Love this Sweet and Crunchy Beet Salad! A tad of sweetness and a whole lot of crunch. I tried a similar salad at a restaurant and have since been trying to replicate it. This version is probably the closest to it. The apples in the salad add juiciness, and the cabbage and crispy onions add crunch. Together, it's crispy, juicy goodness!
Just like this Olivier Salad, or the Eggplant Salad Stuffed Tomatoes, this salad is perfect for a dinner party. It's not something common that you see on every dinner party table. It's definitely unique!
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Why we love this salad
- Nutritious: the beets, carrot, apple, and cabbage all have a ton of vitamins and minerals.
- Crunchy! the cabbage and crispy onions add crunchyness to the salad.
- Juicy: the apple, when grated, releases it's juices and the beetroot, when grated and mixed with the sour cream and a little bit of mayo makes the salad even juicier.
Ingredients
- Beets: red beets will add nutrition and a beautiful color to the salad
- Apple: the sweeter the apple the better. Fuji, Gala, or Golden Delicious are great. If you like to add a little tart flavor, use Granny Smith or McIntosh apples.
- Carrot: 1 medium carrot, grated- if you can, investing in an electric grader makes grating the carrot (and the beet) so much easier.
- Cabbage: green cabbage adds crunchiness to the salad. Plus, it's super healthy!
- Dressing: just a little salt, mayo, and sour cream
- Crispy onions: I purchase a bag of crispy onions from the store and toss them into different salads. I don't like to use them often, because they are fried :), but they do add flavor and so much crunchiness. See "What Is A Good Substitution For Crispy Onions" below.
Substitutions and Variations
- Crispy onions: Packaged crispy onions are usually available at any grocery store. You can usually find them next to packaged bacon bits. But, if they are not available Tortilla Strips or Salad Noodles will work great as well. Just as with the crispy onions, add the tortilla strips or salad noodles right before serving, so they don't become soggy in the salad.
You may also like to add one or more of these ingredients:
- Prunes: a little bit of chopped pitted prunes will add more sweetness to the salad. Half a cup should be plenty.
- Dried cranberries: half a cup of dried cranberries will add some tart flavor.
- Toasted walnuts: also half of a cup. This will add some more crunch and some nutty aroma to the salad.
- Celery: a few diced stalks of celery will add extra crispiness and nutrition.
- Pomegranate: 1/3 cup of pomegranate seeds will also work great; adds crunchiness, sweetness, and a little bit of a sour flavor
Preparation
Rinse, and cook unpeeled beets until they are fork-tender (about 30-40 minutes). Once ready, drain the boiling water and cover the beets with cold water to allow them to cool down.
While the beets are cooking, grate the carrot and apple on the coarse side of the grater and chop the cabbage. Place the vegetables into a large mixing bowl.
Remove the cooled beets from the water, cut off the beet top and root end and peel off the skin. Grate the beets on the coarse side of the grater and add them to the mixing bowl.
Add the salt, mayo, and sour cream and stir well to combine all ingredients. Stir in the crispy onion just before serving so they don't become soggy.
Top Tips
- to save some time, you can cook the beets a day or two in advance and keep them in the fridge, to be peeled and grated when you are preparing the rest of the ingredients for the salad
- peel the beets after cooking them; they are easier to peel when cooked
- to avoid staining your hands when peeling and grating the beets, you can wear kitchen gloves
Storing Suggestions
Store leftovers in the refrigirator, in an airtight container, upto 3 days.
Because the crispy onion gets soggy after a while in the salad, it's best to add them right before serving and only to the portion you are serving. If you use a large mixing bowl to mix all the ingredients and then use a smaller serving salad bowl for the salad, only add the crispy onions to the serving bowl.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the salad with our Sweet and Savory Stuffed Chicken Quarters or our Super Easy Sautéed Chicken Thighs with some Oven Roasted Potato Cubes on the side.
Try these other salads
Recipe
Sweet and Crunchy Beet Salad
Ingredients
- 2 medium beets or 3 small
- 1 apple sweet apple such as Fuji, Golden Delicious
- 1 carrot medium
- 250 gm green cabbage
- 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 tbs mayonnaise
- 1 cup crispy onion see notes for other options
Instructions
- Remove beetroot leaves (if any) and rinse the unpeeled beets under cool water. Place them in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. While the beets are cooking, prepare the other ingredients (step 2 below). Simmer the beets until they are fork-tender (about 30-40 minutes). Drain the boiling water and cover the beets with cold water to allow them to cool down.
- While the beets are cooking, peel, rinse and grate the carrot on a coarse side of the grater. Peel, rinse, remove seeds and shred the apple, on a coarse side of the grater. Rinse and shred/chop the cabbage. Place the carrot, apple and cabbage into a large mixing bowl.
- Remove the cooled beets from the water and place them on a cutting board. Cut off the beet top and root end and peel off the skin (I find it's easier to use a knife than a potato peeler when the beets are cooked). Grate the beets on the coarse side of the grater and add them to the mixing bowl.
- Add the salt, mayo, sour cream and stir well to combine all ingredients. Stir in the crispy onion just before serving so they don't become soggy. Add more salt to taste.
Notes
- Packaged crispy onions are usually available at any grocery store. You can usually find them next to packaged bacon bits. But, if they are not available Tortilla Strips or Salad Noodles will work great as well. Just as with the crispy onions, add the tortilla strips or salad noodles right before serving, so they don’t become soggy in the salad.
- store the leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator and add more crispy onion before serving the leftovers. This way, you will have the crisp in the salad when served the next day.
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