This nourishing salad makes for a delicious and beautiful plate in every season.
Be sure to check out the “Savvy Alternates” table below with instructions for halving the cost of this recipe and more!
“Extra Salad” … but not enough for seconds? If you have a little extra salad left after dinner, box it up with a handful of extra greens, and add a side of our keto breadsticks or cheesy toast — you’ve just made tomorrow’s lunch!
$ – SAVVY: Save the Beet Greens for another dinner: freebie leafy greens! Need an easy A-grade recommendation? Try this gluten free pasta out, or for a B+ meal, our paleo-friendly Pulled Chicken n’ Sweet Potato Hash Bowls/Wraps/Salads.
Tangy Beet Salad
Equipment
- small/medium pot with a lid, knife, cutting board, mandolin or sharp knife, peeler, stove, large serving bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lbs Organic Beets with beet greens
- ½ each Fennel Bulb Trader Joe's
- 1 each Organic Apple Fuji, or tangy
- 3 cups Organic Arugula packed
- 5 oz Goat Cheese crumbled
Dressing
- 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil we like California Olive Ranch, organic
- 1 tbsp Organic Balsamic Vinegar or more to taste
- ½ each Lemon juiced and grated
Instructions
- Prepare the beets: Remove the greens – save them for "Speedy Chickpea Pasta". Slice the top stem and bottom root tail off of the beets.
- Wash the beets and place them in a medium sized pot, add water to just cover them. Bring the water to a boil, then cover with a lid and simmer for about 35-45 minutes until done.
- When the beets are finished cooking, drain them and run cold water over them. When they are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skins (these should pull off easily). Cut the beets into about 6 wedges each and place in refrigerator to chill.
- Wait to prep the apple and fennel until the beets are cooling to avoid browning. Wash the apple and fennel. Trim and peel the fennel, cut it into quarters and remove the core.
- Using a mandolin (love) or sharp knife, slice the fennel thinly into shaved pieces. Place in a large salad bowl.
- Grate the outside of the washed lemon and add the grated rind. Then, cut the lemon and squeeze the juice over the fennel to coat.
- Quarter the apple and remove the core. Using a mandolin or sharp knife, slice the apple very thinly into shaved pieces (similar to the fennel). Add the apple to the fennel and be sure to coat it with lemon juice to avoid browning. note: Because the apple is softer and less fibrous than the fennel, you might be able to use a sharp vegetable peeler with the apple to get the same effect as a mandolin.
- Add the chilled beet wedges and toss together. Add the arugula and mix together thoroughly.
- Finally, add the goat cheese and olive oil – toss to coat.
- Optional: fresh herbs to add: lemon balm, basil, rosemary
Notes
- This salad is on the verge of earning a C grade because of cost per calorie but it’s nutrient rich.
- Removing the arugula drops the price to $7.10 for the recipe or $660 per month, but you lose that powerhouse green. Substituting Organic Spinach gives a total of $7.80 per recipe and $717/month.
Nutrition
I love this salad in all seasons.
A warm version with steamed beets, wilted arugula and oven-roasted shaved fennel topped with fresh shaved apple and a goat cheese crumble is delicious. I might even add a few candied walnuts.
Need an A-grade version? A Vegan meal? To serve more people?
I’ve created this “Savvy Alternates” table for those who want to capture the essence of this salad while meeting specific needs.
It is possible to reduce the cost of this recipe by half plus feed more people and make a meal out of it!
If you choose to make a meal out of this recipe – I recommend:
- Choose one of the “eight servings” alternate options from the table above.
- Plan to serve 4 people.
- Serve it with a side of toast or cheese bread. Maybe even add a pinch of nutritional yeast to the bread.
Salad (only) numbers, using the last 2 rows in the Savvy Alternates table:
| Alternates Table Location | Calories per Serving (4) | Cost Per Serving (4) |
| Row 5 | 554 kcal * +160 = 714 kcal | $1.96 |
| Row 6, vegan | 454 kcal * +160 = 614 kcal | $1.52 |
* Add 4 slices of Rudi’s Gluten Free bread, brushed with olive oil, and you’ll add about 160 more Calories to each plate for cheap! Recall that bread and healthy oils are A -grade items in cost-per-Calorie. Alternatively, consider paleo-friendly “Simple Mills Artisan Bread“; it’s super simple to make and bake.
Here’s a table with external links for each recipe ingredient (plus a few alternate ingredient ideas). As previously mentioned, prices vary per region, season, city, store and personal preference for brand or specific type of food item.
| Organic Beets or these | Fennel Bulb TJ’s = best price | Arugula |
| Extra Virgin Olive Oil we prefer California Olive Ranch | Balsamic Vinegar or favorite type | Organic Apple or bulk Costco or Sam’s or singles at TJ’s |
| Lemons | Goat Cheese (Costco = best price) or Sam’s or TJ’s | Black Peppercorn or Costco |
| Napa Cabbage | Walnuts (Sam’s Club = best price) | Nutritional Yeast I recommend the fortified version |
TJ’s = Trader Joe’s . Sam’s = Sam’s Club
