Learn how to make this vibrant Ukrainian beet salad. The combination of cooked beets, carrots, potatoes, peas, pickles, and green onions dressed in olive oil will create this colorful and delicious Vinegret salad.
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🥗What is Vinegret salad
Vinegret salad is a traditional Ukrainian beet salad that is made with boiled vegetables, pickles or sauerkraut, and sometimes beans. It is usually dressed with some sunflower or other oil, pepper, and salt.
This salad is usually vegan but sometimes cooked chicken or fish can be added.
Today, I will share with you my family's vinegret salad recipe. It is healthy, delicious and very easy to make.
You may also like German beetroot salad, Turkish beetroot salad, or raw beetroot salad.
⭐Why you will like this Ukrainian beet salad
- It is very affordable and easy to make. The longest part is boiling vegetables.
- This salad can be great as an appetizer salad or even a beautiful picnic salad.
- It will look very beautiful on your dinner table.
📋Ingredients
- Beets: I used medium beets as one of the main ingredients for this salad. If you decide to cook your beets in instant pot, I have the detailed recipe here.
- Carrots: fresh medium size carrots
- Potatoes: yellow or golden potatoes are the best for this recipe. Chose waxy potatoes as they do not fall apart after cooking.
- Water: you will need water to boil the vegetables and some for cooking the peas in the microwave.
- Pickles: dill pickles are the best for this salad.
- Frozen Peas: I used frozen peas, but canned ones or even fresh peas will work well in this recipe.
- Green Onions: traditionally, yellow or red onion is used to make vineget. I am a little bit sensitive to raw onions, so I used green ones
- Fresh Parsley: this ingredient is optional but fresh parsley always adds a nice fresh flavor.
- Olive Oil: use good quality extra virgin olive oil or sunflower seed oil.
- Salt and Black Pepper: finish this salad with some salt and black pepper. Remember not to add too much salt, since pickles will add a good amount of sodium.
See ingredients quantities in the recipe card.
🔪How to make Ukrainian Vinegret salad
Wash the Vegetables - Wash and scrub beets, carrots, and potatoes to get rid of any dirt. Do not peel them.
Cook The Vegetables - In a large pot, add beets and pour enough water to fully cover the beetroot. In a second pot, add carrots and potatoes and add water as well. Boil in medium meat until the fork inserted goes in easily. It will take around 1 hour for the beets, 30 minutes for the potatoes, and 20 minutes for the carrots.
It may be useful to check out my article how to boil whole beets, if you never cooked them before. You can also roast the beets with the rest of the vegetables for this recipe.
Cool and Peel the Vegetables - Take the cooked vegetables out of the hot water, let them cool down until safe to handle. Peel the beets, carrots and potatoes and set them aside to cool down for a little bit longer.
Cook the Peas - in a small bowl, add frozen peas and ½ cup of water. Microwave on high for 2 minutes until boiling. After that, let the peas cool down.
Chop and Dice - now, chop beets, carrots, potatoes, and pickles into ½-1 inch cubes. Dice green onions and parsley. Add all chopped ingredients and the peas to the salad bowl.
Dress the Salad - add olive oil, salt, and black pepper, and mix the salad gently to combine.
🍽Recommended Equipment
This recipe requires no special equipment. I am sure you will have everything you need in your kitchen to make this recipe.
- Two pots
- Knife and cutting board
- Salad bowl
- Measuring spoons
♨️Top tip
If you do not want to wait forever to cook the beets, use your instant pot to do it. You can also buy already cooked beets at the grocery store.
👪Serving
We love this Ukrainian beetroot salad all year round as a side dish, appetizer, light lunch, or a picnic salad.
This beet salad is light but filling, so it can be served as it is long with some fresh bread.
Serve it with grilled chicken, steak, or even as a side for your favorite sandwich.
🌡️Storing
transfer the leftover to the airtight glass container with the lid and store in the fridge for about 3-5 days. Serve cold or chilled.
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💭Common questions
- Can I add meat to this beet salad?
