A super healthy simple salad with beets, berries, basil, seasonal greens, and an insanely delicious avocado basil vinaigrette. Vegan, paleo, gluten-free, and bursting with flavor and good-for-you ingredients.
You know those summer days when the only thing that sounds good to eat is a cold, crunchy salad with the freshest seasonal ingredients? I've been having a lot of those days lately, and this beet salad with berries and an avocado basil vinaigrette has totally hit the spot!
I honestly would never imagine that beets, blueberries, and blackberries would work well together. I don't typically like dishes that are too sweet and I'm not a fan of throwing a ton of fruit into a savory dish. That is until I had this amazing salad in Porto, Portugal last month. Beets and “fruits of the forest” as they so cutely called berries, and an “algae dressing”. I still don't know exactly what an algae dressing is but I knew I could recreate a version of this salad at home.
Porto is such an incredible place to visit. I have a whole post in the cue about my short visit there, stay tuned for tons of pictures! On our last day there we cozied up to this little spot overlooking the port and had a perfectly Porto lunch, full of fresh seafood and local seasonal veggies. It was dreamy.
When I received beets and blackberries AND blueberries in my CSA last week I knew I was just meant to recreate that moment in Porto and make this salad.
Don't be intimidated by the beets in this recipe, they are a really simple veggie to prepare and are truly one of the world's healthiest foods. Remember that bright colorful foods are packed with anti-oxidants and that's a very good thing.
I typically wear kitchen gloves or wrap a plastic baggie around my hands when peeling beets so I don't have red tinted hands for days. Once you've peeled the beets, simply dice them into cubes and rounds (I like the way both shapes look in this recipe) and place them in your steamer. 15 minutes later – beets!
Oh and the dressing! Well, I'm sure I don't have to convince you that any recipe that begins with a whole avocado is going to be a winner. Throw a big handful of fresh basil in and you have the perfect summer vinaigrette to generously pour over your new favorite summer salad.
Beet Salad with Berries and an Avocado Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 3 cups of Boston Bibb lettuce
- 1 large red beet
- 1 large yellow beet
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
Dressing
- 1 avocado
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp champagne vinegar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Peel beets and chop into both cubes and rounds. Place in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes or until they feel tender when pierced with a fork. Set aside and allow to cool. (note: I typically wear gloves when peeling beets so my hands don't turn bright red).
- Combine all ingredients for dressing in a blender, blend until smooth. You can add more or less water depending on the thickness of dressing. I found 3/4 cup to be perfect.
- Arrange lettuce, berries, and beets in a large bowl. Top with dressing. Serve
Nutrition
I’m so excited you are going to make this recipe! Share your photo on Instagram and tag it with #abraskitchen so I can see your masterpiece!
