Roasted Beet, Blood Orange and Mandarin Salad

This roasted beet, blood orange and mandarin salad is the perfect summer salad. It’s light, bright and topped with a citrus vinaigrette.

I love farmer’s market mornings. It’s so much fun to peruse the produce and see what looks good, grab a bunch of it, then figure out what to whip up. No plans, no recipe, just ad hoc meal planning. Yep, I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda girl.

I’m also fortunate to live close to the Santa Monica’s farmer’s market which is the best! Not only is there awesome fruits and veggies, there’s music, entertainment, celebrity sightings and artisanal food. It’s way more than a grocery run, it’s a seriously fun outdoor activity.

At last week’s market I grabbed so many goodies I filled three large bags (which is a LOT for little ‘ol me). But I’ve been craving greens and salads all week. The last few weeks have had me doing dessert recipe development (did you see it on Instagram?)…and sometimes those desserts have a few fails before I get it right.

That means I’m eating lots of “attempted” desserts (which still taste great)…but load me up on more sweetness than I’m used to. My body recognizes the sugar increase then starts to crave greens – almost immediately.

So this week I promised myself I’d whip up a few salads. Leafy detoxification at it’s finest. I’m also LOVING beets lately. Which I haven’t always loved. You mean, I’m a kiwi and didn’t love beets, say whaaa? I know. It took me longer than most to fall head over heels for this veggie…but better late than never. Now, I can’t get enough. And they’re so darn good for you!

Beets contain a phytonutrient called betalain, which provides antioxident, anti-inflammatory and detox support. They’re also loaded with vitamin C and other vitamins and nutrients. In fact, this whole salad is loaded with vitamin C, thanks to the blood oranges and mandarins as well.

The beets take a good hour to roast, peel and cool. But they’re worth it. They also keep in the fridge for several days so feel free to do them ahead of time. The rest of the blood orange and mandarin salad is then just easy assembly – leaving you with a beautiful (and delicious) masterpiece.

Enjoy!

Roasted Beet, Blood Orange and Mandarin Salad

5 from 11 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Author: Lisa Bryan

Print Pin Review

This roasted beet, blood orange and mandarin salad is the perfect summer salad. It’s light, bright and topped with a citrus vinaigrette.

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 4 cups baby spinach
• ▢ 4 beets
• ▢ 4 blood oranges
• ▢ 4 mandarins
• ▢ 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• ▢ 4 tbsp pine nuts

Citrus Vinaigrette Dressing

• ▢ 1/2 cup olive oil
• ▢ 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• ▢ 3 tbsp orange juice
• ▢ 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ▢ 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• ▢ salt and pepper

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
• Cut the stems off the beets and wash the outside thoroughly. Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven for 1 hour, then remove and let cool slightly. When the beets are cool enough to handle, remove the aluminum foil and gently rub off the skin. Slice the beets, place on a plate and and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Divide the spinach between the plates. Peel the blood oranges and mandarins, slice and add to the spinach. Evenly divide and add the sliced beets, shallot and pine nuts to the salad.
• Combine all the ingredients of the dressing together and drizzle on the salad. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 415kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 92mg, Potassium: 709mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 3495IU, Vitamin C: 52.6mg, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 2.4mg

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Healthy Salad Recipes, Roasted Beet Blood Orange Mandarin Salad, Roasted Beet Salad

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