Whole30 Roasted Beet Salad with Steak

Are you drowning in beets at your farmers market this fall? Make this Whole30 Roasted Beet Salad with steak, oranges, and topped with freshly grated horseradish as a new way to celebrate the season.

Got Beets? Here’s a new flavor combination to use them up!

This year, my husband and I signed up for a local, Alaskan CSA. And while I love Alaska for its wild landscapes and rugged frontier, it’s not well known for its agriculture. Sure, our pumpkins can grow to be over 2,000 pounds, but we probably got beets in every single CSA box delivery this summer. 

This meant that I had to get creative to use up all these beets! Don’t get me wrong, I love beets, and I’ve got tons of recipes on this blog that use beets, but I also don’t want to eat beets as a side dish for every meal. I made soups, I even made a beetroot latte, but I still had more beets to use!

We usually have some kind of a steak salad every week. The salad ornaments change all the time, of course, but it was an opportunity to weave more beets into our meal plan. Add in oranges, red onions, and top it with freshly grated horseradish, and you’ve got a perfect fall salad! 

Farmers Market Ingredients and Substitutions

Beets

You’ll find the sweetest beets at the fall farmers market; the fall crop is much sweeter after the first frost of the season. This will help balance the bitterness in the lettuce and the astringency of the horseradish and red onions. 

Look for firm, medium sized beets at your farmers market. Too large, and they’ll have less flavor and be a little woody in texture. Avoid any beets with soft spots as these have already spoiled.

I used a mix of red beets, golden beets, and Chioggia beets in this Whole30 Roasted Beet Salad, but you do not need to use the exact same combination as me. I’ve got a whole guide over here to help you pick the best types of beets at the farmers market. 

Red Onion

Red onions can be rather polarizing. Some people love them; others hate them. If you’ve got a mix in your family, I recommend soaking your sliced red onions in ice water for 5 minutes before adding them to the salad. This makes them extra crispy and will tame the strong flavor of the onions.

Don’t want to use red onions? Check out this page for more information on picking the best onions for your taste.

Oranges

Oranges provide a needed sweet acidity to this Whole30 Roasted Beet Salad. Beets and oranges are a wonderful pair; their flavors help accentuate each other.

The best way to pick out oranges is by their smell. Sounds weird, but if you sniff the stem end of the orange and it doesn’t smell like anything, your orange likely won’t taste like anything either. You want a strong, sweet, floral scent coming from your oranges; this is how you will know they are ripe and juicy.

Psst! It’s still a little early in citrus season in most places, but later this year you’ll find blood oranges at the farmers market. These will be an excellent choice for this salad. 

Tips and Tricks

Beets

Don’t waste your time peeling your beets for this salad. The skins are full of nutrients and taste just like the rest of the beet root. 

While I roasted my beets in the oven, you can save time by cooking your beets in an Instant Pot. Instead of taking 45 minutes or more to roast, your beets will be ready in about 10 minutes. The Recipe Critic has a great guide to cooking your beets in an Instant Pot if you would like to take this route. Feel free to broil these beets afterwards to add extra caramelized flavor. 

Also, while I’m still talking about beets: if your beets came with their tops, don’t throw them out! I’ve got a lot of delicious recipes using beet tops, like this Beet Top Couscous Salad and this Whole30 Beet Green Borscht. 

Steak

I recommend the reverse sear method for cooking your steak. This method starts with cooking your beef at a lower temperature, then finishing it off at a high temperature in a cast iron pan or on the grill. Serious Eats has the best explanation of this technique and why it is both the easiest and best way to prepare steak for the home cook. 

Serving Suggestions

Composed salads, like this Whole30 Roasted Beet Salad, are a full meal in a single bowl. I typically don’t serve additional dishes alongside these steak salads; I’m totally full after eating just the salad.

But what about the leftovers?

Unfortunately, dressed salads just don’t store well for leftovers. However, feel free to store the undressed salad components (the roasted beets, orange supremes, red onions, and steak) in a separate container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

Continue to Content

Whole30 Roasted Beet Salad with Steak

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Make this Whole30 Roasted Beet Salad with steak, oranges, and topped with freshly grated horseradish as a new way to celebrate the season. Especially if you're overloaded with beets from the farmers market.

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Ingredients

Roasted Beets

• ¾ lb beets, washed
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Orange Vinaigrette

• 1 orange
• 1 tsp stone ground mustard
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Steak

• 1 lb New York Strip Steak
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp avocado oil

Salad

• 3 cups spring mix lettuces
• ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 inches fresh horseradish root, peeled

Instructions

Roasted Beets

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
2. Slice beets into quarters, then toss with avocado oil, salt, and pepper. Spread onto a single layer on the sheet pan.
3. Roast beets until tender and golden brown, approximately 40-50 minutes.

Orange Vinaigrette

1. While the beets are roasting, make the orange vinaigrette. Supreme the orange into segments. Set the segments aside to add to the salad later. Squeeze the juice from the leftover orange membrane into a small bowl.
2. Add the mustard and garlic to the small bowl with the orange juice. Whisk together to combine.
3. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking to make the vinaigrette.
4. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for later.

Steak

1. Liberally salt the New York Strip Steak on all sides.
2. On a small sheet pan, add half of the avocado oil, then place the salted steak on top. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes with the beets.
3. Pull the steak out of the oven. Heat the remaining avocado oil in a cast iron pan on high. Sear the steak on all sides until a deep golden brown.
4. Take the steak out of the pan and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing thinly to add to the salad.

Assemble the Salad

1. Divide the lettuce evenly across the salad bowls.
2. Add the roasted beets, orange segments, and thinly sliced red onion to the salad bowls.
3. Lay half the steak slices on top of each salad.
4. Drizzle each salad with the orange vinaigrette.
5. Top each salad with freshly grated horseradish just before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1276Total Fat: 100gSaturated Fat: 26gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 64gCholesterol: 179mgSodium: 1783mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 7gSugar: 22gProtein: 65g

Calculated nutrition values are not always accurate, but can provide a general idea for planning purposes. Please do not rely on this information as it may not be complete. Recipes that include unusual ingredients, especially scrap ingredients, will have the least accurate information with this calculator.

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