My workplace had an International Luncheon potluck recently and I decided to make the dish Russian Beet Salad. I wanted something that didn’t need to be heated up and could be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to serve.
I also, obviously, wanted to make something I grew up eating, and it had to be fairly easy to make. I decided to go with the beet salad since it is a pretty well-known Russian dish, and much easier to make and serve at a potluck than Borscht (beet soup) or Russian potato salad (another well-known dish with many more ingredients).
How to make Russian Beet Salad
Enjoy trying out and making this Russian beet salad recipe. Did you know this recipe is very popular in both Russian and Ukranian cultures, but was originally adopted from Western European cuisines.
Ingredients for Russian Beet Salad:
- 4 beets
- 6 potatoes
- 4 carrots
- 6 green onions
- 6 dill pickles
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 4 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- salt
Directions to prepare the Russian Beet Salad:
Cook, peel, and dice beets, red potatoes, carrots. Add diced pickles. Combine vegetable oil and champagne vinegar for dressing. Green onion garnish, salt to taste.
The steps are pretty simple, but in reality, this salad does take some time to make.
You have to cook the beets, potatoes, and carrots until they are soft, then let them cool, then peel them and dice them. It took me about 40 minutes to cook the beets and 30 minutes to cook the potatoes and carrots (separately from the beets). I set two separate pots to boil and cooked the beets in one pot and the potatoes and carrots in another.
The veggies have to be fairly soft to be able to peel and dice them easily – this is not a crunchy salad. While the beets were finishing up I was peeling the potatoes. Peeling the carrots was pretty quick and peeling the softened beets is easy.
Fair warning – cooking with beets makes your kitchen look like a crime scene – an apron is recommended. I diced the potatoes, carrots, and beets into a large mixing bowl, then I got the pickles out of the jar and diced them up as well, mixing everything together.
The next step is making the dressing. When I looked up variations of this recipe online to confirm I wasn’t forgetting a key ingredient, I saw a recommendation to use champagne vinegar in the dressing. I went with that instead of how my Mom makes it, which is with regular white vinegar that we would already have at the house.
I find this beet salad can be a bit too overwhelming with white vinegar, but the champagne vinegar was perfect. This was my first time using champagne vinegar and it took me a little while to locate it in the store.
You can measure out the 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and add the 4 tablespoons of champagne vinegar to the measuring cup before pouring over the vegetables in the mixing bowl and tossing them evenly. I added a little salt, then a little bit more after taste testing it. I didn’t want to overdo the flavors, but I did want it to affect the taste. Then I chopped up the green onion.
Finally, I transferred the mixed salad into a large serving bowl and sprinkled the green onion on top. I closed the lid and refrigerated it overnight, bringing it to work the next day for the luncheon. The beet salad waited in the refrigerator at work until it was time to serve it.
Easy peasy for potluck purposes, but a bit of time on the preparation.
Are Beets healthy?
A great thing about this salad is how healthy it is. How often do any of us eat beets? Probably not all that often, but beets are so good for you:
- Beets are high in vitamins and minerals
- Beets can help reduce cholesterol and risks for some cancers
- Beets are a superfood and are good to eat during pregnancy
- Beets lower blood pressure and increase energy levels
I got a lot of compliments on this dish so it was definitely well-received by the office. There you have it, my slightly modified family recipe for making Russian beet salad that you can take to a potluck.
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Kelly says
This is very popular in Peru – “Ensalada Rusa”. I never cared for beets before, but it’s turned me into a fan! Here, we generally just use the root veggies, salt, pepper and then a homemade mayo for dressing. It’s delicious!
Harps says
This sounds yummy! Thanks for linking up to #babybrainmonday x
Echo says
I have never tried beet salad! Thank you for sharing this at the #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup!
Kelly says
I never ate beets – I *thought* I didn’t like them lol – until I moved to Peru and ‘ensalada rusa’ (Russian salad) is a common side dish. I love it! It’s pretty similar to what you’ve got here, minus the pickles and with mayo instead of a oil/vinegar.
I cook my beets in the microwave – in a covered Pyrex with an inch or two of water. It’s faster than boiling on the stove top, they’re ready in 15 or 20 minutes.
Julie says
There’s another Russian salad that I know of that has beets and mayo, but it also has raisins. I didn’t know you cook beets in the microwave, ooh that’s a great shortcut idea!
Michelle James says
This actually looks good. LOL! I am not a beet fan and have never even purchased beets. I wasn’t sure I would even be able to comment. But, it looks quite yummy and the health benefits are amazing. You may have just convinced me enough to go out and make this. Thanks for the recipe. I will pin it and think on it. LOL!
Julie says
Glad to catch your interest, you’ll have to let me know if you end up making it and how you like it.
You Baby Me Mummy says
I am not a massive beetroot fan but it does look nice. The potluck things sounds interesting! Thanks so much for linking up to #TheList x
Julie says
It is fun to taste foods from other cultures, so I’m glad my office decided to do that potluck.
Crystal Bissonnette says
I just started adding beets into smoothies here and there. I had never had them before but read all the great health benefits and was sold.
Julie says
Ooh I’ve never done them in smoothies, that’s a great idea.
Karen says
I’m looking forward to trying this out because we’re one of those families that doesn’t eat beets – for no legitimate reason. Honestly, I’ve never really known how to use them.
I appreciate your detailed instructions – especially cooking them separate from the carrots & potatoes.
I’m going to put this together and take it to church one Sunday for lunch – I’m always looking for recipes like this that I can do ahead, then just grab and go. Thanks so much for sharing!
Julie says
Yay, another person who likes make-ahead recipes 🙂 Let me know how it works out for you 🙂 I wouldn’t know how to use them either if I hadn’t grown up eating them, and it isn’t until recently that I even learned how to cook them from my Mom.
Karen says
I’m looking forward to trying this out because we’re one of those families that doesn’t eat beets – for no legitimate reason. Honestly, I’ve never really known how to use them.
I appreciate your detailed instructions – especially cooking them separate from the carrots & potatoes.
I’m going to put this together and take it to church one Sunday for lunch – I’m always looking for recipes like this that I can do ahead, then just grab and go. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kara says
That looks awesome. Surprisingly, I never had beets until I was an adult, and I love them. I’m definitely going to try making this.
Julie says
They do seem like a weird item to kids, I see that even though I grew up eating them.
The L's Mum says
That looks so yummy, I definitely will have to give this a try #TheList
Julie says
Thanks 🙂 let me know how you like it