Beet Arugula Salad Recipe with Walnuts and Feta on Butter Bean Purée

My beet arugula salad recipe with walnuts and feta on butter bean purée will make you a twist on the classic salad of beetroot, feta and arugula – or rucola, roca or rocket depending on where you’re from. I arrange the salad on a layer of garlicky butter bean purée for added texture, and dress the salad with a mustardy vinaigrette.

Our roast beetroot salad recipe with feta, rucola and pistachios on cumin-spiced carrot hummus was inspired by one of our best beetroot recipes, the classic beet salad of beetroot, feta, walnuts, and rucola – or arugula, roca or rocket, depending on which part of the world you live. We’re beetroot lovers, so it’s one of our all-time favourite salads and one of our best recipes with nuts.

This beet arugula salad recipe with walnuts and feta on butter bean purée is an elevated version of that traditional beetroot, arugula, feta, and walnut salad. I think it’s so much more delicious for its base of garlicky butter bean purée. It reminds me of some of my favourite Middle Eastern dishes and the sharing plates chefs serve in Australian restaurants and bars.

My inspiration for all of these recipes are the salads of the Mediterranean and Middle East, where we lived, worked and travelled for over a decade – salads such as the Arabic balela salad on soupy chickpeas and Antalya style Turkish white bean salad.

This roasted cauliflower on hummus, baby corn on creamy white beans, and pumpkin beetroot salad on whipped feta with pistachios and fresh mint are in the same genre. I can’t get enough of these dishes that are part dip and part salad, that can be served as a snack, starter or side. If you’re also a fan, you’ll love this.

And if you’re also a beetroot lover, try these recipes for a pumpkin lentil salad with beetroot, goat cheese and poppy seeds and beet and carrot salad with goat cheese, arugula and radish.

Before I tell you more about this beet arugula salad recipe, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo. You could buy a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever (we earn a small commission from your purchase); buy something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers or cookbooks by Australian chefs, or browse our Grantourismo store for gifts for food lovers designed with Terence’s images.

Now let me tell you more about this beet arugula salad recipe with walnuts and feta on butter bean purée.

Beet Arugula Salad Recipe with Walnuts and Feta on Butter Bean Purée

If you made our roast beetroot salad recipe with feta, rucola and pistachios on cumin-spiced carrot hummus and you enjoyed that, then you’re also going to love this beet arugula salad recipe with walnuts and feta on butter bean purée if you haven’t tried this salad before.

It’s a classic salad, which originated in the Mediterranean, and I haven’t strayed too far from the traditional beet and feta salad with arugula recipe. All I’ve done is assemble the salad on a layer of garlicky butter bean purée and generously dress the salad with our favourite mustardy vinaigrette.

Adding that additional creamy layer makes this so much more than just a side salad, it’s a course on its own. You could still serve it as a side, of course, and I’m also happy tucking into it as an appetiser. But Terence and I are very satisfied sharing a plate of this for lunch.

You can also scoop it up with large croutons or crostini or pile it on as you would a topping for bruschetta or Basque style pintxos. Or simply serve it as a salad starter or a side salad for main dishes.

As the classic beetroot and roca salad originated in the Middle East, it’s fantastic served alongside kofta kebabs and baharat spiced meatballs. Add dishes of hummus, baba ganoush, fatoush, tabbouleh and you have a full MidEast style feast.

Tips to Making this Beet Arugula Salad Recipe with Walnuts and Feta on Butter Bean Purée

My top tip to making this beet arugula salad recipe with walnuts and feta on butter bean purée, is to use fresh beetroots if they’re in season. They taste so much better than canned beetroots, but of course if you can’t find fresh beetroots, use tinned beetroots.

If you can source fresh beets, do buy them and roast them for this dish. Roasted beetroots taste so much better and are naturally sweet. Fresh beetroots are also super easy to roast.

To roast fresh beets, all you need to do is give them a good scrub to remove any dirt, then loosely wrap each beet in aluminium foil, lay the foil wrapped beetroots out on a baking tray, and slide the tray into the oven.

