COOK: Moroccan Beet Salad (Warm or Chilled Marinated Beets)

• Serving Ideas & Pairing Suggestions
• Moroccan Beet Salad Ingredients
• Kitchen Equipment Needed
• How to Make Moroccan Beet Salad
• Storage & Make Ahead Tips
• Moroccan Beet Salad

This Moroccan beet salad recipe is simply delicious, no matter how you slice it. It’s a versatile recipe… the fresh beets can be either roasted or simmered until just tender, then are tossed in a light and easy vinaigrette.

The homemade beet salad dressing is a quick lemon vinaigrette flavored with earthy cumin, fresh garlic, and plenty of bright green parsley. This is a vegan recipe, but you don’t have to be on a plant-based diet to love this dish!

Serving Ideas & Pairing Suggestions

This wholesome root vegetable salad can be served warm or chilled, and can be made well in advance. The sturdy cooked or roasted beets hold their flavor and bright color, making this a perfect meal-prep recipe.

It’s a great way to get more fresh vegetables into your lunches and dinners… beets are a nutritional powerhouse, packed with fiber and antioxidants. But most importantly, it tastes great! This simple beet salad is a healthy snack to have in your fridge when you want something savory and fast that can be prepped in advance.

You can serve these Moroccan marinated beets as a starter or appetizer, or as a side for grilled or roasted meats and fish. For a vegetarian dinner, serve them with spicy beet falafel sandwiches, grilled stuffed portabello mushrooms, veggie or black bean burgers, or with a summer or winter tabbouleh salad.

Add these flavorful beets to an entree salad on a bed of baby greens, with grilled steak, chicken, olives, goat cheese, feta, or roasted chickpeas to make a light dinner or a filling lunch that will get you through your workday.

You can also use them to stuff a colorful wrap or pita sandwich, paired with spring greens, arugula, or chopped lettuce and garlic hummous or goat cheese spread… or just eat them straight from the bowl standing in front of the fridge. We won’t tell if you won’t, but use a fork at least, so you aren’t caught… red handed (boooooooooo hisssssssss booooooooo)?

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Moroccan Beet Salad Ingredients

beets:

You can use standard ruby red beets for this beet salad, golden beets, chioggia (bullseye), or a rainbow assortment of beets for a very colorful salad. If you boil your beets, you may want to cook red beets separately from golden or paler colors, or the red beets will dye outer layers of the other beets.

If you’re in a huge hurry, you could make this marinated beet salad with regular canned beets (not pickled ones). However, using freshly roasted or cooked beets will give you the best flavor and texture, and it’s what I recommend!

Canned beets can be rather mushy and a bit sad, but the bright flavors of the vinaigrette will help revive them. While it’s not quite as good as a salad made with fresh beets, it’s very convenient when you want an almost effortless side dish or are working through your pantry stash.

lemon & toasted spice vinaigrette:

This quick beet salad has a simple homemade vinaigrette dressing that couldn’t be easier to throw together, and tastes great! The earthy flavor of the toasted cumin complements the cooked beets perfectly, and it’s vegan, so you can serve it to all your friends.

You can use ground cumin for the dressing, or for even more flavor, toast whole cumin seeds in a hot skillet, then grind them in a blender or with a mortar and pestle. If you’re in a hurry, just use regular ground cumin. Don’t burn the seeds or they’ll be bitter.

You’ll need a decent extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest (or good quality bottled lemon juice, in a pinch), ground cumin, a couple cloves of freshly minced garlic, and salt and pepper.

Sometimes I add a teaspoon or so of toasted ground coriander seeds to the dressing… feel free to try this if you like their flavor! They add subtle sweetness to the earthy notes of the beets and cumin that is quite nice!

garnish:

The fresh parsley garnish on this beet salad isn’t just for looks! It’s an essential flavor element for the dish (and adds a lot of vitamins and minerals).

Grind some fresh black pepper on top and add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for an extra special touch.

Kitchen Equipment Needed

roasting pan or medium pot:

You will need cooked beets for this salad. I prefer the flavor of roasted beets, which are sweeter as the sugars caramelize a bit in the oven, but you can also steam or boil your beets if that’s easier for you.

In hot weather, I’ll use the stove-top method to simmer or steam them, or if I already have a pre-heated oven, I’ll roast them. In the winter, nothing “beets” the flavor of slow oven-roasted beets, and it’s cozy to have the oven on in the house!

Either way, cook your beets with the skin on until they are just fork tender, either oiled on a roasting tray, in a steamer, or in a pot of simmering water just to cover them.

whisk:

A medium sized balloon or standard whisk is helpful to emulsify the dressing. You could also make the dressing in a mason jar, and shake well to blend. If you use a wide mouth jar, you can use an immersion blender if that’s easier for you.

blender, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle (optional):

If you are using whole spices instead of starting with pre-ground ones, you’ll need to grind them. Whole spices will give you the freshest flavor, and are easier to toast without burning, but this salad is still really good if you’re starting with ground cumin… just make sure it’s fresh!

If you use a blender, you can then finish the dressing by adding the other ingredients after grinding the whole cumin and optional coriander. Or, use a mortar and pestle to crush the spices or a dedicated spice grinder, then whisk or blend them into your dressing.

mixing or serving bowl:

You can mix and serve these in any medium sized mixing bowl. Either choose a pretty container that can go from kitchen to table, or mix and chill them in one dish and then transfer to a serving platter for a nicer presentation.

How to Make Moroccan Beet Salad

Cook Beets:

• Scrub the beets well, and cook until fork tender. You can simmer them in a pot of boiling water or roast them in a 375-400℉ oven. Roasting is usually the slower method, and cooking time depends on the diameter of your beets (smaller beets will cook faster than large ones).
• Chef’s tip: If you are roasting the beets, coat the skins lightly with vegetable oil first so that they don’t dry out.
• Let the beets cool enough to handle, then peel and slice them evenly into bite sized pieces. You can dice them into cubes, or baton/sticks, or cut smaller beets into wedges or circles… it’s up to you!
• Whatever you choose, try to make them uniform for the best presentation, and no more than 3/4-1″ thick so that the marinade can penetrate the beets.

Marinate Beet Salad:

• Mix the peeled and chopped beets with the vinaigrette and toss to combine.
• To serve cold, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. To serve warm, let rest for 5-10 minutes to let flavors meld.

Garnish & Serve:

• Wash, pat dry, and mince the parsley.
• Toss the marinated beet salad with most of the chopped parsley.
• Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
• Serve in the bowl, or transfer to a clean chilled platter for serving.
• Garnish with the rest of the parsley on top.

Storage & Make Ahead Tips

You can serve this Moroccan beet salad warm or chilled. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in a covered container. They will keep for up to a week, though the parsley will lose a lot of the bright green color (the acid in the dressing reacts with the chlorophyll in the cut herbs to dull the color).

You can top with a sprinkling of fresh parsley to freshen it up when serving, or reserve up to half of the parsley for garnish if you are making this in advance.

I do not recommend freezing this beet salad, as the texture won’t be as nice after it thaws. The beets will soften and lose their firmness. This also applies to making this salad with canned instead of fresh beets, though the dressing will perk up their flavor!