This salad puts pickled beets, crumbled feta, peppery arugula, sliced radishes, and toasted walnuts together with a simple lemon-olive oil dressing. It takes 20 minutes, no cooking required. The honest reason to make it: the flavors are genuinely interesting without any complicated technique.
The technique that matters
The only real technique here is building the salad in the right order and dressing it at the table โ a pre-dressed salad goes limp fast. Add the arugula and radishes last, right before you pour on the dressing, so they stay crisp. When you whisk the lemon juice and olive oil together, whisk hard for about 20 seconds until the mixture looks slightly cloudy and thickened. That emulsification is what helps the dressing cling to the beets and greens instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
If something goes sideways
- The dressing tastes flat: Lemon juice strength varies a lot. Taste the dressing before it goes on the salad and add a small pinch of salt โ that usually fixes it faster than adding more lemon.
- The beets are bleeding into everything and turning it pink: Thatโs normal with pickled beets. If you want to limit it, pat the beet slices dry with a paper towel before adding them to the bowl.
- The walnuts taste bitter: Walnuts go rancid quickly. Smell them before you use them โ if they smell like old paint or plastic, buy a fresh bag. Toasting fresh walnuts in a dry pan for 3-4 minutes fixes mild staleness but wonโt save truly rancid ones.
- The salad tastes one-dimensional: Feta saltiness varies by brand. Taste a piece before you crumble it in. If itโs very mild, the salad may need an extra pinch of salt in the dressing to bring out the other flavors.
- The arugula is wilting before you even serve it: Wet arugula wilts fast. Spin or pat it dry after washing, and keep it separate until the last minute.
Ingredient notes
- Pickled beets: Jarred pickled beets from the grocery store work fine here. Look for sliced rather than whole to save time. Avoid pickled beets packed in heavy syrup โ the extra sweetness throws off the balance with the feta.
- Feta: Block feta packed in brine crumbles better and tastes saltier and fresher than pre-crumbled feta sold in dry tubs. Worth the small extra cost if you can find it.
- Walnuts: If you have a nut allergy or just donโt have walnuts, toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) give you a similar crunch and work well with the beets.
Leftovers and meal prep
If youโre making this ahead, store the components separately: beets in one container, the arugula and radishes in another, and the dressing in a small jar. Everything keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days this way. Once dressed, the salad is best eaten within about 30 minutes โ the arugula softens quickly once it hits the acidic dressing, and the radishes lose their snap. The beets and feta actually improve slightly after a day in the fridge together, so you can combine those two ahead of time if you want a head start.
Pickled Beet and Feta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups pickled beets sliced thin
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 4 small radishes thinly sliced
- 1 cup arugula fresh
- ยฝ cup walnuts toasted and roughly chopped
- 1 medium lemon juiced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of thinly sliced pickled beets with 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese.
- Add 4 thinly sliced radishes and 1 cup of fresh arugula to the bowl.
- Toss in 1/2 cup of toasted and roughly chopped walnuts.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the juice of 1 lemon and 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad ingredients and gently toss everything to coat evenly.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
FAQ
Can I use roasted beets instead of pickled beets?
Yes, but the salad will taste noticeably different โ sweeter and earthier, without the tangy edge that pickled beets bring. If you go that route, add an extra teaspoon of red wine vinegar to the dressing to compensate for the missing acidity.
How do I keep the beet juice from staining my hands and cutting board?
Wear disposable gloves when handling the beets and use a plastic or glass cutting board rather than wood. If you do get staining on your hands, rubbing them with a little lemon juice and salt before washing usually clears it up.
Is this salad filling enough as a main dish?
As written, itโs a solid side or light lunch at 324 calories per serving. To make it a full meal, add a drained can of chickpeas or some sliced grilled chicken directly to the bowl โ both pair well with the lemon dressing and donโt require any extra prep.
My feta is very salty โ should I still season the dressing with salt?
Taste the assembled salad before adding any salt to the dressing. If the feta is already quite briny, you may not need any additional salt at all, or just a very small pinch. Season at the end rather than at the start so you donโt over-salt.