Delicious Greek Salad with roasted (boiled or pickled) beets, plain Yogurt, olive oil and fresh lemon. Easily prepared in advance, or quickly before dinner, this recipe is a crowd pleaser. Vegetarian.
Beetroot salad might not sound like a thrill, but pantzarosalata—Greece’s answer to “what to do with all these beets”—is surprisingly lush. It’s one of those dishes that feels too simple to be this good: earthy beets, hugged by fresh Yogurt, drizzled with some olive oil and lemon juice. The perfect quick escape to mainland Greece on a cloudy day.
Behind the Bites
Pantzarosalata (Παντζαροσαλάτα) is a traditional Greek beetroot salad. Its name comes from pantzari (παντζάρι), meaning beetroot, and salata (σαλάτα), meaning salad. Pantzarosalata has its roots in rural Greek cuisine, where seasonal vegetables were central to the diet. Beets were especially popular in mainland Greece due to their hardiness and ability to grow in diverse climates. The dish likely evolved as a way to use boiled or roasted beets in a refreshing salad, combined with local stapes like lemons, olive oil and walnuts.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beets – baked in foil in the oven, or pickled if you prefer.
- Plain Yogurt
- Olive oil
- Parsley
- Walnuts
- Lemon juice
- Garlic
- Sea salt
How to make Greek Beets salad?
1st: Prepare the beets in the oven, let them cool and peel the skin off. Cut them into pieces.
2nd: In a large bowl combine all remaining ingredients, cool the salad in the fridge for 10 minutes, optional. Serve.
Easy Greek Beet Yogurt Salad (Pantzarosalata)
Ingredients
- 6 small raw beets, approx. 700g
- 100 g plain Greek Yogurt, approx. 2/3 cup
- 4 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 tbsp. parsley, chopped
- 30 g raw walnuts, chopped
- 4 tbsp. lemon juice, fresh
- 1 tsp. garlic, minced
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- First, wash beets well under cold water. With skin on wrap each beet in aluminum foil individually.
- Then, place into baking dish and roast until fully cooked on 180C/360F in the oven.
- In the meantime, in a large mixing bowl, combine parsley, chopped walnuts and plain Yogurt.
- Once beets are cooked, remove the foil and peel the skin off. Chop in large chunks and mix in with the Yogurt.
- Finally, drizzle with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Excellent salad that we enjoyed for dinner.