Here's an easy winter salad that will warm you up! Roasted beetroot and feta salad with balsamic hot honey dressing served on a bed of warm puy lentils. It's fiery, tangy, full of seasonal flavor, and super simple to throw together.
I make this as a starter for dinner parties or an easy, healthy lunch. It stores well, and you can adjust the spice levels to suit you. But chili and beetroot go so wonderfully together, and the heat is tamed by the feta cheese, so I recommend going in strong!
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🛒 Ingredients
- Whole raw beetroot
- Puy lentils - I prefer these as they have the best texture, but other green or brown lentils will work (don't use red or lentils lentils).
- Feta cheese
- Garlic
- Red chili peppers
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Honey
- Chives
See the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities and step-by-step directions on how to make roasted beetroot and feta salad with hot honey balsamic dressing.
👩🏼🍳 Instructions
Preheat the oven to 150C/300F
Place the beetroot in an oven-proof dish and roast for 1.5 hours. Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before gently removing the skins. Slice into segments.
Meanwhile, cook the puy lentils according to package instructions, and when they are done, drain, stir through some olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Make the balsamic hot honey dressing by heating oil in a saucepan and gently fry the garlic and fresh chilies. Add the balsamic vinegar and allow it to reduce for 30 seconds before adding the honey. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse.
Arrange the roasted beets on a bed of warm lentils and crumble the feta cheese on top. Drizzle with the balsamic hot honey dressing and garnish with fresh chopped chives to serve.
Top tips
Don't wait until the roasted beetroot is completely cooled to remove the skins, as they are much easier to peel when warm.
Leave the seeds in the chilis to make the dressing spicier. You can use dried chili pepper flakes instead if this is all you have.
You can buy cooked beetroot and pre-cooked lentils (canned lentils or the ones in pouches) to save time if easier.
🍽 How to serve
You can swap out the lentils for lettuce to make this salad even lighter or serve it on the side of some grilled meats to make it more substantial. I sometimes use other grains like wild rice as well as a base.
Check out the summer version of this dish, my heirloom tomato and hot honey salad.
🍷Wine Pairing for beetroot feta salad
Beetroot has an earthy, slightly sweet flavor, and the other components of this salad are spicy and tangy.
🥣 Equipment
A couple of saucepans to make the dressing and cook the lentils in, and an ovenproof dish to roast beets.
❄️ Storage and Freezing
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3-4 days. You may want to leave it out to come up to room temperature before enjoying it, as the flavors will be better.
👩🏼🍳 Related recipes
Looking for other recipes like this roasted beetroot and feta salad? Try these:
Have you tried this recipe?
If you make this recipe, I'd love to hear how it went! Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well. Your feedback helps other readers and is greatly appreciated.
📖 Recipe
Roasted Beetroot & Feta Salad With Balsamic Hot Honey Dressing
Equipment
- 1 ovenproof dish
Ingredients
- 4 Beetroot whole, raw
- 500 grams (15 oz) Puy lentils
- 200 grams (7 oz) Feta cheese
- 2 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoon Honey
- 2 Chili peppers
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 tablespoon Fresh chives
- 2 teaspoon Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150℃/300℉
- Place the beets into an ovenproof dish and roast for 1.5 hours until tender. Wait for 5-10 minutes, and then gently peel them. You should be able to almost push the skins off. Slice the beets into segments or rounds.
- Meanwhile, cook the lentils according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain and stir through a drizzle of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Finally, make the balsamic hot honey dressing. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a saucepan and gently fry the garlic and fresh chilies until fragrant. Add the balsamic vinegar and allow it to reduce down for 30 seconds before adding the honey. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse.
- Spoon the warm lentils onto plates and top with the segments of roasted beetroot. Crumble feta cheese on top and drizzle with the hot honey balsamic. Garnish with fresh chopped chives to serve.
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