This is a sponsored post brought to you by Holland House. All opinions are my own.
This colorful Beet Orange Salad is every bit as enticing as it looks. Perfect for holiday entertaining, this dish is going to be the highlight of your table. Earthy beets pair perfectly with sweet citrus and buttery avocado. Top it with a punchy white wine dressing, and you have got a combination that is guaranteed to keep you coming back for more.
This Beet Orange Salad is Perfect for Entertaining!
In fact, I’ve teamed up with members of Holland House’s #HHCookingWineCo to create a custom holiday full-course meal plan and this side dish is one of five recipes on the menu.
Each recipe is designed to be quick and easy to prepare to ensure the holidays stay stress-free (at least in the kitchen anyway). Links to my fellow #HHCookingWineCo member recipes are listed at the end of this post. I want to thank Holland House Cooking Wines for sponsoring this post and bringing all five of us together.
I’ve had fun this year playing with Holland House Cooking Wines in my kitchen. With five flavor-boosting flavors, there are just so many ways that you can get creative and fill your life with flavor. Holland House Cooking Wines use only hand-selected wraps that are blended with seasonings and aged to perfection. The result is a bold, intense flavor that can stand the heat in any kitchen.
In this Beet Citrus Salad, I’ve used their White Cooking Wine. It lends a crisp white wine aroma to the salad that is perfect to balance the earthiness of the beets.
How to Make Citrus Beet Salad
1 First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Trim and wash your beets and then place them in a large baking pan. Cover with foil and cook for between 45 to 60 minutes. The total cooking time will depend on the size of your beets. They are done when you can easily stick a fork or skewer into them.
2 While the beets are cooking, make the dressing by combing the orange juice, Holland House White Cooking Wine, and shallot in a blender. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a steady stream. Season with salt and pepper. Taste, add sweetener if desired. If you want a little kick, add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
3 Place the beets and red onion in a shallow dish. Toss with 1/4 cup of the dressing. When you are ready to serve, place the beets and onion on a serving platter or individual plates. Top with the oranges and avocado. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with walnuts. If desired, garnish with chives.
Tips & Tricks for Making Beet Citrus Salad
- You can use a sharp knife to slice the beets, but I like to use a mandolin to ensure uniform thickness for this Beet Orange Salad. Don’t forget to use that guard!
- I recommend using disposable food-prep gloves when handling the beets because they will stain your fingers.
- Likewise, work with them on a dishwasher safe cutting board or on a sheet of parchment paper to avoid a mess on your counters.
- Don’t skip tasting the dressing and adding sweetener to taste. If you happen to have an orange that is more bitter than sweet, it will throw off the taste of the entire dish.
- You can marinate the beets and onion up to a day ahead of time, as well as slice the oranges. The rest of the dish should be assembled shortly before serving to avoid the avocado turning brown and the beets bleeding into the other ingredients.
- Don’t like the mess of beets? Golden beets make a phenomenal option.
- Short on time? Many grocery stores now sell beets that are already roasted and peeled. Look for them in the produce department.
Variations and Additions
- If you like, a sprinkle of goat cheese is lovely here. This is a great vegan goat cheese.
- I am a big fan of sweet heat. If you are too, add a touch of cayenne pepper to the dressing.
Want more great easy holiday inspiration?
Holland House has partnered with me and other food bloggers. Together, we’ve created a stress-free & full-course holiday meal.
Appetizer: Carrot and Parsnip Galette with Goat Cheese (Use a gluten-free pie crust.)
Main Dish: Orange Sage Turkey Breast with Creamy Sherry Sauce
Side Dish: My Beet Orange Salad
Side Dish: Cauliflower Rice Pilaf with Cranberries and Pecans
Dessert: Holiday Mixed Berry-Marsala Trifle (Use gluten-free angel food cake and pudding.)
More Recipes with Holland House Cooking Wines
- Don’t you love recipes where the payoff in flavor is disproportionate to the effort involved? This Mushroom Cauliflower Risotto is a no-fuss side dish that is perfect for entertaining.
- When you want to make something that you can be sure everyone will love, it doesn’t get much better than this delicious Steak with Mushrooms.
- Roasted Vegetables are always an easy side, and you are going to love the tangy Mustard-Wine Vinaigrette.
- Risotto without standing over a hot stove? Sign me up! You are going to go wild for this Butternut Squash Pressure Cooker Risotto.
Make sure you follow Holland House on Facebook and Pinterest for more delicious recipes and tips!
Beet Orange Salad
Ingredients
Beets
- 4 beets
Dressing
- 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (the juice from 1 orange)
- 1/4 cup Holland House White Cooking Wine
- 1 shallot or red onion minced
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Salad
- 1/2 red onion sliced
- 2 navel oranges peeled and sliced
- 1 avocado peeled, pitted, and sliced
- 1/4 cup walnuts chopped
- Fresh chives for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Trim and wash the beets. Place in a large baking pan and cover with foil. Roast for 45 to 60 minutes, until the beets are tender. Allow to cool and then peel and slice.
- While the beets are cooking, make the dressing by combining the orange juice, white cooking wine, and shallot in a blender. With the motor running, add in 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil and process until emulsified.
- Taste the dressing. If your orange was not sweet enough, you might need to add up to 2 tablespoons of sweetener.
- Place the beets and red onion in a shallow dish. Toss with 1/4 cup of dressing. (If you like, you can do this ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.)
- Arrange the beets and onion on a serving platter or individual plates. Top with the oranges and avocado. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Sprinkle with walnuts and garnish with chives if desired.
Nutrition
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Holland House Cooking Wines.
melissa chapman
This is a salad I have not seen before. I have to try the fresh beets and with orange and avocado it will be a dish my guests will love.
Marcie W.
It sounds delicious! So many tasty ingredients. I think I would use golden beets in this recipe.
Heather
As I kid I hated beets. Now I love them - especially in salads like this one. Yummy!
Amber Myers
This looks like a tasty salad! I'll have to make this for lunch one day.
Brianne Tursi Manz
Beets are one of those foods I have to be in the mood for. But, when added to a salad I tend to eat them more often. I can't wait to make this salad.
Alyssa H
Yum!! Beets?! Oranges?! Avocado?! This is basically my dream salad! Pinning now...
Rosemary
This looks delicious. I do enjoy beets, but I've never thought of combining them with oranges. What a great tip. I look forward to making this next Summer!
Tammy
I'm not a huge beet fan but I know someone who would sit and eat this whole plate in one setting. I must make it for him.
Kathy
This looks like an amazing salad. I really love that it's so colorful too. I try to do lots of colors when it comes to salads.
Lisa Favre
Oh I've been craving something fresh lately and this orange salad may just do the trick. I'm totally craving this now and need to make it for my family, stat!
Ruth I
This dish is interesting and looks delicious! I love all the colors that give the yummy vibe.
rika
That looks so vibrant and amazing! I have 16 orange trees in my backyard, will definitely use some for this recipe!
Agnes
I just bought a couple of kilos of beets earlier today and I am glad to bumped into this salad recipe. So refreshing.