This simple Russian beet salad features cooked beets, red sauerkraut, green peas, onion, creamy avocado as healthy fat and finished with a touch of vinaigrette dressing, lending a nice little bite. An easy version of Russian salad with beets also called Russian vinaigrette typically served during the winter time holidays, though delicious year-round.
This Russian salad with beets is perfect if you’re looking for a lighter version of beet salad without mayo, with lots of color and flavor!
Russian Salad Vinaigrette
Similar to a Russian vinaigrette salad (Винегрет), this salad is made with beets, although I made a few adjustments. I replaced the dill pickles with red sauerkraut and added some avocado for creaminess, but I left out the potatoes and carrots to reduce the carb load.
I usually like my beet salads with a creamy dressing, but this one is as simple and easy as it gets.
My other Russian salad recipe – Olivier, sticks to the original ingredients if you want to check that out too.
Related: Simple Beetroot Salad With Walnuts Prunes And Avocado
For comparison, Salad Russe is a Haitian version of this Russian beet salad (vinaigrette) with similar ingredients, however it uses mayonnaise as dressing.
Related: Fermented Beets + Cabbage (Probiotic Rich Beetroot Sauerkraut)
This beet salad with sauerkraut is also perfect if you’re trying to improve your digestion and for people who suffer from constipation. The sauerkraut being rich in fiber and a probiotic superfood has the ability to improve food digestibility, enhance vitamin absorption and promote a diverse gut flora.
Related: Fermented Shaved Carrot Salad
Russian Beet Salad Ingredients
- Beets – The beets can be roasted, steamed, or boiled. For sweeter and enhanced flavor, it’s best to roast beets in the oven. The second best method and faster is steaming.
- Green peas (frozen, thawed or canned) – are traditionally used in Russian vinaigrette salads, but if you’re not a fan of those, you can replace them with some chopped bell pepper or even celery.
- Red sauerkraut – which is a combination of fermented cabbage and beetroot, but simple cabbage sauerkraut works too. Or any other fermented vegetable you have, such as cucumbers.
- Avocado – fat is needed for helping the body to absorb nutrients from vegetables (they’re fat soluble). So avocado is a great healthy fat that also improves the beet sauerkraut salad texture.
- Red onion – to add crunchiness and pungent flavor.
- Vinaigrette dressing: oil, apple cider vinegar salt and pepper.
Find the complete printable recipe with measurements below.
Related: Beet Soup With Red Sauerkraut
How To Make Russian Salad With Beets
Step 1. Cook the beets (steam or roast):
- To steam beets, place in a steamer about 2-3 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cut the beetroots into quarters (after peeling), cover and turn down heat to medium. Steam for 15-20 minutes until you can easily pierce the beet pieces to the middle. Roasting beets is tasty, but can take longer.
- You can also do this step 1-2 days in advance and assemble a quick beetroot salad with sauerkraut in mere minutes.
Step 2. Gather ingredients and chop:
- Dice the beets into small, even cubes. Place them in a large bowl.
- Then mix in the oil (any neutral taste oil like avocado, sunflower or grapeseed) apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper (which males the vinaigrette dressing). Toss to coat the beets, this will prevent them from bleeding too much red color.
- Then cube the avocado and add to the bowl along with the onion, peas, and sauerkraut.
Step 3. Combine all the ingredients
- Gently toss. Taste, add more acidity by adding vinegar, sauerkraut or sauerkraut juice, and salt if needed. The beetroot salad may be garnished with freshly chopped dill or parsley.
Color Tip
To help your salad Russe look better. You should cut beets first, put them in the bowl, add the dressing and mix so the it covers all pieces. It will help to “lock” the color so the beets won’t “spill” their color.
Related: Beetroot And Carrot Salad With Creamy Dressing
Vinaigrette Russian Salad With Beets FAQs
It’s actually “винегрет” if we use Russian letters – it’s a Russian beet salad and the naming comes from vinaigrette, which is used as a dressing. Originally, the term vinegret denoted a mixture of diced beetroots and any cooked vegetables dressed with vinegar.
Yes. Keeping in the fridge helps combine the flavors better.
Any other vegetable would work, I usually like bell peppers or celery as a substitute.
Add-ins For Salad Russe (Russian Beet Salad)
- Give more substance to this beet salad by adding some leftover cooked grains or beans.
- Add some crunchy nuts: almond, pecan, pine nuts, cashew or walnuts.
- Add dill pickles – for more tanginess.
- No avocado? Then add some chopped boiled potatoes.
- Oil free? No problem, omit it entirely, avocado will provide the necessary fat for vitamin absorption.
Storing Tips
Storing leftovers: Store the Russian vinaigrette salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 days. The flavors will continue to develop as the salad marinates in itself, making for some awesome leftovers. Longer than that is not recommended as it contains avocado.
More Beet Salads You Might Like
Other Recipes With Beets
- Best Beetroot Juice Blend For Maximum Benefits
- Beet Crackers With Flax Seeds
- Creamy Beet Soup With Red Sauerkraut
- The Best Natural Colon Cleanse And Liver Detox Smoothie
If you made this Russian beet salad with sauerkraut, then please leave a star rating or a comment below the recipe card.
Your feedback is really helpful for me and readers!
Russian Beet Salad With Sauerkraut (Vinaigrette)
Ingredients
Beet Salad
- 2 medium beets - or 3 smaller
- ½ medium red onion
- 1½-2 cups sauerkraut
- ½ cup green peas - frozen and thawed
- 1 large avocado
Vinaigrette Dressing
- 3 tbsp oil - neutral tasting
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar - or lemon juice
- ½ tsp sea salt
- pinch black papper
Instructions
Cook the beets (steam or roast):
- To steam beets, place in a steamer about 2-3 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Cut the beetroots into quarters (after peeling), cover and turn down heat to medium. Steam for 15-20 minutes until you can easily pierce the beet pieces to the middle.
- You can also do this step 1-2 days in advance and assemble a quick beetroot salad with sauerkraut in mere minutes.
Gather ingredients and chop:
- Dice the beets into small, even cubes. Place them in a large bowl.
- Then mix in the oil (any neutral taste oil like avocado, sunflower or grapeseed) apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper (which males the vinaigrette dressing). Toss to coat the beets, this will prevent them from bleeding too much red color.
- Then cube the avocado and add to the bowl along with the onion, peas, and sauerkraut.
Combine all the ingredients:
- Gently toss. Taste, add more acidity by adding vinegar, sauerkraut or sauerkraut juice, and salt if needed. The beetroot salad may be garnished with freshly chopped dill or parsley.
Notes
- Give more substance to this beet salad by adding some leftover cooked grains or beans.
- Add some crunchy nuts: almond, pecan, pine nuts, cashew or walnuts.
- Add dill pickles – for more tanginess.
- No avocado? Then add some chopped boiled potatoes.
- Oil free? No problem, omit it entirely, avocado will provide the necessary fat for vitamin absorption.
- Store the Russian vinaigrette salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for maximum 2 days.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
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