Beat the heat with my delightful Watermelon Beet Salad, combining the sweet juiciness of watermelon with the earthy richness of beets. Drizzle on a simply, zesty dressing, and garnish to create a beautifully visual treat, ideal for warm summer days or as a vibrant starter for any meal.
Try making my Sicilian Salad for another refreshing citrus salad, which also features orange segments with arugula and fennel. Speaking of fennel, my Tomato Fennel Soup is a very easy soup, which comes together quickly in the blender. Impress your friends and family by serving salad for breakfast or brunch with my Arugula Breakfast Salad!
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Ingredients
Find below the list of fresh ingredients I used to make this Watermelon Beet Salad. Roast your own beets or find precooked beets at your grocery store for more ease and convenience.
- Watermelon
- Roasted Beets
- Red Onion
- Orange Segments
- Arugula
- Microgreens
- Goat Cheese
- Lemon Juice
- Olive Oil
- Flaky Sea Salt
See recipe card for quantities.
Preparing the ingredients
Start by cutting up the cubes of watermelon. Cut the watermelon in half and place the half, cut-side down. Make 1-inch slices in to the halved watermelon. Trim off the "crust" keeping on the red part. Slice up 1-inch strips, and the strips into 1-inch cubes, until you have your desired amount of cubes.
Prepare the beets by cooking them ahead of time. Cut off the stems from the beet root. Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil and place them on a baking tray. Bake the beets in a preheated 400F oven for 50 minutes. Once cooked, let them cool completely. Use paper towel to rub off the skin from the cooled beets, it should come off easily. Cut the beets into ½ inch cubes.
Cut into a fresh orange to make the segments, like demonstrated in my Radicchio Citrus Salad recipe, or use canned mandarin orange segments.
Assembling the Salad
Place the arugula on the platter as a base. Use clean hands, or a large spoon, to place the cubes of watermelon on top of the arugula. Continue with spooning the beet cubes over the watermelon. Garnish with thinly slices red onion, and the orange segments.
Drizzle the salad with fresh lemon juice, and olive oil. Sprinkle everything with flaky sea salt, to taste. Finish off the salad by dotting it with goat cheese and microgreens.
Substitutions and Variations
- Greens - Substitute the arugula in this recipe for your favorite greens or salad blend. Alternatively, you can omit the arugula completely.
- Citrus - Replace the orange segments with grapefruit, whether using fresh or canned.
- Cheese - Use Feta cheese instead of goat cheese, although you might want to reduce the amount of flaky sea salt you use in the recipe if using feta cheese.
- Nuts and Seeds - Add your favorite toasted nuts and/or seeds like, toasted hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts or sunflower seeds. This will add more flavor and texture.
Storage
Store any remaining Watermelon Beet Salad in an airtight container. Place in the refrigerator until the next day. If doing so, I would recommend leaving out the arugula if possible due to the fact that they can wilt.
Recipe
Watermelon Beet Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups Baby Arugula
- 2 medium Cooked Beets see notes
- 2 cups Watermelon
- 2 tablespoon Red Onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice from half a lemon
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Fleur de Sel Sea Salt Flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon Cracked Pepper
- 1 piece Orange in segments
- ⅓ cup Goat Cheese
- ⅓ cup Broccoli or Sunflower Shoots optional garnish
Instructions
Prepare the Salad Ingredients
- Slice up watermelon slices in 1-inch strips, and the strips into 1-inch cubes, until you have enough cubes to make the 2 cups.
- Use paper towel to rub off the skin from the cooled beets. Cut the beets into ½ inch cubes.
- Prepare the orange segments by following the instructions found in the notes.
Assemble the Salad
- Sprinkle the Baby Arugula on a large platter or on individual plates.
- Place the cubes of watermelon on top of the arugula, followed by the cubed beets. Top them with the thinly sliced red onion.
- Sprinkle the salad with the lemon juice and the olive oil. Season with the with Sea Salt flakes and the cracked pepper.
- Crumble the goat cheese on top of the salad, and garnish with the shoots before serving.
Notes
-
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- Cut off the stems from the beets and clean the beet roots.
- Wrap each beet root individually in its own aluminum foil pouch.
- Place the pouches on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until fork tender.
- Let the cooked beets cool down to room temperature.
- Use sheets of paper towel to rub the skin off from the beets, they should come off pretty easily.
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