This roasted beetroot feta salad with pasta is satisfying, healthy and makes a delicious vegetarian meal or party food idea. It contains a handful of ingredients, comes together in under 45 minutes and can be served warm or chilled.
This simple beetroot and feta salad involves roasting the beets along with the feta and combining them with cooked pasta, arugula/rocket leaves, for added freshness, and an easy 4-ingredient dressing.
Why did I roast the beets and feta
Roasting sliced beetroot is not only quicker than cooking whole beetroot it also minimizes the loss of nutrients. Plus roasted beetroot has an intensely sweet, rich flavour which is fantastic paired with savoury feta and soft, mellow pasta.
Feta cheese is an important ingredient in this recipe as it complements the sweetness of the beetroot. Roasted feta is also quite mellow and delicious, not as tangy as raw so it doesn't overpower the dish.
Beetroot and feta salad ingredients
In addition to the beetroot and feta this salad also contains garlic, oil and simple seasoning as well as cooked pasta and fresh arugula leaves. The 4-ingredient dressing is made using a combination of oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and maple syrup for added sweetness. Tweak the proportions to suit your preference.
What pasta to use in beetroot pasta salad
I chose orzo pasta for its small, delicate shape. I didn't want the pasta to take over the dish and I felt the bigger, more robust pasta shapes might do that. Instead the pasta is there to provide a little more substance and tone down the sweetness of the beetroot.
This, however, is a personal preference and if you like large pasta shapes use that instead!
I also used orzo in pesto chicken pasta bake as well as caprese orzo salad with pesto.
How to prepare the beets
Start by peeling the beets (you can, theoretically, use unpeeled beets but the salad might taste a little too earthy so I recommend removing the skin). Halve and then quarter each beet then cut into approx. 1 cm/0.5'' thick wedges. Place the wedges in a large bowl, season, add 2 tablespoons of oil, grated garlic and give a good stir.
Your beetroot is now ready for roasting.
Step-by-step recipe instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6. Arrange the beetroot wedges on top of a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes.
2. Remove from the oven, crumble the feta over the top and place back in the oven for 15 minutes. In the meantime boil the pasta in salted water according to packet instructions and make the dressing by placing the ingredients in a bowl and stirring to combine.
Remove the beetroot and feta from the oven and either assemble the salad immediately or set aside to cool first.
3. To assemble the salad place all the ingredients in a large bowl, pour over the dressing and stir thoroughly.
4. Adjust the seasoning and serve.
Serving suggestions
What I really love about this beetroot feta salad is its versatility. You can roast the beets and feta, combine with the other ingredients and enjoy warm, but this salad is just as delicious chilled. So you can roast the beets and feta as well as boil the pasta in advance, then cool and refrigerate them until you are ready to make the salad.
This beet and feta salad makes a fantastic stand alone meal and you don't need to serve it with any other dish. You can, however, scatter some toasted sunflower seeds or pine nuts over the top or garnish with chopped spring onion/scallions (add these just before serving the salad).
Top tips
- Slice the beets quite thinly, to about 1 cm of thickness (they will roast faster!) This really doesn't take very long and the slices don't have to be identical (my advice is to wear rubber gloves though as the beetroot will stain your hands).
- Use a large baking sheet so the beet wedges have plenty of room to roast evenly.
- I recommend orzo pasta or another small pasta variety, such as soup pasta.
- If you prefer to serve this salad warm cook the pasta 1o minutes before removing the beetroot and feta from the oven so you can combine these while still warm. If you are planning to serve it cold you can cook the pasta, as well as the beetroot (and feta) ahead and refrigerate these (for up to 2 days) until you are ready to make the recipe.
- This beetroot feta salad can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 day (you can add the arugula just before serving but this is optional).
- Not suitable for freezing.
Substitutions
- Arugula: use finely chopped baby spinach instead.
- Pasta: substitute cooked quinoa, couscous (regular or giant) or bulgur wheat.
You might also like
- Quinoa Beets Salad with Orange and Capers
- Polish-Style Beet and Potato Salad
- Beetroot Salsa with Pomegranate
- Polish Cold Beet Salad
- Raw Broccoli Pasta Salad
See also this collection of over 12 healthy vegetarian pasta meals.
Keep in touch!
How has your beetroot and feta salad turned out for you? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Beetroot and Feta Pasta Salad
Equipment
- Large baking sheet
Ingredients
- 4 medium/large beets
- 5.29 ounces (150 g) feta cheese crumbled
- ⅔ cup (120 g) orzo pasta uncooked, 4.23oz
- 2 garlic cloves finely grated
- 0.88 ounces (25 g) arugula leaves/rocket leaves 2 handfuls, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
For the dressing
- 1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil or mild olive oil
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.Peel the beets. Halve and then quarter each beet then cut into approx. 1 cm/0.5'' thick wedges. Place the wedges in a large bowl, season, add 2 tablespoons of oil, grated garlic and give a good stir.
- Arrange the beetroot wedges on top of the baking sheet and roast in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, crumble the feta over the top and place back in the oven for 15 minutes. In the meantime boil the pasta in salted water according to packet instructions and make the dressing by placing the ingredients in a bowl and stirring to combine.
