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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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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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.
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.
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.
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!
Step Four Plate the salad and sprinkle with feta cheese.
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
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.
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.
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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📖 Recipe
Beet Cucumber Salad with Feta and Dill
Equipment
- Medium Pot or Cookie Sheet
- Gloves (Optional)
Ingredients
Beet Salad
- 4 beets small to medium
- 1 English cucumber
- 4 ounces feta crumbled
- ¼ cup dill picked from the stem
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts optional
Lemon Vinaigrette
- 6 to 8 tablespoons lemon vinaigrette or to taste, linked here and in instructions below
Instructions
Lemon Vinaigrette
- Make one recipe lemon vinaigrette.
Beet Salad
- If boiling your beets, cook in boiling, salted water for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a paring knife easily pierces the beets with little resistance. If roasting, roast your beets on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.
- Once the beets are cool enough to handle, 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.
- Slice the beets and cucumbers thinly.
- Add the beets, cucumbers, and nuts (if using) to a mixing bowl. Dress with the lemon vinaigrette and stir well.
- Let sit for about 20 minutes for the flavors to combine, or serve right away. Sprinkle each serving generously with dill and feta cheese.
Notes
- Use gloves if you do not want to stain your hands when handling the cooked beets.
- Estimated calories are for 6 tablespoons of vinaigrette and include walnuts.
- This beetroot salad is best stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.
- I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Bella B says
I love beets and always have an abundance in my garden. We loved this recipe. I did however, reduce the amount of dill a bit since my partner isn't a big fan. Super delish!
Genevieve says
Lucky you with all those beets! Glad you could adapt to your partner's taste.
Ksenia says
I love cucumber salad with dill, and I make one with pickled beets. This was a great combination of some of my favorite flavors!
Genevieve says
That's a wonderful idea! I'll have to try this with pickled beets. I love pickles of all varieties.
Addison says
This is such a fresh and flavorful side dish! Yum!
Genevieve says
Thank you!
GRETA says
OMG....i LOVED it. It has two of my favorite ingredients, the beet and feta cheese. Never ate them before together, but it was super delicious. This wasn't the last time, for sure.
Genevieve says
Awesome! Thanks so much, Greta!
Donna says
so much flavor going on in this one little salad! I just love how fresh and zesty it is, perfect for this super hot day in Australia!
Genevieve says
Thank you so much, Donna! Enjoy your warm weather!
Mandy Applegate says
I had always made a simple cucumber salad so adding beet and the extra flavors was a welcome change; it was delicious!
Genevieve says
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks, Mandy!
Sue says
I was craving a new salad and was so happy to see this. I made it with canned beets and it was delish! I can't wait to try it again with fresh beets!
Genevieve says
Fantastic! I'm glad to hear the canned beets worked out well for you.
Healing Tomato says
The combination of beets and cucumber makes this such a delicious recipe. I made this for people who don't like beets and they ate it up! So easy and delicious.
Genevieve says
Woohoo! I love converting the non-beet lovers.
Kris says
The dill and cucumber added such freshness to this salad. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all! We plan on making it again this weekend. 🙂
Genevieve says
That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Kris.
Anne says
So good! Cucumber and beets is a combination I hadn't thought to try before and it really works.
Genevieve says
I'm happy you enjoyed it, Anne! Thank you!
Jennifer says
This is a lovely salad. I loved all the bright, crisp veg in it and the beets are so pretty! the feta looked like snow on top! Served it with grilled chicken and everyone gobbled it all up!
Genevieve says
Thank you, Jennifer! Grilled chicken is a perfect pairing.