Having been raised in an Italian kitchen, I usually don’t get to fancy with my salad dressings.
A little olive oil, garlic, and vinegar or lemon juice and I’m a “happy-salad-eatin’-camper” BUT when I found a recipe in the Whole Foods Cookbook for a salad dressing that was made from RAW BEETS, I just had to give it a try.
First things first, we can’t even begin to talk about the taste until we discuss the color!
Hello gorgeous!
I mean seriously, if I had to come back in another life as a salad dressing, you better believe it is gonna be this one! Is this not one of the most beautiful colors you have ever seen!? It almost looks fake.
Okay, now that we covered the beauty of this dressing I am ready to move on to the taste:)
Raw beets are very earthy.
Many would say they taste like dirt – I however, prefer earthy.
Beets also contain a lot of sugar, as a matter of fact, they contain the most sugar of any other veggie. So I think it’s fair to say that beets are both earthy and sweet.
Take the earthy, sweet flavor of a raw beet and combine it with some tangy apple cider vinegar, sweet honey, a little onion and garlic, and some rich, creamy Greek yogurt and you will end up with this sweet, earthy, tangy, beautiful salad dressing.
It’s a “pop-everything-into-the-food-processor-and-blend” type of dressing.
Very simple. Very quick. Very show-stopping.
This is the kind of a dressing that you could absolutely should serve when you are having friends over. It has a WOW factor and is a conversation piece in color alone.
It’s lovely drizzled over some field greens or some spicy arugula.
I’ve been especially loving it on greens with some feta cheese, grilled balsamic chicken, and sliced almonds… UM! (that’s how KAtie says yum and it is starting to rub off on me!).
But don’t feel you have to use it only on salads!! We have also been spooning it over grilled salmon and dipping whole wheat pita stuffed with arugula and goat cheese into it as well.
So tell me… have you guys ever seen or tried a dressing like this before? Have you ever used raw beets in any of your recipes??
Sweet and Tart Beet Dressing
Ingredients
1 cup of chopped up beets (about 1 large beet)
½ yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp of honey
1 clove of crushed garlic
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ cup of plain fat free Greek yogurt
Directions
Place all of the ingredients into your food processor and puree until the mixture is smooth.
Makes about 1 ½ cup.
Nutritional Analysis
Seving Size = 2 tbspCalories: 21; Total Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 10mg; Carbohydrate:4.6g; Dietary Fiber: 0.3g; Sugars: 4g; Protein: 1g
More from Clean & Delicious...
Beet, Beet Greens, Feta, Dill, and Quinoa Salad
Rich & Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing (without the fat!)
Salmon Caesar Salad
Curried Turkey Skillet w/ Pomegranate Seeds
Happy New Year's and A Few Good Recipes from Around The Web
Other recipes you may enjoy:
Beet Hummus from Simply Recipes
Rosemary Roasted Beets from Guilty Kitchen
Beet Salad from Wrightfood
Chilled Corn and Golden Beet Soup from No Recipes
Cold Beet and Fennel Soup from Dani Spies
This sounds incredible. And, incredibly delicious, easy, and healthy. It’s going on my list!
Sounds good. I’m assuming the beets are raw? Must really have to whir them a long time in the food processor.
Looks and sounds delicious! I’ve always been a cooked beet hater, but maybe I’ll give this a shot because the other flavors in combination with the beets actually sound delicious. Plus, it’s pretty ^_^
Hi, this looks great, but i have a silly question. Is beets the same as beetroot?
Here in australia we don’t cook beetroot, it is served cold, from a tin, in it’s juices, with salads, and on burgers.For me it is a summer staple food.So if it IS the same thing i think this dressing will be perfect!
I couldn’t imagine cooked beetroot
Cara – It’s so good! Try spooning it over some grilled salmon…yum!
Marne – The beets are raw but I chopped them up before blending them so they actually broke down pretty quickly.
Healthy and Homemade – Perhaps a raw beet will convert you?!
Rebecca – Beet and beet root are the same thing but I have a feeling that the beets you are eating from the tin are already cooked or at the very least pickled. Eating raw beets is pretty rare:)
This does sound (and look) great. I’ve had a salad dressing made with roasted beets, blended up, but never raw. Must try!
Thanks Dani, i never knew that.
I think i am going to buy some extra beetroot and see what else i can do with it
Ricki – Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Rebecca – Sounds good! I’ll be eager to hear about what you come up with:)
I’m such a beet lover but generally with you on simple dressings. I’m thinking, ala the hummus you posted that this could also be thickened and done as a dip too. I agree, best color ever!
Lauren – Beet hummus? I will have to try this! Great idea:)
I never even thought to use beets for a dressing. I am totally printing this out to try since I have some in my fridge – Thanks, Dani!