Here’s a way to make your beets NOT taste like dirt! This Roasted Beet and Radish Salad is loaded with fresh pesto, feta cheese, and a hint of lemon, which help to counter that typical beet taste that so many of us can’t get over.

The whole point of us taking on one new ingredient every other week is that we’re forced to try things we might not usually. Case in point. Radishes. And beets. Basically everything that makes up this salad is made possible by the nagging feeling that I can’t just make chocolate and avocado the spotlight ingredient every week. We need to focus on like…grownup food too.

But as it turns out, beets and radishes can be really tasty. Like when you draw out their natural sweetness by quickly roasting them.
Then when you counter the typical dirt flavor of beets with a squeeze of lemon and some feta.
Then when you bring it all together with a simple basil pesto. That, friends, is how you eat beets and radishes. Introducing, Roasted Beet and Radish Salad!



Ingredients
- 2 red beets peeled and diced
- 1 cup radishes diced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil 30 mL
- Pinch each salt and pepper
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled or diced, 100 g
- 2 Tbsp pesto 30 g
- ½ lemon
Instructions
- Roast: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C). Dice beets and radishes, and spread onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper, tossing around a bit to evenly coat. Roast for 20 minutes, or until radishes are a bit tender (beets will still have some crunch)
- Serve: Toss to combine roasted beets, radishes, feta, pesto, and the juice from half of a lemon. Serve warm or cold.
Booker says
I had no idea how to eat all the beets and radishes in my fridge to I saw this recipe. I must admit, I didn’t follow it all the way. I added more salt to the roasted veg and added some leek for a light onion. I also quick pickled some of the beets and radishes in a mix of balsamic, white wine, and red wine vinegar (any vinegar besides white would work) while I was waiting for the others to roast. Added a bit of fresh apple and some aged cheese with the feta and it turned out so good! Never would have thought of putting beets and radishes and pesto together but dang.
Anne Tisdale says
Delicious recipe. I make lots of recipes with beets, never thought they had a dirt taste to them.
Jazmine says
I stumbled upon this recipe while trying to add beets to my diet. I really enjoy this. I personally prepared this with raw beets and radishes. I am not really a fan of the feta but tried it with romona and liked that better.
Katie says
Very good! I created my own radish pesto too. and added a beet and the other half of the lemon. I also used parmigiana cheese because that’s what I had on hand.
Sarah Bond says
YUM! I’ll have to try that! 😀