And, not to brag, but I’ve been doing that really well by way of this beet salad for the last few weeks.
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Made this for lunch today and it was delish! I used plain ricotta (salted and peppered) with arugula for my greens dressed in a maple balsamic. I was able to get some Cara Cara oranges to use it in too, yum! I didn’t have pistachios, so I used sunflower seeds instead which worked great to add a little nuttiness and crunch. Will definitely be making this one again, and love how you can swap in what you have and it’s still tasty 🙂
Erin
In This Post: Everything You Need For This 7-Layer Beet Salad
- How to Serve This Beet Salad
- How to Cook Beets and Where to Buy Them
- Orange Options
- The Ricotta / Creamy Element in This Salad
- Other Beet Recipes I Love
This salad is beautiful and ridiculous. It’s a bit of a nod to the old-school creamy 7-layer salads and dips, but this time with, well, um, beets.
Our 7 layers:
- Truffle ricotta.
- Massaged kale.
- Beets.
- Oranges.
- Pistachios
- Shallots.
- Mint.
It’s fresh in just the right kind of way for January – like when you want that revitalized feeling that comes from actually eating and truly enjoying vegetables, but you also need it to be absolutely substantial and satisfying. Maybe we CAN have it all?
You can plate this salad up individually and swipe through it with a piece of soft focaccia – which is what I’m often having for a throw-it-together lunch these days. Or, you can do as I also often do, which is serving this family-style as a side for whatever else you have going on for dinner.
Lunch for the stay-at-home mom – it works.
Dinner parties – it works.
A casual side for Tuesday dinner – it works.
Midnight snack – I mean, I’m not above it.
7-Layer Beet Salad: Frequently Asked Question
Yes! Try full fat plain yogurt instead. If you want a dairy-free option, use an almond-based product like Kite Hill dip or spread instead.
It’s easiest to use pre-cooked beets (Love Beets brand is perfect and sold at many grocery stores); otherwise, you can steam your own beets. Red or golden beets can work in this salad!
To do what’s called “supreme an orange”, cut the bottom off so it rests flat on your cutting board. Then cut around the sides to remove the peel and white layer. Finally, cut the centers into rounds.
7-Layer Beet Salad
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This 7-Layer Beet Salad is a stunner! Studded with cooked beets, supremed oranges, chopped pistachios, creamy truffle ricotta, and a bit of fresh mint. So fresh, so good!
Ingredients
- 2–3 cups chopped kale
- 1/4 cup of balsamic store-bought dressing, simple green salad dressing, or just olive oil and lemon
- 2–3 oranges, cut into rounds
- 8 small cooked beets (2 packages if you’re buying Love Beets)
- 1 minced shallot
- 1/2 cup truffle ricotta or ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint OR other chopped herbs you like (basil, chives, or thyme would be good)
Instructions
- Massage kale with a bit of the dressing to soften it. Trust me – it will taste way better.
- Cut the beets, oranges, and shallots.
- Spread a little bit of your creamy element onto the serving platter. If this is a salad for one, I would use about 3 tablespoons. If it’s a salad for 4-6, I would use more like 1/2 cup.
- Layer the rest of the 6 ingredients: massaged kale, beets, oranges, shallots, pistachios, and herbs. Finish with olive oil, salt, and pepper if you want. I love this salad with a hunk of good focaccia.
Notes
I like the simple green salad dressing for this – I think it works perfectly on the kale. The Maple Balsamic dressing from Trader Joe’s is a bit more on the creamy side and also works great.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: beet salad, beet and ricotta salad, oranges and beets,
Other Stuff To Know Related To This Beet Salad
How Do You Serve This?
Individual Beet Salads
I’ve been doing this for my lunches! I got all my elements cut up and prepped in the fridge, and then every day I just layer myself a nice 7-layer beet salad on a plate for lunch. Easy.
If this is going to be a stand-alone meal, I’d recommend serving it with some good bread for swooping through all the layers. I like the rosemary focaccia from Kowalski’s. No, that’s a lie, I LOVE it. Best lunch ever.
Family Style Beet Salad / Beet Salad for the Whole Table
Just do the same thing, but build on a much larger platter and use a lot more of everything. 🙂
This makes an awesome dinner party salad because it’s so beautiful. Just let guests use a spoon to scoop servings onto their plates.
Or, if you are very casual and just eating it at home with your spouse for dinner, you just both take a fork and devour it off the same plate. Not that I have done that.
How Do You Cook Your Beets and/Or Where Do You Buy Them?
Buying Them Pre-Cooked
For the sake of time, I almost always buy the Love Beets brand pre-cooked beets, which are sold in the refrigerated produce section.
Locally, I buy them at Cub Foods or Kowalski’s. Still waiting for my Target to start carrying them!
Cooking Them Yourself
If you’re using fresh beets, YUM. We made a lot of fresh beets this summer with beets from our CSA and they are so buttery and delicious. I cooked mine in the Instant Pot! Just steamed them for about 20 minutes and then pulled the skins off once they were cooked. Easy peasy.
Orange Options
How Do You Cut the Oranges Like That?