You can always add some diced chicken to this beet salad, but traditionally, it is always vegan. If you want extra protein I recommend adding canned beans instead of meat.
- Can I use a different dressing?
Yes, Italian dressing or balsamic vinaigrette will work well in this recipe. But this salad is so rich in different flavors, that good quality olive or sunflower oil with some salt and black pepper are truly the best.
🥘More Eastern European and Ukrainian recipes
- Ukrainian lazy cabbage rolls
- Hungarian chicken paprikash
- Baked stuffed bell peppers
- Ukrainian borscht recipe
- Mimosa layered salad
- Okroshka
- Deruny
- Chicken Kiev
📖More recipes with beets
- Beetroot pasta sauce
- Oven roasted golden beets
- Beet waffles
- Beet pancakes
- Beetroot cutlets
- Shuba salad
- Arugula with beets and goat cheese salad
📖 Recipe
Ukrainian Beet Salad (Vinegret)
Equipment
- 2 large pots
- 1 cutting board
- 1 measuring spoons set
Ingredients
- 2 medium beets
- 3 medium carrots
- 2 medium potatoes
- 7 cups water or more as needed to boil vegetables
- 5 small pickles or ½ cup chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas or canned (drained)
- ½ cup water
- 2-3 green onions
- 5 fresh parsley twigs
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt or by taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Wash raw vegetables very well, scrubbing off any dirt. Place carrots and potatoes together in one pot, and beets in the second pot. Fill the pots with enough water to fully cover the vegetables.
- Set the pots on stove, cover and bring to boil. Keep boiling on medium heat. The beets will take around 1 hour, carrots 20 minutes and potatoes about 30 minutes until fully cooked. *See notes below.
- Take the cooked vegetables out of the water and place on a plate. Let cool down until safe to handle. Using the knife, peel beets, carrots and potatoes. Let them cool down for about 15 minutes more.
- In a small bowl add frozen peas and about ½ cup of water. Microwave for 1-2 minutes until water starts boiling. Drain water and set aside to cool down.
- Dice cooked vegetables into half to one-inch cubes and add them to your salad bowl. Dice pickles, chop green onions and fresh parsley. Add all chopped ingredients to the bowl. Add cooked peas.
- Dress with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Eat right away or refrigerate for later.
Elena De Bello says
It is not just Ukrainian, but Russian and Belarusian. Basically it is a Soviet era salad. The same as Olivie.
Sava's Kitchen says
It is, I agree! Also a lot of ways and variations of making these dishes 🙂
Debra Culp says
Every year we go to Pennsylvania for my Mother n law's family reunion, her Parents were immigrants from Poland. I love the Polish meals. I am going to fish this Beet Salad to take to the Reunion this summer. My Mother n law is gone now, there are only 4 left now out of 13 children.
Sava's Kitchen says
Hi Debra. I am glad you found this recipe to make for your reunion with keeping in mind your family's Polish roots. I am sure everyone will love it.
Tatyana Golyansky says
Wish I could buy the most amazing roasted sunflower oil we used to buy at Ukranian farmers markets. I am from Belarus and make vinegret quiet often
Sava's Kitchen says
Hi Tatyana, I feel the same way. I miss that amazing and so flavorful sunflower oil so much too. Back in Ukraine, my grandma used to rent an hour or two at the oil press facility to bring her own harvested sunflower seeds to make oil for us. It was the best.
Carmel Hookham says
Hi Natalia, I am so pleased to find your recipes. I will be making the beetroot and vegetable salad for two Ukranian guests.
Sava's Kitchen says
Hi Carmel! Thank you so much. It is so nice of you to be making this salad for your Ukrainian guests, they will be very pleased.
Carmel Hookham says
Easy to follow, and so delicious 😋.
Sava's Kitchen says
Thank you so much. It is one of our favorites.
Shelly says
What kind of pickles do you use? Dip? Sweet? Bread and butter?
Nataliia says
I usually use dill pickles. You can use any type of pickles, but I would not recommend using sweet pickles.