Beetroot Salad with Pomegranate

🔍 Quick Look: Beet Salad with Pomegranate

• ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
• 🎛️ Cook Time: This is a raw salad. No cooking required.
• 👥 Servings: 4
• 📊 Calories: ~245 kcal (based on nutrition panel)
• 👩🏽‍🍳 Flavor Profile: This beetroot salad is earthy, lightly sweet, tart, herbaceous, and creamy.
• 💪🏼 Nutrition: 7 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber. One serving packs 32% DV fiber, 36% folate, 21% zinc, and 17% iron-plus vitamin C to help enhance plant-based iron absorption.
• ⭐ Difficulty: Easy. A food processor with a shredding attachment makes grating the beets and carrots especially quick, but a box grater works too.

👩🏽‍⚕️ Dietitian's Note

What I love about this beetroot pomegranate salad is how many different plant foods fit into one simple dish: beetroot, carrots, onion, parsley, dill, pomegranate, sesame seeds from the tahini, and lemon.

The combination also creates a much more interesting eating experience than a basic leafy salad. You get crisp grated vegetables, juicy pomegranate seeds, lots of fresh herbs, and a creamy dressing in every bite.

And because the beets and carrots are grated rather than cooked, this recipe comes together quickly while maintaining plenty of crunch.

Why You'll Love This Recipe:

These Beetroot Salad with Pomegranate is delicious and easy to make. Plus, it's:

• Fresh and crunchy: Grated beets and carrots give this salad plenty of texture.
• Sweet, tangy, and creamy: Juicy pomegranate and lemon balance the earthy vegetables, while tahini makes the dressing rich and creamy.
• A raw salad: No cooking required. Everything comes together with simple chopping and grating.
• Beautiful for entertaining: Deep ruby beets, orange carrots, green herbs, and jewel-like pomegranate seeds make this salad especially striking.
• Easy to prep ahead: The vegetables and dressing can be prepared separately in advance.
• Naturally vegan and gluten-free.

👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients

Below, I share ingredient notes from both a nutrition expert's and trained chef's perspective.

• Beetroots: Raw grated beetroots give this salad its earthy flavor, crisp texture, and gorgeous ruby color. Finely shredding them also helps them absorb the creamy dressing. Red beets are especially striking with the pomegranate, but other varieties will work.
• Carrots: Balance the earthy beets with natural sweetness and plenty of crunch. Grate them to roughly the same thickness as the beets for the best texture.
• Pomegranate: Fresh pomegranate seeds are one of the stars of this salad. They add bursts of juicy sweetness and tartness that pair especially well with earthy beets.
• Spanish Onion: Finely chopped Spanish onion gives the salad a savory bite that keeps the sweeter ingredients balanced. Chop it quite finely so it blends throughout rather than dominating individual bites.
• Parsley: Fresh parsley adds a clean, bright, herbaceous flavor that lightens the earthiness of the root vegetables.
• Dill: Fresh dill adds another layer of freshness and its distinctive grassy, slightly anise-like flavor pairs beautifully with beets and lemon.
• Tahini: Makes the dressing rich and creamy without needing mayonnaise or dairy. Its toasty sesame flavor also complements the earthy sweetness of the beets.
• Lemon: Fresh lemon juice adds acidity and brightness while loosening the tahini into a creamy dressing.
• Balsamic Vinegar, Balsamic Glaze, or Pomegranate Molasses: All work, but the flavor will be slightly different. Balsamic vinegar gives the dressing a bright, sweet-tangy finish. Concentrated balsamic glaze is thicker, sweeter, and more intensely flavored. Pomegranate molasses intensifies the pomegranate flavor and adds a deeper, fruitier tartness.

See the printable recipe card below for quantities.

🌱 Substitutions

This recipe is versatile and easy to adapt. Below are some simple ingredient substitutions.

• Spanish onion: Substitute red onion or shallots.
• Parsley: Cilantro can be used for a different flavor profile, or simply use additional dill.
• Dill: Replace it with additional parsley if needed.
• Pomegranate: Crisp diced apple can provide sweet-tart crunch, although it will create a very different salad.
• Tahini: Another creamy seed or nut-based butter can work, but tahini gives this recipe its distinctive sesame flavor.
• Balsamic vinegar: Substitute pomegranate molasses, or balsamic glaze, for a more concentrated flavor.

🌿 Expert Tips

Use a food processor if you have one. Three beets plus three large carrots is a lot to grate by hand. A shredding disk makes this salad much faster to prepare.

Keep some texture. Coarsely grated vegetables are ideal here. If the beets and carrots are shredded too finely, the salad can become softer and wetter.

Finely chop the onion. Large pieces of raw onion can overwhelm the more delicate pomegranate and herb flavors.

Don't worry when the tahini thickens. Tahini commonly seizes when lemon juice is first added. Keep whisking and thin it gradually with water if necessary.

Use pomegranate molasses for the most pronounced pomegranate flavor. It makes the dressing fruitier and more intense than balsamic vinegar.

Save some pomegranate and herbs for serving. Sprinkle them over the finished salad so you can still see the individual colors after the beet juice turns everything pink.

✔️ Storage & Meal Prep

Store Beetroot Salad with Pomegranate in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

For the best texture and appearance, keep the grated vegetables and tahini dressing separate until closer to serving.

Once dressed, the salad will soften as it sits, but the flavors will continue to mingle.

Meal Prep

This salad is particularly good for meal prep because most of the following steps can be done ahead:

• Grate the beets and carrots and chop the onion and herbs. Store them refrigerated in an airtight container.
• Make the tahini dressing separately and refrigerate it in a covered jar or container. Storing the grated salad separately from its dressing preserves texture.
• Add the pomegranate and toss with the dressing when you're ready to serve.

🍴 What to Serve with Beetroot Salad

This fresh beetroot salad with pomegranate works especially well alongside richer dishes because its acidity and crunch add contrast.

Serve it:

• With other Mediterranean-inspired dishes
• As part of a holiday spread
• Alongside beetroot hummus and pita
• With roasted lentils, dry chickpeas, roasted edamame beans, or tofu
• As part of a grain bowl
• Alongside a vegan soup

🫜 More Beetroot Recipes

This Beetroot & Yogurt Salad is protein-packed to keep you satisfied for hours.

Adding lentils to this hearty recipe for borscht vegan boosts protein and fiber, making it a more nourishing and filling low-calorie soup. 

This Raw Red Beet Salad is a nutrient powerhouse-rich in fiber, plant protein, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds. 

This Superfood Salad is a powerhouse of nutrition, combining vibrant raw beets, crunchy red cabbage, and fresh chopped spinach for a burst of antioxidants and cancer-fighting compounds.

This high-protein Vegan Pastrami, consisting of thinly sliced tofu, marinated in a flavorful brine, and cooked until perfectly browned.

Try these Beetroot Recipes on my site.

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