the peel after they’ve been roasted is much easier, so save yourself some time! Roasting beets brings out their sweetness.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. If the stems are still attached, cut them off close to the bulb. Clean the bulbs by scrubbing them in cool water.
- Wrap each large individual bulb in aluminum foil. Place the wrapped beets on a baking sheet. Roast for 50-60 minutes. Check the beets every 20 minutes. If they look dry or burned, add a little water to the aluminum foil and rewrap them, placing them back in the oven.
- When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them by placing each in a paper towel and gently rubbing the peel off. It should quickly come off. If not, they likely need to be cooked a bit longer.
Boiling Beetroots
- Bring a large pot of water with a tablespoon of salt to a boil.
- Trim the stems, keeping about an inch of the stem attached to the bulb. This helps to keep them from bleeding too much in the water. Thoroughly scrub them clean.
- Add the beets to the boiling water. Boil for 20-40 minutes or until tender. Boiling time will depend on the size of your beets. They are done when tender and easily pierced with a fork or knife.
Boiling Time:
- 20 minutes for small
- 30 minutes for medium
- 40 minutes for large
🥗 How to Make Fennel and Beetroot Salad
- Cut the cooked beets into long and even strips. Please place them in a large bowl. Chop fennel bulb and red onion into long and even strips. Reserve to the side to add to the salad later.
- Make the dressing: Whisk together the maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, orange juice, and coriander in a small bowl.
- Add the onion slices to the beets. Pour dressing over top. Toss until well coated.
- When ready to serve, add the fennel strips. Toss together. Top with chopped walnuts and watercress. Serve immediately.
📝 Expert Tips
- Use pre-cooked beets to save you some time and a bit of mess.
- Use a plastic cutting board to chop your cooked beets. They will bleed and stain wood cutting boards. A plastic cutting board can easily be washed and cleaned. If you don’t have a plastic cutting board, you can line your wood cutting board with parchment paper. But be careful! If your knife cuts the paper, the juice can still stain the wood!
- Wear gloves when handling the beets. Just like they will stain your cutting board, they will also stain your hands.
- Beet skins are easily removed after they are cooked. You do not need to peel them before cooking.
- Keep the beet greens! They are full of nutrients and quite delicious! Add them to your salads, stir-fries, and pasta. It’s best to remove the stems right away, and store them separately from the beet bulb. They wilt and go bad more quickly than the bulb.
❓ FAQS
Beets have an earthy and somewhat bitter flavor when raw. When boiling raw beetroot, make sure to add plenty of salt and even red wine vinegar to the water. This helps to neutralize the bitter flavor. If you are roasting the beetroot, you can adjust the seasoning after they are cooked. Adding a dressing with citrus, vinegar, and salt will give the beets a nice flavor and bring out their natural sweetness.
Yes, you can eat beets raw. If enjoying raw beetroot, be sure to remove the peel using a vegetable peeler. Slice thinly and add to your salads or soups for color and garnish. It will have a more earthy and bitter flavor when enjoyed raw.
Yes, it is low in calories and fat while high in nutrients and minerals. One serving has 121 calories and 7 grams of fat.
🍽 How to Serve
Beets are quite dense and have a sweet flavor when cooked. This roasted beet salad pairs nicely with lighter main dishes. My vegan suggestions include roasted cauliflower or a fresh and herbal vegan pesto pasta.
🫙 How to Store and Keep
This fennel and beetroot salad is best served and enjoyed immediately. The beet juices will bleed into the fennel, onion, and watercress.
Fresh Beetroot: Fresh beets kept in the refrigerator will last about two weeks. The beetroot bulb lasts longer than the beet stems. If you keep your beets in the pantry, they will last for about 3-5 days.
Refrigerate: If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container. It will keep for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. I recommend keeping the fennel, nuts, and watercress separate from the beets and then arranging the salad when you’re ready to enjoy it again. Cooked beets are best eaten within 3-5 days.
🎥 Video
⚖️ Serving Size
This fennel and beetroot salad makes six servings. If serving as a main dish, it makes about four servings.
😋 More Vegan Salad Recipes!
Recipe
Fennel and Beetroot Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb beetroot bulbs cooked and sliced into strips
- ¼ cup water
- ½ fennel bulb finely sliced
- 1 small red onion thinly sliced
Dressing
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
Garnish
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- fresh watercress
Instructions
- Prepare Beets: If using fresh beetroots, preheat your oven to 400 F. Scrub beetroots, and wrap loosely in aluminum foil. Place on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Or use boiling method if you prefer. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them by rubbing a paper towel over the outside peel. It should easily come off if they are cooked. If you're using pre-cooked beets, skip this step.
- Slice Beets: Cut beets into long and even strips. Place them in a large bowl. Chop fennel bulb and red onion into long and even strips. Reserve to the side to add to the salad later.
- Make the Dressing: Whisk together the maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, orange juice, and coriander in a small bowl.
- Combine Ingredients: Add the onion slices to the beets. Pour dressing over top. Toss until well coated.
- When ready to serve, add the fennel strips. Toss together. Top with chopped walnuts, and watercress. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Use pre-cooked beets to save you some time and a bit of mess.
- Use a plastic cutting board to chop your cooked beets. They will bleed and stain wood cutting boards. A plastic cutting board can easily be washed and cleaned. If you don’t have a plastic cutting board, you can line your wood cutting board with parchment paper. But be careful! If your knife cuts the paper, the juice can still stain the wood!
- Wear gloves when handling the beets. Just like they will stain your cutting board, they will also stain your hands.
- Beet skins are easily removed after they are cooked. You do not need to peel them prior to cooking.
- Keep the beet greens! They are full of nutrients and quite delicious! Add them to your salads, stir-fries, and pasta. It’s best to remove the stems right away and store them separately from the beet bulb. They wilt and go bad more quickly than the bulb.
- Will keep for 3-4 days when stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Naiby
Wow! Your post is full of rich information, just like your salad! I don’t cook enough but I should. A good thing to do is cook a few of them in advance and freeze them so I don’t have to wait long after boiling each time. I’ll love the idea you put soy sauce.
Jessica Formicola
This is my kind of salad, I love beetroot! And that dressing sounds incredible too!
Jess
I’ve never been confident in picking out the best beets at the store. Your tips give me all the confidence and knowledge I need to pick out the beets and make this gorgeous salad!
rika
My daughter loves beetroot! I love easy recipes like this and it’s healthy too!
Marlynn
I love this beautiful, vibrant beetroot salad! And your tips are so helpful. Thank you!