This colorful butternut squash and beetroot salad isn’t just a feast for the eyes, its also a flavor explosion for the tastebuds!
Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad Recipe
Make sure to keep scrolling past the recipe card for a deep dive into this butternut squash and beetroot salad recipe. There’s more photos, a step by step guide on how to prepare the dish, variation ideas, and what to do with leftovers.
Table of contents: Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad
- Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad Recipe
Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad
This colorful butternut squash and beetroot salad isn’t just a feast for the eyes, its also a flavor explosion in the mouth!
6
servings15
minutes1
hourIngredients
2 Red Beets
2 Golden Beets
1/2 Small Butternut Squash
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
3 Tbsp Horseradish
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Pistachio’s – Crushed
Fresh Mint
Directions
- Heat oven to 400F degrees. Wash your beets and scrub any dirt or grit off. Cut the stems of your beets off and wrap them in tin foil. Place them in the oven for around 60 mins. Less time smaller beets, and a tad longer for larger. Chop the butternut squash into small 1/4 inch chunks. Toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper and lay them out on a sheet pan. When the beets have 30-40 minutes left to roast, toss the squash in the oven with the beets.
- While you wait for your butternut squash and beets to finish in the oven, make the horseradish sour cream. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, horseradish, sea salt, and sour cream. Taste, and adjust according to preferred taste. Set aside.
- Remove the veggies from oven and let cool. The squash should be slightly crispy and burnt on the edges. Once the beets are manageable, remove the skin using the tin foil as a sort of course brush. Cut the beets into small 1/8 inch cubes.
- Spread a layer of the horseradish sour cream over the bottom of a serving plate. Add the cubed beets and crispy squash onto the bed of sauce. Drizzle the rest of the sour cream sauce over the veggies and garnish with the crushed pistachios, mint leaves, and a pinch of flakey sea salt. Serve warm immediately or chill the beets in the refrigerator and assemble later for a cold version. Enjoy!
Notes
- For a cold version, let the beets and squash chill in the refrigerator and assemble later.
WTF is Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad?
Beetroot and butternut squash salads aren’t anything new. Folks have been using these glorious winter veggies in side dishes and salads for a long time, this dish is simply our take on a classic. We love cooking with the seasons and using what is currently fresh and availble.
This butternut squash and beetroot salad is a celebration of winter veggies and is simply a fun plate of food to assemble. Show it off at a holiday gather or weekend dinner party, folks will apauld your artistic skills, its okay you can take the credit 😉
Oh, and it taste freaking fantastic too!
Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad Ingredients
Here’s a list of all the ingredients you’ll need to make this Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad recipe. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding everything at your local supermarket.
- Beets: Using both Red and Golden Beets gives us a range in flavor as well as a colorful display. The red will be more earthy than the sweeter golden beets, so its nice to have the contrast if possible.
- Butternut Squash: This dish is a celebration of winter veggies, and you can’t throw a proper winter veg party without butternut squash.
- Sour cream: Use your favorite sour cream here, its the base of the sauce so splurge on a good one if you an.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh squeezed is always best, but if you must use jarred pre squeezed stuff, make sure its Santa Cruz brand, they don’t add anything to it, just juice.
- Horseradish: Use jarred prepared horseradish. Living in Oregon we are bias for Beaver brand Horseradish.
- Pistachios: These delicious green little nuggets of flavor add a nice crunchy texture to an otherwise soft dish. Feel free to experiment with other kinds of nuts like, walnuts or marcona almonds.
- Mint: Fresh mint adds color and an extra dimension to this veggie salad. Use small whole mint leaves or roughly chop larger mint leaves and spread them evenly.
Equipment to Make Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad
You won’t need anything too crazy, you probably already have everything you need to make this Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad. But just to review here’s a list of the equipment you’ll need:
- Bowls & Whisk: We’re gonna make a tangy yogurt sauce, so you’ll need some mixing bowls and a whisk.
- Tin Foil: Wrap the beets in tin foil and roast them in the oven.
- Mortar & Pestle: Or a zip lock bag and a bottle of wine, or anything to smash up the whole pistachios. A cereal bowl and the back of a spoon works good too.
- Cutting Board & Knife: If you can, use a plastic cutting board, as the beets tend to dye everything they touch red!
How to Make Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad
Follow these step by step instructions to make this Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad recipe. It takes about an hour for the beets to roast, then it’s a simple assembly process the rest of the way. You should be able to throw this butternut squash and beetroot salad together in under 75 minutes.
Step 1: Roast the Beets & Squash
Heat oven to 400F degrees.
Wash your beets and scrub any dirt or grit off. Cut the stems of your beets off and wrap them in tin foil. Place them in the oven for around 60 mins. Less time smaller beets, and a tad longer for larger.
Chop the butternut squash into small 1/4 inch chunks. Toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper and lay them out on a sheet pan. When the beets have 30-40 minutes left to roast, toss the squash in the oven with the beets.
Step 2: Prepare Horseradish Sour Cream
While you wait for your butternut squash and beets to finish in the oven, make the horseradish sour cream.
In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, horseradish, sea salt, and sour cream. Taste, and adjust according to preferred taste. Set aside.
Step 3: Dice Beets
Remove the veggies from oven and let cool. The squash should be slightly crispy and burnt on the edges. Once the beets are manageable, remove the skin using the tin foil as a sort of course brush. Cut the beets into small 1/8 inch cubes.
Step 4: Garnish & Serve
Spread a layer of the horseradish sour cream over the bottom of a serving plate. Add the cubed beets and crispy squash onto the bed of sauce. Drizzle the rest of the sour cream sauce over the veggies and garnish with the crushed pistachios, mint leaves, and a pinch of flakey sea salt.
Serve warm immediately or chill the beets in the refrigerator and assemble later for a cold version. Enjoy!
Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad Variations
This recipe is can be customized in a slew of different ways. For example:
- Squash: Change out the type of squash you use, try acorn, spaghetti, or even pumpkin! Yep pumpkin is actually a winter squash.
- Nuts: A more classic butternut squash and beetroot salad would probably have walnuts in it, and for good reason, its a tasty combination.
- Herbs: Try topping this dish with different fresh herbs like cilantro or some micro greens.
Use your creative juices here, cooking should be fun!
Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad Leftovers
If you somehow find yourself with leftover butternut squash and beetroot salad don’t worry, it keeps great in the fridge. Simply store it in an air tight container for up to 5 days. Eat it cold or pop it back in the oven for a few minutes for a warm salad.
I don’t recommend freezing anything with sour cream in it, when it thaws the sauce can separate and it isn’t always pleasant.
Butternut Squash & Beetroot Salad Recipe FAQ’s
No, by all means experiment with any sort of winter squash. Pumpkin, delicata, or acorn are good options.
The sour cream in this dish stops it from being vegan. There are vegan sour cream options however, such as Kite Hill Almond milk sour cream.
Absolutely, it’s just as tasty served cold.
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