Roasted beet and avocado salad with basil lime vinaigrette is a hearty, textured, and delicious salad with arugula, farro, feta, basil, and crunchy toasted almonds. Perfect for fresh lunches with tons of texture and flavor.
Welcome to the land of ultra-satisfying salads that are hearty and packed with all the most possible textures and flavors without it getting weird (though if I'm being honest, I frequently blur the line between salad and Franken-salad). This roasted beet and avocado salad has everything you need: some seasonal produce like arugula and roasted beets, chewy farro, salty feta, crunchy slivered almonds, and buttery avocado with a basil lime vinaigrette that miiight change your life a little.
It's no secret that I'm a grain salad lover (please see cranberry feta wheat berry salad), and for good reason! They're the kind of salads you want to eat when you need something filling, energizing, and veggie-packed. And while it's not required, this salad is extra enjoyable on a sunny patio in spring, summer, or fall!
Notes on Farro & What Kind to Use
There are a few kinds of farro: whole, semi-pearled, and pearled. Whole farro takes the longest to cook (30-40 minutes), semi-pearled is in the middle (20-25 minutes), and pearled cooks the fastest (10-15 minutes). I typically use semi-pearled or whole, but sometimes it's nice to save some time with the pearled (which you could also use in my one pan chicken and leeks with farro).
Roasting Beets
There are a couple ways I like to do this, and it really depends on whether you feel like peeling them. If you don't mind peeling them, go for the cubed herb roasted beets recipe. If you'd prefer whole roasted beets (which you can peel more easily after roasting), check out my low-mess whole roasted beets method.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Scrub, peel, cube, and toss the beets in extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence (or dried basil). Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and lay prepared beets in a flat layer across a sheet pan. Roast them in the oven for 35 minutes while you make the rest of the salad!
- Step 2: bring a small pot of salted water to a boil and add the farro. For semi-pearled farro -- preferred for this recipe and common in most grocery stores -- simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the farro is tender. Then, drain and rinse with cool water to immediately cool the farro and prepare it to go into the salad.
- Step 3: While beets and farro cook, blend the basil lime dressing together. This is basically a lime-spiked version of my homemade basil vinaigrette recipe!
- Step 4: Once beets and farro are cooled, add them to a bowl with the arugula, avocado, feta, slivered almonds, and sliced basil. Pour on the dressing, gently toss, and serve immediately.
Can I Meal Prep This Salad?
Yes, and I would say to meal prep the components and store them separately, and toss just before serving. The main reason is that beets love to turn everything pink, and I mean everything. So if you don't mind that... go for it!
Additionally, I recommend dicing and adding the avocado right before serving to avoid it turning brown.
Substitutions & Variations
- Grain - Sub with a similarly textured grain such as wheat berries or barley, or go entirely different with something like quinoa.
- Beets - Try golden beets instead of red beets for a slightly different take.
- Greens - Instead of arugula, you can try spinach or mixed greens.
- Vegan - Omit the feta or add your favorite vegan cheese!Fried Farro - Sauté leftover chilled farro in some olive oil, salt, and pepper before adding it to the salad. Yum!
FAQs
To store this roasted beet and avocado salad, place leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days for optimal freshness. Ideally, you'd be able to store components separately to avoid beets turning everything pink, and dice the avocado right before serving to avoid it turning brown. But either way, it'll still taste good!
Recommended
Did you try this farro salad with roasted beets and avocado? Don't forget to leave a star rating 🌟 and comment below, and tag me on Instagram and Pinterest so I can see what you made!
Print📖 Recipe
Roasted Beet and Avocado Salad with Basil Lime Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: ~9 cups
Description
This roasted beet and avocado salad has a variety of flavors and textures that come together in one big, hearty, delicious salad. Shake up your healthy lunch routine!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 cup beets, peeled and cubed (~1 large beet)
- ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp herbes de Provence (or dried basil)
- ½ cup farro, dried (preferably semi-pearled)
- 5 cups arugula
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- ¾ cup crumbled feta
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
For the Basil Lime Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Juice from 1 lime + ½ tsp lime zest
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp natural cane sugar
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Roast the beets. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and toss beet cubes in olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence. Roast in the oven for 35 minutes while you make the rest of the salad.
- Cook the farro. Bring a pot of 1.5 cups salted water to a boil. Add farro, return pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20-25 minutes. Drain and rinse farro in cool water.
- Make the salad. Combine arugula, avocado, feta, slivered almonds, and basil ribbons into a large bowl. Once the beets are completely cooled, add those along with the farro to the salad and gently toss to combine.
- Make the vinaigrette. Combine fresh basil leaves, red wine vinegar, garlic cloves, lime juice, lime zest, sugar, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until fully combined (~1 minute), then pour ½ of the vinaigrette all over the salad just before serving. Save the rest for later or use if you want more!
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Because of the nature of beets and avocado, I highly recommend waiting to add these ingredients until just before serving the salad. It will taste delicious either way, but beet juice will bleed all over the other ingredients if left overnight, and the avocado will start to brown. So, if an appetizing appearance matters to you in any way, this will help.
- Storage Instructions: Store the fully mixed and dressed leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. If you plan to eat this for lunch for a couple days in a row, I recommend the above make-ahead instructions, plus dividing up the vinaigrette for each day and dressing right before consumption. This is the freshest way to enjoy this salad, though again, it will be delicious either way!
- Optional: If you have time, make the beets and farro in advance so you can toss the salad together when ready!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 35
- Category: Salad
- Method: Roast + Combine
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ~1.5 cups
- Calories: 357
- Sugar: 4.4 g
- Sodium: 363.7 mg
- Fat: 26.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.5 g
- Fiber: 7.3 g
- Protein: 10.6 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
Mark Valdick says
I saw this recipe about a month ago, bookmarked it, and have been planning on making it...sometime. I finally broke down and made it tonigbt. I'm sorry I waited so long. I loved it. My family loved it. My guests loved.it. Soon, I will be loving it again.
Tera says
I'm so glad you made and liked this recipe, Mark! It is one of my favorites, too. Thanks so much for making & sharing it with loved ones 🙂