Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula, Rye and Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce

This impressive and hearty salad is a delightful combination of flavors and textures: Earthy beets, spicy arugula, crisp shallots and pop-in-your-mouth rye berries all tossed in a honey mustard vinaigrette. And alongside there's a Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce to perfectly compliment the components and bring them all together.

If you love roasted beets, you will love this salad!

Why This Recipe Works

You are going to want to make this Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula, Rye and Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce because:

• It is the perfect showcase for the humble and SO delicious roasted beet. The simple vinaigrette, scattering of lightly-pickled shallots, hearty rye, spicy arugula and ESPECIALLY the creamy skyr sauce all show up to help those beets shine brightly and be the very BEST they can be.
• It is a meal in and of itself. The addition of the whole grain rye berries really makes this salad nourishing and super satisfying.
• It's gorgeous and impressive. Those jewel-like beets tucked between leafy greens with a dollop of creamy herb-studded sauce alongside? So lovely.

The Ingredients

• Beets are the star of the show here. Roasting them brings out their sweet, earthy flavor while keeping the texture pleasantly firm. Feel free to use golden beets rather than red if you prefer.
• Rye berries are incredibly nutritious and add a hearty, whole grain component to the salad. Want to learn more about rye, including the benefits of adding rye to your diet? Check out this post, The Essential Guide to Cooking and Baking with Rye for a concise overview of this often overlooked grain. Rye berries are often available in the bulk section of organic grocery stores (I buy mine at Natural Grocers), or on Amazon. If you can't find rye berries, no problem! Choose wheat berries, pearl barley or farro instead. Just be sure to vary the cooking time accordingly.
• Arugula serves as the leafy green in this salad and is a welcome, assertive match to the sweet roasted beets.
• Shallots are sliced into thin rings and left to soak in the vinegar for a few minutes to tame their flavor and texture slightly. The result is tasty, lightly-pickled shallots scattered throughout the salad.
• Extra-virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, white balsamic vinegar and honey make up the simple vinaigrette for the salad. White balsamic is excellent here and quite readily available, but you could substitute regular white or red wine vinegar instead.
• Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce is most definitely highlight of this salad, bringing a cool, herby, yogurt-y goodness that elevates the whole dish. You can find that simple recipe here. If you don't have skyr, you can always substitute Greek yogurt instead.

How To Make This Recipe

• Cook the rye berries. Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the rye berries and allow the water to come back to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Cook until the rye berries are pleasantly tender but still have a pop-in-your-mouth quality, about 45 minutes to an hour. Drain and set aside. The rye berries can be cooked up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

• Roast the beets. Simply scrub and trim the beets, drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and tightly seal. Roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your beets. A knife inserted into the center of a properly cooked beet should slide in and out without much resistance. Once they are done, let them cool slightly, uncovered, and then rub the skins off with a paper towel. They should come off quite easily. Slice the beets into thin rounds or cut into wedges if you prefer. The beets can be roasted up to two days ahead of time and stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.

• While the beets are roasting the rye is simmering, make the Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce. You can find the recipe here.

• Now is the time to make the vinaigrette as well. Slice the shallots and toss them with the white balsamic vinegar. Let them sit in the vinegar for about 10 minutes. This mellows out the raw flavor and gives them a slightly pickled flavor. Add the rest of the vinaigrette ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

• Dress and season each component of the salad separately. Drizzle the sliced beets with a teaspoon of vinaigrette and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer one cup of the rye berries to a large bowl and toss with the remaining vinaigrette (you might have some rye berries left over). Season to taste this salt and pepper. Next, toss the arugula with the rye berries and vinaigrette. Check one last time to make sure it is properly seasoned. Arrange the rye berry and arugula mixture on a platter and artfully place the sliced beets throughout. Finish with a generous dollop of the skyr sauce. ENJOY!

Expert Tips

• Dress each component of the salad separately and then combine them. This gives the salad the best overall flavor and ensures that each ingredient gets a little hit of vinaigrette and salt and pepper.
• Artfully arrange the beets rather than tossing them in the salad. Once red beets come into contact with just about anything else, they leave a trail of red. To keep your salad looking clean and beautiful, simply nestle the beet slices into the already dressed rye berries and greens. You will get a much prettier final result.
• Don't skip the Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce! It truly makes the salad.

FAQS

I invite you to make this Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula, Rye and Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce in your own kitchen! It's delicious, nourishing and has some serious New Nordic vibes. Looking for more delicious grain-based Scandinavian salads? I've got a few other tasty options here on the blog for you to try:

Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula, Rye and Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce

This impressive and hearty salad is a delightful combination of flavors and textures: Earthy beets, spicy arugula, crisp shallots and pop-in-your-mouth rye berries all tossed in a honey mustard vinaigrette. And alongside there's a Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce to perfectly compliment the components and bring them all together.

Print Pin Rate

Course: salads

Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Keyword: roasted beet recipe, salad recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 227kcal

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup rye berries rinsed
• ▢ Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• ▢ 1 bunch beets about 3 medium
• ▢ 2 small shallots cut into thin rings
• ▢ 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling on beets
• ▢ 1 teaspoon honey
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ 4-6 cups baby arugula
• ▢ Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce for serving

Instructions

• Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to a boil. Add rye berries and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until grains are pleasantly tender but still have a little bite to them, about 45-60 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, roast the beets: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and trim beets. Rub with olive oil and place inside a tightly sealed foil pouch. Roast until the beets are tender, about 45-60 minutes. The time will depend on the size of your beets. Open the foil pouch and set aside to cool. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, use a paper towel to help remove the skins from the beets. They should slide off quite easily. Slice the beets into circles or wedges.
• Cover the shallots with vinegar and set aside for 10 minutes. Whisk in honey, mustard and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Assemble the salad: Drizzle the beet slices with 1 teaspoon of vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine 1 cup of the rye berries and the remaining vinaigrette in a large bowl (you may have some rye berries left over). Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper. Add the arugula to the bowl. Toss and season to taste one last time. Transfer the dressed arugula and rye to a serving platter. Artfully nestle the beet slices in the salad. Place a large dollop of Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce on the platter. Serve.

Notes

• Dress each component of the salad separately and then combine them. This gives the salad the best overall flavor and ensures that each ingredient gets a little hit of vinaigrette and salt and pepper.
• Artfully arrange the beets rather than tossing them in the salad. Once red beets come into contact with just about anything else, they leave a trail of red. To keep your salad looking clean and beautiful, simply nestle the beet slices into the already dressed rye berries and greens. You will get a much prettier final result.
• The beets, rye berries, vinaigrette and the Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce can all be made up to a couple of days ahead of time.  Store each ingredient separately, tightly sealed in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the salad.
• You can substitute wheat berries, pearl barley or farro for the rye berries.  Just be sure to take into account their unique cooking times.

Nutrition

Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 32mg | Potassium: 193mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 482IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 2mg

If you loved this recipe, give it a star review! Also, snap a picture of your roasted beet salad and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #truenorthkitchen and tagging me @true_north_kitchen.