Beet salad, but make it FANCY!!
This Beet Carpaccio is such a GORGEOUS way to serve beets, and so tasty too! It's a great vegetarian twist on the classic beef carpaccio. This sliced beet salad has so many topping options. It's delicious, healthy, gluten-free, and fancy enough for any dinner party or even as a holiday side dish!
Be sure to also check out my zucchini carpaccio recipe.
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What is a beet carpaccio?
Beet carpaccio is an appetizer of thinly sliced beets topped by salad greens or baby arugula, vinaigrette, and a few other tasty toppings (spoiler: two kinds of cheese!). It is a fun twist on beef carpaccio, which is a classic appetizer made of thinly sliced raw beef.
I love that beet carpaccio not only looks like beef carpaccio, but also sounds like beef carpaccio.... but vegetarian!
Before anyone comes at me, I am perfectly aware that beet carpaccio is not "real" carpaccio.
And before anyone says "so wait, this is just beet salad?".... let me explain. It's so much better than "just" a beet salad. There is something therapeutic about thinly slicing beets and arranging them all pretty on a plate. It makes the whole eating experience more special and more intentional.
This beet carpaccio makes you slow down and enjoy the moment (and have a REALLY good salad!) versus just eating a salad because it's the healthy thing to do.
Give it a try, trust me!!
Related recipe: Grated Beet Salad
Ingredients
The great thing about this recipe is that you can use whatever toppings you want, and use as much of them as you want. Here are a few suggestions:
For the beet carpaccio:
- 2-3 large beets (see recipe notes and tips below)
- 1-4 cups baby arugula or mixed greens (see recipe notes and tips below)
- ¼ - ½ cup cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
- ½ oz shaved Parmesan (Parmigiano) (use vegetarian Parmigiano if needed. Take a solid chunk and use a vegetable peeler to make thin slices)
- 1 oz goat cheese, crumbled (or feta cheese or blue cheese)
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh herbs, such as diced chives, scallion, dill, basil, and/or parsley
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon vinaigrette
- See more ideas below in the "Beet carpaccio toppings" section!
For the lemon vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1-2 teaspoons honey, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
You can also use any favorite store-bought vinaigrette dressing that you like!
Equipment
- Disposable kitchen gloves (optional, but helpful if you don't want pink fingers for a few days)
- Aluminum foil
- Mandoline slicer
- Vegetable peeler for thinly sliced shaved Parmesan
- Small jar for mixing vinaigrette
Related recipe: Beet Baba Ganoush
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375F.
Step 2: Chop off any beet greens and long "tails" from the beets. Scrub the beets clean (no need to peel yet) with a clean brush or sponge. Wrap each beet in foil.
Step 3: Place the foil-wrapped beets on a baking pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until each beet can be pierced with a fork all the way through the center. The exact baking time will vary depending on the size of your beets. It's better to overbake than under-bake a little, in my opinion. Remove the beets from the oven and cool until safe to touch.
Step 4: While the beets are baking, prepare the vinaigrette: combine all the ingredients in a small jar and whisk together really well with a fork, making sure the honey is not stuck to the bottom. Keep the leftover vinaigrette refrigerated after using it for the beet carpaccio.
Step 5: When the beets are cool to touch, rub your hands against the beets to remove the skin. If it doesn't come off easily, slice it off with a vegetable peeler. Cut off the rough part where the beet greens used to be.
Step 6: Use a mandoline slicer to slice the beets into thin even slices (or use a knife). Be very careful not to cut your hands! Always use the veggie holder when slicing instead of holding the beets with your hands.
Step 7: Arrange the sliced beet slices on a plate or platter (see notes below for tips on what size plate to use).
Step 8: Top the center of the beets with your baby arugula or mixed greens. Add your toppings of choice on top and drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve chilled or room temperature.
Related recipe: Spinach Salad with Beets and Blue Cheese
Recipe notes and tips
→ How many beets to use and what size plate to use: Two large beets is enough to cover one 9-inch plate, like I did in this recipe, but it will depend on the thickness of your slices. Thinner slices = larger plate.
If you want to make sure your circle slices are all the same size, I recommend cooking 3 beets, and using the smaller circles for another beet salad. Two large beets makes enough for about 4 appetizer servings.
→ Instant Pot beets: Cook large beets at high pressure with ½ - 1 cup water for about 30 minutes (25 minutes if you want more "crisp" beets). Quick release pressure. The exact cooking time will vary depending on the size and shape of your beets. I prefer roasting because you can check on the done-ness of the beets at any time, but Instant Pot is a great hands-off option. It doesn't save much time because of the time it takes the pot to come to pressure, but a great option if you don't want to heat up the house with the oven.
→ How much baby arugula or salad greens to use: To serve this all FANCY, add just a little bit in the center (less than a cup). To make it more of a healthy, filling salad, feel free to add more greens to your plate!!
→ Make it vegetarian: Real Parmigiana cheese is not vegetarian because it uses animal rennet. Look for vegetarian Parmesan, or skip it altogether if you are serving this to vegetarians.
→ Extra vinaigrette: This recipe makes extra vinaigrette, which can be used on any other salad over the next couple of weeks. Keep the leftovers in a closed jar in the fridge.
Beet carpaccio topping ideas
In addition to what I used to top the beet slices in this recipe, here are some other great topping ideas:
- Thinly sliced red onion
- Capers
- Toasted pine nuts
- Toasted slivered or sliced almonds
Also try this beet carpaccio with golden beets! You can alternative red and gold beets, or use only golden beets. Such a pretty healthy side dish / salad, right??
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Beet Carpaccio
Ingredients
- 2-3 large uncooked beets - (see recipe notes and tips below)
- 1-4 cups baby arugula or mixed greens - (see recipe notes and tips below)
- ¼ - ½ cup cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes - halved or quartered
- ½ oz shaved Parmesan - (Parmigiano, use vegetarian Parmigiano if needed)
- 1 oz goat cheese - crumbled (or feta cheese or blue cheese)
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh herbs - such as diced chives, scallion, dill, basil, and/or parsley
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon vinaigrette - (see recipe below) or your favorite vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice - (about 1 small lemon)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1-2 teaspoons honey - to taste
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - or to taste
- ½ teaspoon sea salt - or to taste
Special equipment
- Disposable kitchen gloves (optional, but helpful if you don't want pink fingers for a few days)
- Small jar for mixing vinaigrette
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Chop off any beet greens and long "tails" from the beets. Scrub the beets clean (no need to peel yet) with a clean brush or sponge. Wrap each beet in foil.
- Place the foil-wrapped beets on a baking pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until each beet can be pierced with a fork all the way through the center. The exact baking time will vary depending on the size of your beets. Remove the beets from the oven and cool until safe to touch.
- While the beets are baking, prepare the vinaigrette: combine all the ingredients in a small jar and whisk together really well with a fork, making sure the honey is not stuck to the bottom.
- When the beets are cool to touch, rub your hands against the beets to remove the skin. If it doesn't come off easily, slice it off with a vegetable peeler. Cut off the rough part where the beet greens used to be.
- Use a mandoline slicer (or a knife) to slice the beets into thin even slices. Be very careful not to cut your hands! Always use the safety holder when slicing instead of holding the beets with your hands.
- Arrange the sliced beet slices on a plate or platter (see notes below for tips on what size plate to use).
- Top the center of the beets with your baby arugula or mixed greens. Add your toppings of choice on top and drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve chilled or room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.