I use a knife and a cutting board – I cut the bottom off so I can set it flat, then I cut around the sides to remove the peel and the white outer layer so what you’re left with is just the juicy center. Then I cut the center into little rounds!
Using Other Types of Oranges
I’ve made this a lot with Cara Cara oranges – I love the pink on the plate! SO pretty. I would highly recommend using (or at least trying) those if you can find them!
In these photos and in the written recipe, I just used regular oranges as they are easier to find year-round.
The Ricotta / Creamy Element Discussion
Truffle Ricotta vs. Not
I love truffle, so obviously that’s a yes from me. I bought my truffle ricotta (it’s actually something of a dip) from ALDI. Highly recommend with rosemary crackers, dolloped on pasta, and smeared on a plate for building this salad. It’s good with so many things.
If you’re sensitive to / don’t like truffle, regular ricotta will work great.
Can I Use Something Besides Ricotta?
Yes – you can also use plain yogurt! Full fat works best since it’s thicker.
Goat cheese would be a different eating experience since there would be no swooping, but also good. Just crumble it over the top!
If you’re dairy free, I think you’ll still love this salad without the plate shmear. Or I would recommend trying one of the dairy-free brand creamy dips or alternative products, like Kite Hill. That way you can still experience the creamy, scoopy deliciousness.
I’ve made this three times now and loved it every time! It’s actually so easy to put together, and pulsing the kale? Genius!
Loved this perfect combo of ingredients, light and simple but interesting…Made subs based on what I had around; goat cheese, walnuts…All of your recipes are top-notch! I’m making my way down your vegetarian list, so thank you
This was the perfect salad after the holidays. It is colorful, flavorful, full of interesting textures, and great for meal prep! I didn’t have ricotta, so I used my stick blender to whip up cottage cheese for the base layer. I didn’t have kale, but did have arugula on hand. And I pickled the shallots just for fun. The roasted earthy beets, bright oranges, crunchy pistachios, and a creamy swipe of “faux” ricotta – that’s much more than just a pinch of yum. It’s a whole great big bunch of yum! Thanks for the wonderful inspo!
Do you think this would work with cottage cheese, (maybe if it’s whipped)?
It could if it’s whipped and you like the flavor of cottage cheese!
This was incredible! Thank you so so good! Pretty, too.
Oops! Forgot to leave my 5 star rating with my comments!
What a beautiful salad, both taste and visually! The oranges really brighten up the salad and the pistachios are a nice textural element. I found some ricotta salata which is less salty than feta and it was great. I will get some ricotta next time to enjoy the creaminess! I topped the salad with a drizzle of lemon olive oil and salt & pepper and it was SO YUMMY!
Thank you for a fabulous recipe and introducing me to Love Beets (didn’t know they existed).
What a beautiful salad. Healthy and satisfying. I’m not a kale fan. Probably because I’m stubborn, but I’ll stick with spinach!
Very interested in trying this recipe but I don’t like oranges. Can I substitute with another fruit or tomatoes?
Absolutely!
This was fantastic. Required minimal prep work. Will be making this again.
I loved this salad and how versatile it is. I used honey goat cheese, Cara Cara orange and no shallot b/c I was so excited to make it but didn’t have ricotta. I also only very lightly dressed the kale with EVOO, balsamic vinegar and salt. I wish there were leftovers b/c I want more.
I’ve made this & we LOVED it! Curious if you think this could be made in the morning & still be good by 1/2:00? Thinking Thanksgiving app or salad option!
I made this salad two days in a row for parties. So great! And requests for the recipe afterwards.
This is delicious and plates so beautifully! I’ve used pine nuts instead of pistachios and whipped the ricotta with orange zest and honey both times I’ve made it. I also think it would be delicious with whipped feta!
Absolutely amazing! Creamy deliciousness!
This dish is very suitable for you to invite guests to your house to play. I’ve done it and it worked the first time I tried it. Thanks for the great recipe.
Fantastic combination of flavors and so pretty too. And easy! Loved it and will make again.
I love beets! I will try this one for sure. I just started massaging cabbage (scrunched cabbage salad) and will certainly try it with kale. It makes a big difference on the cabbage, so interested to see the results.
So fresh and yummy! Highly recommend adding some fresh dill too, if you have it!
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Made this with goat cheese, such a delicious, hearty and addictive salad. I left out the shallots due to laziness but really loved every single layer of flavor and feel I may have missed out not including them. Every other flavor was delicious and added to the experience.
Loved it after making it tonight! Ricotta and an Italian sofrito spice blend from Trader Joe’s were substituted for the truffle because I don’t like them. Recently I invested into The Rolling Plate and the outcome was great.
This was delicious!
Hii, Lindsay
Your recipes are great! I definitely want to try cooking all the dishes. Thank you for the inspiration!!!!
Wow, this 7-Layer Beet Salad sounds delicious! The combination of flavors with the truffle ricotta, supremed oranges, and chopped pistachios is a winning one. I can’t wait to try it out myself. The versatility of this salad is also a great plus, it can be served as a side dish, lunch, or even as a midnight snack. Thanks for sharing this recipe and all the tips, like using simple green salad dressing on the kale or full fat plain yogurt as a dairy-free option. Can’t wait to make this for my next dinner party.