• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipes
  • Lovely Ideas
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
She Keeps a Lovely Home
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Lovely Ideas
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
×
Home » Halloween Inspiration » Halloween Roasted Beet Salad

Halloween Roasted Beet Salad

Published: Oct 7, 2023 by Genevieve Morrison · This post may contain affiliate links

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
A colorful beet salad in a bowl with blackberries.

This colorful Halloween salad has only 6 main ingredients and looks so enchanting! With a perfect mix of massaged kale, radicchio, bright roasted beets, fresh cucumber, and blackberries, this seasonal side dish will make any Halloween dinner party hauntingly elegant.

A colorful beet salad in a bowl beside marigolds in a napkin.
Contents hide
1 The Simple Process
2 Ingredient Notes
3 How to Properly Slice Radicchio
4 How to Make This Halloween Salad – Step by Step
5 Other Tasty Additions
6 Common Questions
7 What to Serve with This Salad

Halloween Roasted Beet Salad

This salad perfectly balances bitter, sweet, and earthy Autumn flavors, especially when drizzled with my apple cider vinaigrette! I’m lucky that I can find yellow and orange beets at my nearby farmer’s market, they look so bright and beautiful. But red beets with look equally seasonal – maybe just a little more gothically romantic.

I made this salad for my husband’s Halloween birthday dinner party. I love that he has an October birthday. It gives me a great excuse to put together a fiendishly glamorous Halloween menu! Every ingredient makes my witchy heart glow! 

I served butternut squash and mushroom crostini for an appetizer and then served this salad with red wine braised short ribs for dinner, baked pumpkin rice with zucchini, spooky little lychee eyeball cocktails, perfectly roasted autumn veggies, and pumpkin spiced carrot cupcakes for dessert! 

The beets in a Halloween salad.

The Simple Process

  • First, we’ll slice and roast beets, then let them cool in the refrigerator.
  • Next, we’ll give kale a luxurious massage to make it softer.
  • Then, we’ll slice radicchio, shallot, and cucumber.
  • Finally, we’ll add everything to a serving bowl, pop blackberries on top, and drizzle with our dressing of choice.

Ingredient Notes

7 ingredients on a table with labels describing what they are.

beets – If you can orange, yellow, and/or red striped beets, these look so pretty in a Halloween salad. You can find them at farmer’s markets and specialty veggie shops in the end of September and October. If you can’t find them, though, feel free to use red beets. 

kale – I love a dark kale for this salad like red ursa or red chidori. It makes it look rich and a little dramatic, but you can use any kale you wish. Just be sure to remove the leaves from the stems, and rip them into smaller pieces.

shallots – You can also use very thinly sliced red onion

blackberries – You can use whole blackberries or slice them in half.

How to Properly Slice Radicchio

This salad looks prettiest when the radicchio is sliced into thin, wispy strips. Here’s how to slice it perfectly:

A collage of 4 numbered images showing how to slice raddicho.

1. First, remove the outer leaf or leaves, if they’re at all discolored.

2. Slice radicchio in half.

3. Remove the core by cutting a triangular slice around it, and remove.

4. Turn it over, and lay the radicchio flat with the bottom closest to you (where the core used to be). Slice from left to right, or right to left, into thin strips.

How to Make This Halloween Salad – Step by Step

A collage of 4 numbered images showing how to prepare Halloween salad ingredients.

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. (200 C.). Peel and slice 8 small-medium beets into quarters. Remove any long stringy ends.

2. In a mixing bowl, stir beets with 1 tbsp. olive oil, a liberal sprinkle of salt, and a liberal sprinkle of fresh ground pepper.Empty onto a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Refrigerate them for at least 20 minutes once done.

3. While beets cool, slice 1 shallot into thin rings.

4. Slice 1 cucumber (about 8 ounces sliced) into small pieces.

A collage of 4 numbered images showing how to create Halloween salad.

5. Slice ½ radicchio into thin strips.

6. Remove leaves from 1 large bunch of kale stems. Rip into easily edible pieces and discard stems.

7.  Add kale to a mixing bowl. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil. Gently massage kale leaves until they’re a bit softer.

8. Add sliced radicchio, sliced cucumbers, cooled beets, sliced shallots, and blackberries to the kale in a salad bowl. Drizzle with apple cider vinaigrette dressing or your dressing of choice.

A bowl of apple cider vinaigrette in front of flowers on a table.

Other Tasty Additions

This salad is delicious and gorgeous all on its own, but if you want to add a few more accouterments, here are a few tasty additions:

  • crumbled blue cheese, gorgonzola, or feta
  • pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
  • dried Cranberries
  • shaved almonds
  • crushed walnuts
  • yellow cherry tomatoes
  • seared asparagus
  • cooked farro
  • cooked, diced butternut squash
  • sprouts
  • shredded carrot

Common Questions

Why are we massaging the kale?

