This refreshing kale and beet salad recipe features raw beets, carrots, and pink grapefruit, tossed with a tangy grapefruit vinaigrette.
Alex and I have a saying — “healthy is delicious”. I’m sure it’s not original, but it’s one of the first things we learned when we cut back on processed foods in favor of whole and natural ones. It seems contradictory — how can something be healthy if it tastes good too? But as we learned more and tasted more, we found that eating healthy tasted actually better than most of the unhealthy foods out there. It was like we had discovered a rainbow of new flavors we never knew existed. Such is the case with this beet salad recipe with grapefruit. Keep reading for the recipe!
Making this beet salad recipe
This refreshing salad brings some of that rainbow of new flavors to life. Who knew raw beets, kohlrabi (our new favorite winter vegetable!), carrots, and kale, tossed with a tangy and sweet grapefruit vinaigrette, could taste so good? We’ve added some pepitas for some salt and crunch, and grapefruit slices for sweetness (if you can stay patient enough to peel them!). We’re fair-weather beet fans ourselves, but we actually really liked them raw in this beet salad recipe. The beets add just the right raw crunch without being overpowering.
We created this recipe especially for our local farmers market (Indy Winter Farmers Market) where you should be able to pick up each of the fresh ingredients in this salad. Check out your local farmers market to see if you can find any of these delicious veg.
How to peel a grapefruit
The only tricky part about this beet salad recipe is how to peel a grapefruit! Here’s a tutorial on how to do it. You can use any method in the tutorial, just make sure to save out enough grapefruit juice for the grapefruit vinaigrette.
Video: How to cut kale
Another skill in this beet salad recipe to learn is how to cut kale! Are you wondering how to stem kale or chop kale but not sure the best way? Alex and I have toyed with various methods over the years, but we’ve finally ended up with one that is slick and simple. We use this method all the time, like when we make our BEST kale salad, kale Caesar salad or this beet salad recipe. Here’s our step by step guide for how to cut kale, including a video of me cutting kale in our kitchen.
Looking for salad recipes?
Outside of this pea salad, here are a few more of our favorite salad recipes:
- Wedge Salad with Potato Chips
- Easy Bean Salad
- Caribbean Black Bean Salad
- Greek Salad
- Purple Potato Salad
- Pea Salad with Lemon Dressing
- Cucumber Salad with Vinegar
- Classic Vegan Potato Salad
- Peach & Burrata Caprese Salad
- Thai Cucumber Salad
- Watermelon Feta Salad
- Shepherd Salad
- 20 Epic Salad Recipes
This recipe is…
This beet salad recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
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Kale and Beet Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This refreshing kale and beet salad recipe features raw beets, carrots, and pink grapefruit, tossed with a tangy grapefruit vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 bunch lettuce
- 1 kohlrabi
- 1 beet
- 2 carrots
- 1 grapefruit
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds or pepitas
Instructions
- Remove the stems from the kale and chop it into bite-sized pieces. Chop the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Peel the kohlrabi, beet, and carrots and chop them into matchsticks (julienne) with a knife or using a food processor. Remove the sections from one half of the grapefruit and peel them.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice from the other half of the grapefruit, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil one tablespoon at a time until a creamy emulsion forms. Taste and add additional grapefruit juice as desired.
- To serve, place vegetables on serving plates or in bowls. Top with grapefruit vinaigrette and sunflower seeds or pepitas.
- Category: Salad
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Beet salad recipe, Grapefruit Salad, Beet salad, Healthy Salad Recipe, Grapefruit Vinaigrette, Grapefruit Salad Dressing
There’s nothing like a bowl full of fresh, vibrant flavors and textures to wake up your taste buds! This looks and sounds delicious.
Definitely agree with your point about whole, healthy foods being delicious! I found once I started in on them there’s just no time for processed junk because there are so many good-for-you foods to explore.
Bevin
magnoliareverie.blogspot.com
I couldn’t agree more, Bevin! Once you start with whole foods, it’s hard to go back :)
I’ve been indulging in a bit too much sugar lately, so I’m thankful for this delicious healthy recipe!
Gorgeous salad! Nice inspiration for winter fare. And I’ve had similar “A ha!” kind of moments with healthy/seasonal eating. Once you get used to the good stuff, it’s so hard to enjoy anything else with the same enthusiasm.
Thanks, Laura! Yes, we’re hooked on the good stuff — and it does make everything seem to pale in comparison :)
This looks lovely. I have a grapefruit-honey dressing I make, and I love the sweet-tartness of it. I’ll have to try yours out this week. And, I love beets! What great flavors.
Oh, fun! It sounds like a very similar dressing — we loooved this one. What is different in your recipe?
It just so happens I have an obnoxiously large bag of grapefruit sitting on my kitchen table. This recipe is totally happening.
Perfect! Let us know if you try it out :)
Love this salad! Beautiful presentation and delicious! I used my spiralizer for the beet, kohlrabi and carrot. Very fresh and dinner guests loved it! Can’t wait to serve it to other friends! Thank you for this recipe!
Thank you!!! I just got back from the farmers market with baby beets, kholrabi, kale, zucchini, kirby cucumbers and a whole lot of other delicious wonderfulness. So looking forward to lunch!