Beetroot and walnut salad with garlic yogurt

By Nikola · Precision Nutrition L1 · Sources checked 5 November 2026

Sweet beetroot, toasted walnuts and a sharp garlic yogurt dressing. It is close to the beetroot salad with walnuts and garlic you find on Bulgarian tables, made with thick yogurt instead of mayonnaise. The beetroot needs about an hour in the oven, which you can do a day or two ahead; after that, the salad takes 10 minutes.

Portion: about 200 g each · Difficulty: Easy · Diet: Vegetarian, gluten-free

Beetroot and walnut salad with garlic yogurt

Roasted beetroot, toasted walnuts and a garlic yogurt dressing, close to the Bulgarian beetroot salad. Cook the beetroot ahead and it takes 10 minutes.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Salads

Servings 4 servings

Calories 228 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 600 g beetroot about 4 medium, unpeeled weight
• 50 g walnuts about 1/2 cup
• 200 g thick plain Greek yogurt or other strained yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic 6 g, finely grated
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 13.5 g
• 1 tbsp lemon juice 15 g or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp fine salt 3 g
• Black pepper
• A small bunch of dill or parsley chopped

Instructions

 

• Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Wash the beetroot, leave the skin and root on and wrap each one in foil. Roast for 50-70 minutes, depending on size, until a knife slides easily into the centre. You can also boil them in plenty of water for 40-60 minutes.
• While they roast, toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan, until they smell toasty. Let them cool and chop roughly.
• When the beetroot is cool enough to handle, rub off the skins with a paper towel (gloves help). Grate coarsely, or cut into 1 cm cubes if you prefer more bite.
• In a bowl, stir together the yogurt, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and a little pepper.
• Fold in the beetroot and most of the walnuts. The dressing turns bright pink. Taste and add more salt, garlic or lemon if it needs it.
• Scatter the remaining walnuts and the dill over the top. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Keyword autumn, beetroot, beets, Bulgarian, garlic, gluten-free, Greek yogurt, make ahead, salad, vegetarian, walnuts, winter

Nutrition per serving

Per serving, 1/4 of the salad, calculated from USDA FoodData Central for each ingredient.

Data: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: Beets, raw (FDC 169145); Nuts, walnuts, english (FDC 170187); Yogurt, Greek, plain, whole milk (FDC 171304); Garlic, raw (FDC 169230); Oil, olive, salad or cooking (FDC 171413); Lemon juice, raw (FDC 167747). Beetroot is calculated with raw values on the raw weight. Dill or parsley and black pepper are not included. Carbohydrate is USDA “by difference” and includes fibre.

Swaps and variations

• Olive oil dressing (vegan): leave out the yogurt and dress the beetroot with 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, the garlic and salt. The nutrition values above no longer apply.
• Lighter: use low-fat Greek yogurt.
• With prunes: add 4-5 chopped prunes; their sweetness works well with garlic and walnuts.
• Salty contrast: crumble 50 g feta over the top.
• Shortcut: use vacuum-packed cooked beetroot without vinegar.

Storage and reheating

The finished salad keeps 2 days in a closed container in the fridge; the walnuts soften a little, so keep a few aside for the top. Cooked, unpeeled beetroot keeps 5 days in the fridge, which makes it easy to prepare ahead. This salad is not suitable for freezing.

Related

• Recipes: Pomegranate, walnut and parsley salad · Roasted root vegetables with thyme and honey · Kale, apple and walnut salad
• Encyclopedia: Beets · Walnuts · Greek yogurt
• Diet: Mediterranean diet · 7-day Mediterranean meal plan

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