Vinaigrette Beet Potato Salad Recipe (video)
If you love beets, you’re going to love this easy and delicious Ukrainian beet potato salad! The popular “Vinaigrette” salad is a staple dish in the Eastern European cuisine, especially in Ukraine and Russia. It’s a potato salad that’s loaded with delicious, sweet beets and dill! I love dressing my salad with tasty extra-virgin olive oil and zesty champagne vinegar. Enjoy this salad as a side dish with meats or by itself with some baguette!
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Cooking the Vegetables
This delicious beet potato salad is made with roasted or boiled potatoes, carrots and beets. Traditionally, the vegetables are boiled in salted water until tender but I love oven-roasting my veggies instead, especially for the beets. They are much heartier and more flavored when oven-roasted, versus boiled.
- For oven-roasting: place the potatoes and carrots onto a large baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Wrap the beets individually in foil so that they cook faster. Roast in the oven between 375F and 425F. They will cook faster at the higher temperature but watch the veggies carefully so they don’t burn. The vegetables need to be fork tender; the beets will take longer!
- For boiling: prepare the potatoes and carrots in one pot and the beets separately. Fill the pots with water, season generously with salt, add the veggies and bring to a simmer. Cook until fork tender, then allow the vegetables to cool before handling!
How to Make Vinaigrette Potato Salad
Once the vegetables have cooked, remove them from the oven and cool completely; they will be extremely hot out of the oven!
Peel the potatoes and beets and dice into pea-sized pieces. Dice the carrots, pickles and shallot. I used frozen sweet peas and thawed them in hot water; canned peas will also work.
Bring everything together in a large mixing bowl. Make sure it’s large enough for you to have room to dress the salad!
Dressing the Beet Potato Salad
This Eastern European salad can be dressed two different ways! Both are equally delicious!
- The most traditional dressing is simply salt, pepper and sunflower oil. You can also use olive oil or avocado oil.
- For a creamy version, try dressing the salad with a combination of mayonnaise and sour cream. I usually like to do a 3:1 ratio mayonnaise to sour cream. The sour cream adds a little bit of a tart flavor to the salad.
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Find this easy salad recipe and many other Ukrainian and Eastern European recipes in my newest book, Beyond Borscht! It has 75 recipes, from appetizers and snacks, to main entrees and desserts! Available in most major book retailers. Order links HERE.
More Recipes to Try!
Enjoyed this delicious Eastern European salad recipe? Check out some of my other recipes from Ukraine you’re sure to enjoy!
- Mimosa Tuna Salad – a unique layered salad that’s perfect for holidays! With tuna, potatoes, eggs, cheese, and more!
- Smoked Salmon Olivier Salad – a delicious and creamy potato salad with salmon, eggs, and a lemon mayo dressing!
- Olivier Potato Salad – the most iconic Russian salad, with potatoes, carrots, sausage, pickles and eggs! A must!
- Garlicky Beet Crostini – another one of my favorites! Creamy roasted beet spread with garlic and dill, on toasted baguette with crumbled goat cheese!
- Ukrainian Stewed Beef & Potatoes – this easy and delicious dish is so hearty and warming! A family favorite!
- Chicken Rice Pilaf (Plov) – this aromatic rice dish is packed with flavor!
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Vinaigrette Beet Potato Salad Recipe (video)
Ingredients
- 3 large potatoes
- 3 large beets
- 6 to 8 large carrots
- 8 small pickles, diced
- 2 large shallots or 1 small red onion, diced
- small bunch of fresh dill, chopped
- 1 cup sweet peas
- 1 cup sauerkraut, optional
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a large baking sheet with foil, parchment paper or a silicone mat. Peel the carrots but leave the potatoes and beets unpeeled; cut the beets in half. Place vegetables onto prepared pan and cover with foil, sealing the pan tightly. Bake in preheated oven until vegetables are fork-tender; about 25 minutes for carrots, up to 45 minutes for beet and potatoes. To cook the beets faster, wrap them individually in foil and seal tightly.
- Once the vegetables have cooked, remove them from the oven and cool completely; they will be extremely hot out of the oven! Peel the potatoes and beets and dice into pea-sized pieces. Dice the carrots, pickles and shallot. I used frozen sweet peas and thawed them in hot water; canned peas will also work.
- Combine all of the vegetables and dill in a large bowl; add the sauerkraut if desired. Season generously with salt, olive oil and vinegar. Toss all ingredients together until well combined. Refrigerate if not serving immediately.
- For a creamy version, use approximately 1/2 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise, plus 2 to 4 tablespoons of sour cream.
Loved this salad growing up! It’s been so long since I have made it but you make it look so simple! I should give it a try soon!
I grew up in Ukraine and as many other dishes, this salad has different variations in different regions. In my family, we like to add a sour crowd instead of vinegar. Also, I tried it with different oils and sunflower oil suit the best, I think.
Sorry for the typo, I mean Sauerkraut
That sounds delicious! I had another viewer that suggested that and I recently tried it – amazing! 🙂
Hi Tatyana, how do you make the olive oil mayonnaise and sour cream dressing? What is the ratio?
You just thaw the sweet peas? No need to cook them?
Thank you!
Hi Christine! For the dressing, I usually do about 2/3 mayonnaise and 1/3 sour cream. If you like your salad on the creamier side! I thaw mine with boiling water and I find that it’s the perfect amount of heat. You can also use canned peas if you prefer those.
My Russian daughter-in-law makes this delicious salad all the time; she adds diced avocado and boy, is that good! Spasiba. You have a very enjoyable site.
Hi Siri! Thank you! 🙂 I will absolutely have to try this with avocado, what a great addition!
Yum! A lady from Ukraine gave me her almost identical recipe. And I love that it’s it’s easy to make substitutions based on what you have in your pantry or refrigerator. My husband does not like peas, so I substitute small white or black beans, and there are never leftovers. And if I’m out of pickles or just want a little more punch, I add chopped up sauerkraut. No matter what I use when I make it, it always seem to come out great!
Hi Beshi! I’m so glad you enjoy this salad! My Ukrainian mom always makes this for us, too. The sauerkraut is the BEST substitute for pickles, great idea! 🙂
Best salad ever! I make this one all the time now.
Awesome!! 🙂 I’m so glad to hear that! One of my favorites, too!