Colorful Beet Salad with Carrot, Quinoa & Spinach
Reset with this healthy superfood salad featuring raw beets, carrot, quinoa, spinach, edamame and avocado. It's as colorful as it is nutritious!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 1, 2024
Reset with this healthy beet salad recipe featuring superfoods like carrot, quinoa, spinach, edamame and avocado. This salad is as flavorful and nutritious as its bold colors would suggest.
This beet salad is tender, crisp and irresistible! The light apple cider, lime and herb dressing brings it all together.
Yesterday was not my day. I stayed up too late the night before (will I ever learn?). I ate lasagna for breakfast, forgot several important items on my grocery list, and fell over in yoga class. More than once. Maybe it was a normal day after all.
I managed to piece together this mega colorful beet salad with ingredients from the store and some substitutions based on what I had at home.
Itโs a meal-in-a-bowl version of my simple beet and arugula salad that helped me find some much-needed balance during my totally ungraceful day. The recipe comes from a brand new cookbook called Inspiralized, by my friend Ali Maffucci.
Beet Salad Tips
The original recipe called for two beets instead of one beet, one carrot, and chopped mint instead of cilantro. I toasted the nuts (itโs a pain, but adds so much flavor!) and tinkered with the dressing a bit. I love how it turned out!
I donโt have a spiralizer (the contraption that turns vegetables into noodles), so I picked a recipe that didnโt necessarily require one (although, if youโre buying the book, youโll need a spiralizer as well). I made do with my mandoline and julienne peeler. (This post contains affiliate links.)
All that said, donโt worry if you donโt have any of those things! You can make this salad with a sharp chefโs knife as well. (Or better yet, Charlotte grated the beet and carrot on her box grater!)
Watch How to Make Colorful Beet Salad
Please let me know how this salad turns out for you in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Craving more colorful, healthy recipes? I think youโll loveย my cookbook! Here are a few more options on the blog:
- Simple Beet, Arugula and Feta Salad
- Peanut Slaw with Soba Noodles
- Colorful Chopped Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Build-Your-Own Buddha Bowl
- Veggie Sushi Bowls
Colorful Beet Salad with Carrot, Quinoa & Spinach
Reset with this healthy beet salad recipe featuring superfoods like carrot, quinoa, spinach, edamame and avocado. Itโs as colorful as it is nutritious! Recipe yields two meal-sized salads or four side salads. If you plan on having leftovers, store the greens separately from the other prepared ingredients and toss just before serving.
Ingredients
Salad
- ยฝ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
- โ cup slivered almonds or pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
- 1 medium raw beet, peeled
- 1 medium-to-large carrot (or 1 additional medium beet), peeled
- 2 cups packed baby spinach or arugula, roughly chopped
- 1 ripe avocado, cubed
Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or cilantro
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup or agave nectar
- ยฝ to 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, to taste
- ยผ teaspoon fine salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To cook the quinoa: First, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water for a minute or two. In a medium-sized pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 cup water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then cover the pot, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the quinoa from heat and let it rest, still covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot, drain off any excess water and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool.
- To cook the edamame: Bring a pot of water to boil, then add the frozen edamame and cook just until the beans are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- To toast the almonds or pepitas: In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds or pepitas, stirring frequently, until they are fragrant and starting to turn golden on the edges, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large serving bowl to cool.
- To prepare the beet(s) and/or carrot: First of all, feel free to just chop them as finely as possible using a sharp chefโs knife OR grate them on a box grater. If you have a spiralizer, you can spiralize them using blade C, then chop the ribbons into small pieces using a sharp chefโs knife. If you have a mandoline and julienne peeler (this is a pain), use the mandoline to julienne the beet and use a julienne peeler to julienne the carrot, then chop the ribbons into small pieces using a sharp chefโs knife.
- To prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk together all of the ingredients until emulsified.
- To assemble the salad: In your large serving bowl, combine the toasted almonds/pepitas, cooked edamame, prepared beet(s) and/or carrot, roughly chopped spinach/arugula (see note above about leftovers), cubed avocado and cooked quinoa.
- Finally, drizzle dressing over the mixture (you might not need all of it) and gently toss to combine. Youโll end up with a pink salad if you toss it really well! Season to taste with salt (up to an additional ยผ teaspoon) and black pepper. Serve.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Inspiralized: Turn Vegetables into Healthy, Creative, Satisfying Meals by Ali Maffucci.
Make it vegan: Opt for maple syrup or agave nectar instead of honey.
Make it nut free: Opt for pepitas instead of almonds.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Thank you Kate. Iโve just finished eating a potion of this for my lunch. I really have enjoyed it on its own. It wasnโt difficult to prepare, looks lovely and tastes good.
I imagine that feta cheese would be good with it as suggested in an earlier comment.
I do enjoy a lot of your recipes from your weekly email and have your book.
Hi Susan, Iโm glad you enjoyed it! Yes, feta would be a lovely addition.