If you’ve met kale before, you’ve noticed it’s pretty stiff, especially when it’s very fresh. Massaging kale breaks up the fibrous texture and makes it easier to chew and digest.

How far ahead can I make this salad before serving?

The salad ingredients can be combined, without dressing, at least 4 hours before serving, as long as the bowl is covered with cellophane. Dress just before serving.

What other salad dressings go well with this salad?

Apart from my homemade apple cider vinaigrette, I really love Bragg’s Ginger Sesame dressing. I would stick to non-creamy dressings so keep the salad looking pretty and colorful.

A colorful beet salad in a bowl with blackberries.

For more inspiration, subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Instagram, on Pinterest, tiktok, and Facebook! And if you ever make any of my tasty drinks or treats, take a picture and tag me. I want to see!

What to Serve with This Salad

  • 1 maple butternut squash crostini on a wooden board.
    Maple Butternut Squash Crostini with Mushrooms
  • A centered bowl of pumpkin rice with fall vegetables on a table with dry flowers.
    Pumpkin Rice with Fall Vegetables
  • Braised short ribs in a bowl with polenta, garnished with thyme.
    Blackberry Cabernet Braised Short Ribs
  • 4 stuffed acorn squash garnished with a flower and thyme on a wooden plate.
    Stuffed Acorn Squash with Farro and Mushrooms
A halloween beet salad in a bowl.

Halloween Roasted Beet Salad

This colorful Halloween salad has only 6 main ingredients and looks so enchanting! 
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Salad
Cuisine: International
Diet: Gluten Free
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 156kcal
Author: Genevieve Morrison

Equipment

  • 1 cutting board & sharp knife
  • 1 medium mixing bowl
  • 1 foil-lined baking sheet

Ingredients

  • 1 large kale bunch
  • 8 medium beets – preferably yellow or red-striped
  • 2 small shallots
  • 1 cucumber
  • ½ radicchio
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil – divided
  • salt & fresh ground pepper – a liberal sprinkle
  • apple cider vinaigrette – (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 F. (200 C.). Peel and slice 8 small-medium beets into quarters. Remove any long stringy ends.
  • In a mixing bowl, stir beets with 1 tbsp. olive oil, a liberal sprinkle of salt and a liberal sprinkle of fresh ground pepper. Empty onto a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Refrigerate them for at least 20 minutes once done.
  • While beets cool, slice 2 shallots into thin rings. Slice 1 cucumber (about 8 ounces sliced) into small pieces. Slice ½ radicchio into thin strips. Remove leaves from 1 large bunch kale stems. Rip into easily edible pieces and discard stems.
  • Add kale to a mixing bowl. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil. Gently massage kale leaves until they’re a bit softer. Add sliced radicchio, sliced cucumbers, cooled beets, sliced shallots, and blackberries to the kale in a salad bowl. Drizzle with apple cider vinaigrette dressing, or your dressing of choice.

Notes

The salad ingredients can be combined, without dressing, at least 4 hours before serving, as long as the bowl is covered with cellophane. Dress just before serving.
To massage kale, drizzle with olive oil, and rub the leaves between your fingers until they’re softer. You don’t want to turn the leaves to mush, but you do want them to feel a little wilted.
See post for detailed instructions with photos of the process.
 
Nutrition information is an estimate.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 184mg | Potassium: 866mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1060IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 2mg
« A Lovely Autumn Brunch
20 Easy Thanksgiving Recipes »
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Reader Interactions

5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




I accept the Privacy Policy

Primary Sidebar

Hello there!

Hello there!

My name is Genevieve, and I'm just trying to be a little fancier today than I was yesterday. Sharing recipes for the creative host or hostess that are simple, elegant and colorful too!

Winner!

Awards Banner

Summer Inspiration

A bowl of gnocchi with a title that says "A Lovely Tuscan Lunch."

A Lovely Tuscan Lunch

1 glass of white chocolate mousse with raspberry compote swirls on a black table with a few roses and spoons at their base.

White Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse with Raspberry Compote

6 mason jars with cheesecake mouse, cookie crumbles and berries on a black table, sprinkled with cookie crumbs and berries.

Layered Red, White & Blue Vanilla Cheesecake Mousse

5 lamb skewers on a platter with a title that says "A Lovely Lamb Dinner."

A Lovely Lamb Dinner

A bowl of lime shrimp atop coconut cauliflower rice on a lace tablecloth with cilantro beside it.

Garlic Lime Honey Shrimp

A deviled egg on marble, garnished with 4 stars made of red peppers and cheese that's both blue and white.

4th of July Deviled Eggs

Featured In

A list of 7 logos.

Footer

↑ back to top

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

About

About Me

Contact

Email Me!

Copyright © 2025 She Keeps a Lovely Home

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.