My beet arugula salad recipe calls for 400 g (14 oz) of whole fresh beetroots, which is about 3-4 baby beetroots, 2-3 medium-sized beetroots, or 1-2 large beets, depending on the size and weight of your beetroots.

The smaller the beetroots the faster they’ll roast. I’ve found that 2 medium sized beetroots take around an hour to roast until soft on 200°C (390°F) in my oven when I roast them alone, but a few smaller beets can take as little as 20 minutes up to 40 minutes, but rarely longer.

While the beetroots are roasting you can prep the rest of the salad, although note that you can also roast the beets the day before or even a couple of days ahead of when you want to serve the salad.

Next you need to make the garlicky butter bean purée, which is super easy and takes just a couple of minutes. You just need to transfer the drained butter beans, garlic cloves, sea salt, onion powder, and extra virgin olive oil to a blender or food processor and blend it all up until you have a fairly smooth consistency, then you need to spread it over a serving plate.

You could also make the butter bean purée ahead and keep it in a mason jar or clip-top Kilner jar in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it. We make it regularly to snack on with crunchy homemade pita crisps or tortilla chips and it’s even more delicious after a couple of days.

The salad is super easy to assemble. First I spread the garlicky butter bean purée onto a pretty serving plate, then lay down half of the arugula leaves, drizzle on some of the vinaigrette, drop the beetroot and feta cubes on top, arrange the rest of the arugula leaves, sprinkle on the walnuts, and drizzle on more vinaigrette, and it’s done. Couldn’t be easier.

Make sure to serve the salad immediately as it’s not a salad that keeps well. It comes together in a minutes, but if you’re making a few dishes or more then it’s best to roast the beetroots and make the butter bean spread ahead of time.

This salad will satisfy two people if you’re eating it alone or with another dish, but could feed 4 people if you’re serving it as one of an array of dishes as part of a shared family-style meal.

Beet Arugula Salad Recipe with Walnuts and Feta on Butter Bean Purée

Beet Arugula Salad Recipe with Walnuts and Feta on Butter Bean Purée

AuthorLara Dunston

Our beet arugula salad recipe with walnuts and feta on butter bean purée will make you a twist on the classic salad of beetroot and arugula – or rucola, roca or rocket, depending on where you’re from. The salad is assembled on a layer of garlicky butter bean purée and dressed with our classic vinaigrette.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Australian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Servings made with recipeServings 2

Calories 650 kcal

Equipment

Salad Bowls

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 400 g whole beetroots scrubbed
• 210 g can butter beans drained and rinsed
• 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp vinaigrette – see recipe
• 24 arugula leaves - washed (rucola, roca, rocket leaves)
• 100 g Greek feta or salty white cheese - cut into cubes
• 30 g walnuts
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

 

• Pre-heat your oven to 200°C (390°F).
• Loosely wrap each of the scrubbed whole beetroots in foil and roast on a tray in the oven until soft, around 40 minutes or so; they’re ready when a skewer or fork easily slides into the beetroots.
• Carefully remove the foil, allow the beetroots to cool, and cut them into cubes peeling off and discarding tough pieces of skin.
• Make the garlicky butter bean purée by transferring the drained butter beans, garlic cloves, sea salt, onion powder, and extra virgin olive oil to a blender, blend until you have a fairly smooth consistency then spread it over a serving plate.
• Assemble the salad by laying down half of the arugula leaves, drizzle on a tablespoon of the vinaigrette, drop the beetroot and feta cubes on top, arrange the rest of the arugula leaves on top of those, distribute the walnuts, drizzle drizzle on another tablespoon of vinaigrette, and serve immediately.

Notes

Beets can be roasted a day or two before making the salad and refrigerated. 
Canned beetroots can be used if beets are out of season. 
Garlicky butter bean purée can also be made a day or two ahead and refrigerated in a well-sealed container. Our vinaigrette can be made ahead in a mason jar or clip-top Kilner jar and will keep in the fridge for weeks.
This salad is best when made just before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 650kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 22gFat: 44gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 1935mgPotassium: 1393mgFiber: 15gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 850IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 360mgIron: 5mg

Please do let us know in the comments below if you make this beet arugula salad recipe with walnuts and feta on butter bean purée, as we’d love to hear how it turned out for you.