My good friend Sage shared this recipe with me. I love steaming my vegetables for maximum nutrient availability, but the beets and green beans can also be boiled for ease.

Ingredients for Cold Beet Salad on Wooden Board

Ingredients for Cold Beet Salad: Beets, green beans, goat cheese, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper

Why I Love It

Beets Are Healthy

Beets are very high in a phytonutrient called betalain. Betalains function both as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory molecules (see my post What Are Antioxidants Good For). Rhubarb, chard, amaranth, prickly pear cactus, and Nopal cactus are examples of foods that also contain betalains

Nutrition in Green Beans

Green beans contain a wide variety of carotenoids and flavonoids which have all been shown to have health-supportive antioxidant properties.

Only 5 Ingredients

Simply steam beets and beans together, and add lemon juice and goat cheese. Seasoning is optional but highly recommended – I suggest quality olive oil and salt and pepper.

Peel and cube the beets. Trim the ends off the beans and chop into 2″ lengths.

Recipe Tips

Making A Canned Beet Salad

To save on time you can use canned beets in place of fresh beets. Canned beets do not need to be cooked, so simply drain the canned beets and add them to a bowl. Blanch the prepared green beans in boiling water for 1 minute before adding them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Add the balanced beans to the canned beans, along with the remaining ingredients.

How To Keep The Goat Cheese White

If you mix all of the prepared ingredients together at once, the goat cheese will take on the colour of the beets. To keep the goat cheese white, fold in the goat cheese last once all the other ingredients are mixed together.

Adding Dill

I love the combination of beets and dill. Add 1/2 cup of fresh chopped dill to the beets, green beans, lemon and olive oil. Fold in the goat cheese at the end.

Add chopped beets to the steamer.

Recipe Notes

Making It Vegan

You can omit the goat cheese to make a vegan beet salad. Try topping it with a cashew cheese like this one.

Using Asparagus in Place of Green Beans

Take advantage of the short asparagus season in the Spring. To use asparagus in this beet salad, first, prepare the asparagus by trimming off the bottom woody ends. Cut the asparagus into 1 1/2″ pieces and then use it as per the recipe in place of the green beans.

Using Vinegar In Place Of Lemon

If you don’t have a lemon on hand you can use vinegar to season this salad. I like the combination of balsamic and red wine vinegar – use 1 1/2 tablespoons of each.

Add beans on top of beets in the steamer.

More Beet Recipes?

Here are some of my favourite recipes using beets:

Steamed beets and beans in blue bowl, with dressings on the side

Cool the beets and beans. Once cooled add the remaining ingredients – lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and goat cheese last.

More Salad Recipes?

Here are some of my favourite salad recipes:

Print Recipe

4.75 from 8 votes

Cold Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Green Beans

This 4 ingredient salad is a great way to showcase fresh produce, try substituting in asparagus in place of the green beans when they are in season. It is simple to prepare and packed full of nutrients. Serve it as a side at your next gathering, or have it on your own as a light lunch.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Canadian

Keyword: Beet Side Dish, Cold Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Easy Beetroot Salad

Servings:

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Rachel Dickens

Ingredients

6 small beets greens removed
1 lbs green beans 2 handfuls
3 oz goat cheese organic
1/8 cup olive oil extra-virgin
1 lemon juiced (or 1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper ground

Instructions

Peel the beets and chop them into 1" cubes. Place in steamer and let steam for about 25 minutes. Keep checking on them, they should be tender but have a slight resistance.
Wash the beans and trim of the end bits and discard. Chop the beans into 2 inch pieces. After about 25 minutes of the beets steaming add the green beans to the steamer. They will only require 3 minutes to cook.
Check that the beets and the green beans are tender to your liking and remove from heat and place them in a bowl to cool. You can put the bowl in the fridge to speed up the process.
Once the vegetables are cool, add the olive oil and lemon juice to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Lastly, crumble on the goat cheese just before serving. It is best to add this last so the cheese doesn't turn purple. Enjoy!

Notes

Make it vegan: Omit the goat cheese.
Make it 50% raw: Do not cook the green beans. Stir in 2-3 cups of baby spinach.

Nutrition