Beet Cucumber Salad with Feta and Dill

Name: Beet Cucumber Salad with Feta and Dill
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 4 beets (small to medium); 1 English cucumber; 4 ounces feta (crumbled); ¼ cup dill (picked from the stem); ⅓ cup chopped walnuts (optional); 6 to 8 tablespoons lemon vinaigrette

This beet and cucumber salad with feta and dill is packed with sweet, savory, earthy, tangy, and salty flavors. Crunchy cucumbers, tender cooked beets, and a fresh lemon vinaigrette combine to create a delicious beet salad you'll crave.

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beet cucumber salad is shown on a pink plate with a wood cutting board and dill.

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Why You'll Love this Recipe
What You'll Need
How to Prepare the Beet and Cucumber Salad Recipe
Variations
How to Store
FAQ
How to Serve Beet and Cucumber Salad
Expert Tips
Other Recipes You'll Love
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💬 Comments

Why You'll Love this Recipe

It's easy. If you don't have the time or energy to boil or roast your beets, use canned beets. This way, it takes only 10 minutes to throw together a delicious, simple salad.

If you do have more time, you can make this with boiled beets or freshly roasted beets. Both are equally delicious.

It's adaptable. You can use goat cheese or gorgonzola in place of the feta cheese, add walnuts if you'd like, or try mint in place of dill, and replace the lemon salad dressing with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Make this salad your own with the flavors you enjoy most.

It's versatile. Serve it with soup, sandwiches, or just a grilled or pan-cooked protein for a light, healthy lunch!

The nutrition of this beet salad rivals its flavor. Check out this article from Healthline about the health benefits of beets!

What You'll Need

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the labeled ingredients for beet cucumber salad sit on a white marble counter.

Beet Salad

Red Beets This salad can be made with fresh roasted beets or boiled beets, but you can use canned beets, too. Alternately, you could try golden beets or candy cane beets.
Fresh Cucumber I used English cucumber for this recipe, but you can use Persian cucumbers or regular slicing cucumbers as well. If you use slicing cucumbers, I would recommend peeling.
Feta You could also use goat cheese.
Dill This is also tasty with mint.

The labeled ingredients for lemon herb vinaigrette are shown on a white marble counter.

Lemon Dressing

Lemon Juice Use fresh lemon juice or bottled lemon juice.
Olive Oil This is my favorite brand.
Dijon Mustard If you don't like mustard, leave this out.
Fresh Herbs I recommend using the same herb you are using for the salad or you can use tarragon as shown above.
Garlic
Kosher Salt This is my favorite brand.
Black Pepper

Optional

Nuts Walnuts are delicious here, but pine nuts would also be great.

How to Prepare the Beet and Cucumber Salad Recipe

Step One: Prepare your beets. Boil for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a paring knife easily pierces the beets with little resistance.

beets are placed in boiling water in a stainless steel pot.

Step Two: Remove the skin from the beets by rubbing them off with your fingers. I recommend using gloves here if you don't want to stain your fingers.

cooked beets with their skin removed in a white bowl.

Step Three: Slice the beets thinly and cut the cucumber into thin slices. Place the beets, cucumbers, dill, and nuts (if using) in a mixing bowl, dress with the lemon vinaigrette and mix well.

Tip: Use a mandoline for extra thin slices, but be very careful to use either cut-resistant gloves or the provided guard. These guys are sharp!

an english cucumber is sliced on a mandoline.

Step Four Plate the salad and sprinkle with feta cheese.

beet cucumber salad with feta and dill in a pink dish.

Variations

Mint Try using mint leaves in place of dill.

Nuts Add some walnuts or pine nuts for added fat, salt, and crunch.

Different Cheese Try goat cheese or a bleu cheese like gorgonzola for a bolder flavor.

Balsamic You can use a simple balsamic vinaigrette in place of the lemon vinaigrette is desired.

How to Store

This beetroot salad is best stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

I do not recommend freezing this recipe.

FAQ

How can you keep cucumber salad from getting soggy?

There are two ways to prevent cucumber salad from getting soggy. Method one is to serve and eat right away. Method two is to salt your cucumbers to draw out moisture before adding them to the salad.

Do you leave the skin on cucumber for salad?

It depends on the type of cucumber. If using an English cucumber or Persian cucumber, there is no need to peel the cucumber. If using a regular slicing cucumber, I recommend peeling it.

Are beets a superfood?

They are! Beets are a nutrient-rich food with lots of folate, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin A, and potassium.

How to Serve Beet and Cucumber Salad

Serve this beet cucumber salad as a side dish with...

Sandwiches Try this turkey avocado sandwich or this Italian grinder sandwich! I also love this egg and cucumber sandwiches recipe.

Soups Here are some of my favorites: Chicken and Cabbage Soup, Chicken Pastina Soup, Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup.

Grain Bowls I love this Mediterranean Grain Bowl and this Warm Grain Bowl with Goat Cheese and Greens.

Proteins Try serving up this salad with a simply prepared protein for a full meal. Cast Iron Chicken, grilled salmon, chicken, or shrimp would be fantastic.

Other Salads If you're having a potluck or other gathering, it's nice to have a selection of salads to choose from. Try this potato salad with spring onion, this delicious pesto orzo salad, and this burrata salad with balsamic glaze.

Expert Tips

Use gloves. I love beets, but don't always want them staining my hands. You can use gloves to avoid this.
Taste as you go. No need to serve up your beet salad only to find it's bland and needs more salt.
If anything seems off balance, try adding more of the other ingredients to even out the flavor. If it's too sweet, add more acid or dairy. If it's too earthy, try adding more of the lemon vinaigrette.

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