- Remove the beetroot and feta from the oven and either assemble the salad immediately or set aside to cool first.
- To assemble the salad place all the ingredients in a large bowl, pour over the dressing and stir thoroughly. Adjust the seasoning and serve.
Notes
- Slice the beets quite thinly, to about 1 cm of thickness (they will roast faster!) This really doesn't take very long and the slices don't have to be identical (my advice is to wear rubber gloves though as the beetroot will stain your hands).
- Use a large baking sheet so the beet wedges have plenty of room to roast evenly.
- I recommend orzo pasta or another small pasta variety, such as soup pasta.
- If you prefer to serve this salad warm cook the pasta 1o minutes before removing the beetroot and feta from the oven so you can combine these while still warm. If you are planning to serve it cold you can cook the pasta, as well as the beetroot (and feta) ahead and refrigerate these (for up to 2 days) until you are ready to make the recipe.
- This beetroot feta salad can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 day (you can add the arugula just before serving but this is optional).
- Serve as it is, with toasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds, and garnished with chopped spring onions/scallions.
- Not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Catie
After watching a couple eye-opening documentaries the past couple of days I've decided to start feeding my family pretty much vegetarian or vegan meals. I came across this recipe today and knew I had to try it. My husband, my two girls and I all liked/loved it! Seriously, I was shocked! There were only a couple tweaks I made - I did a 1/3 arugula, 2/3 spring mix blend and I added a bit of balsamic to mine on my plate. Soo good! This will definitely be added to our regular menu. Thank you for sharing!
PS. Everyone commented on how beautiful this was. I wish I would have taken a picture. Next time!
monidab@gmail.com
Thank you Catie! So glad you liked it and made it your own. I am not a vegetarian but I don't eat much meat and find vegetarian/vegan dishes more appealing in general, that's why I blog about them so much. Congratulations on embracing vegetarian/ vegan diet!
Chris @thinlyspread
I'm totally addicted to beetroot at the moment and it pairs so well with feta, this is a perfect dish for Pasta Please, thank you!
monidab@gmail.com
Thank you Chris, I share your addiction to beetroot:)
Jac -Tinned Tomatoes (@tinnedtoms)
I think you made this recipe especially for me. I love beetroot, pickled and plain. I am drooling looking at this. Stumbled, yummed, pinned and tweeted your recipe.
monidab@gmail.com
Thank you so much! Great to know that other people are crazy about beetroot too:)
hijackedbytwins
I will definitely be pinning this recipe! We have some beetroot growing in the garden at the moment. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
monidab@gmail.com
Thanks! Always happy to share with cookblogshare:)
Honest Mum
Wow that looks utterly delicious, I've never baked beetroot before, will now x
monidab@gmail.com
Thanks again! This one is really easy to make too!
Mandy Mazliah
This sounds like a delicious salad - I'm loving beetroot this year and my youngest child loves it too (a child who loves veg - hurrah!) so I'm on the lookout for new things to try #CookBlogShare
monidab@gmail.com
Thanks Mandy, you are very lucky to have a child who likes beetroot!
Philip
This is lovely. Just picked a load of beetroot so thank you for the inspiration
monidab@gmail.com
You are welcome, please see my quinoa salad with beetroot and beetroot polenta cakes for more inspiration! Thanks:)
Eb Gargano
Yum - this looks great! I love the flavour of roasted beetroot and the pairing with feta, well that's just a match made in heaven! I must confess though to often leaving the other half of the feta (for there always does seem to be half leftover) in the fridge a wee bit too long...and still eating it! Well...I don't like to see good food go to waste and I kind of like that old feta taste...maybe that's just me! Not sure of it's bad for me or not, but I haven't given myself food poisoning ...yet! Eb x
monidab@gmail.com
Maybe it's ok to eat old feta then, except I don't like it... I froze my leftover feta this time, I wonder if it'll taste different after defrosting. Hope it doesn't. 🙂
Dragons And Fairy Dust
My husband would love this, he loves beetroot. I shall have to try it.
monidab@gmail.com
If you do make it I'd love to know if he likes it:)
Corina
It looks delicious! I'm loving all your beetroot recipes at the moment.
monidab@gmail.com
Thanks Corina! I hope I am not becoming too boring with all these beetroot recipes, I'll wait with the next one for a couple of weeks at least!
Corina
Not at all boring! I need beeteroot inspiration as I tend to buy beetroot but then not actually use it for a while - I think it's because it stains and I'm worried about the kids smearing it all over the white chairs and walls! I just need to relax a little bit around it! Thank you for linking up with #CookOnceEatTwice as well!
monidab@gmail.com
My kids are past the smearing on the walls stage thankfully:) I use rubber gloves for peeling the beetroot though. It was your earlier comment that reminded me of linking up with cook once eat twice, so thanks:)
healthyindiankitchen
Absolutely loving the vibrant colors and look of this dish. Paired up with orzo, this makes a healthy and delicious meal! Thanks for sharing 🙂
monidab@gmail.com
Thank you so much for your kind words, always glad to find another beetroot fan!