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This healthy and flavorful Whole30 and paleo beet salad is tossed with cabbage slices and toasted pecans in a delicious balsamic vinaigrette. It’s the perfect salad to eat on its own or to serve as a side!

paleo beet salad tossed in a mixing bowl
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Beets are a vegetable that I tend to forget about, but I absolutely love them. The gorgeous color, the delicious natural sweetness, and how nutritious they are all of the reasons why they are one of my favorites. This easy beet salad recipe (or beet slaw) is one way to enjoy them in a delicious way, and I love making a big batch to have in the fridge as an easy side dish to my meals.

Paleo Beet Salad Recipe with Cabbage and Pecans

This easy beet salad is very simple to prepare. The 3 main components are beets (of course), cabbage, and toasted pecans, and the combination of these flavors and textures are wonderful together.

You have the natural sweetness from the beets, refreshing bites of the cabbage, and the smoky crunchiness of the pecans. Everything is tossed in a Whole30 balsamic vinaigrette to meld these flavors together and the result is just so delicious and wonderful.

pouring whole30 balsamic vinaigrette over beet salad recipe

Nutritious and Easy Side Dish

Not only is this paleo beet salad so yummy and flavorful, I just love that it’s packed with all the healthy nutrients!

  • Beets: Amazing for liver detox and has awesome anti-inflammatory components. They also contain antioxidants and are loaded with vitamins and minerals to boost heart and digestive health.
  • Cabbage: Such a humble vegetable, but it is packed with vitamin C and amazing for constipation. It also boosts the immune system and is also a great source of antioxidants.
  • Pecans: Packed with healthy fats, pecans reduce inflammation and are great for heart health. They are also a great source of vitamin E, which has an antioxidant effect and also boosts the immune system.
  • Balsamic vinaigrette: In order to optimally absorb all the nutrients and the important vitamins of vegetables, you need to combine them with healthy fats! This Whole30 balsamic vinaigrette provides just that, with extra virgin olive oil combined with other yummy nutritious ingredients.
final shot of easy beet salad

How to Make This Paleo Beet Salad Recipe

There are just 2 main ingredients to cook to make this beet slaw: beets and pecans. Of course, you can also buy precooked beets and already toasted pecans to make it EXTRA easy, but I like the flavors more when I take the time to cook these myself.

  1. Clean the beets and boil them. Depending on the size of the beets, it’ll take about 20-30 minutes for them to be fork tender.
  2. While the beets are cooking, toast the pecan then making the balsamic vinaigrette by whisking all its ingredients together.
  3. The rest is just about combining all the ingredients together. Place cabbage slices, beets, and pecans in a large mixing bowl, and gently toss with the prepared vinaigrette.
  4. That’s it! Sprinkle with green onions before serving and enjoy!
tossing beet slaw together

Can You Make This Beet Salad Ahead of Time?

Yes! I actually like to make them at least a few hours before serving so the flavors of the ingredients and the Whole30 balsamic vinaigrette have the time to meld together.

If you do make it ahead of time, I suggest that you add the pecans just before serving so you can really taste their crunchiness. Pecans can soften up if they are sitting in the beet slaw for too long.

Hope you enjoy this healthy and detoxifying beet salad recipe!

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5 from 5 votes
Servings: 6 servings

Paleo Beet Salad with Cabbage and Pecans (Whole30, Vegan)

This healthy and flavorful Whole30 and paleo beet salad is tossed with cabbage slices and toasted pecans in a delicious balsamic vinaigrette. It's the perfect salad to eat on its own or to serve as a side!
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Beet cooling time: 15 minutes
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Ingredients 

  • 1 lb beets, about 4 small
  • 4 cups thinly sliced cabbage, about 1/2 medium head
  • 1/3 cup raw pecans
  • Chopped green onions, for garnish

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Instructions 

  • Scrub the beets and halve them. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with water.
  • Heat over medium high heat until boiling, then reduce the heat to medium low to simmer for 30 minutes until fork tender.
  • While the beets are cooking, heat a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the pecans for 4-5 minutes while stirring frequently. They should be browned and fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • Make the balsamic vinaigrette by whisking all the ingredients together. Set aside
  • Once the beets are done cooking, drain and cool (you can run them under cold water to speed up the process), then peel and cut into cubes.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the cabbage slices, beets, and toasted pecans.*
  • Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette and toss lightly. Top with green onions before serving.

Notes

*You can make this beet salad ahead of time, and the flavors will build more the longer it sits. If you do this, the one change I suggest is to wait to add the toasted pecans until serving time because they will lose their crunch if they sit in the salad for too long. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving – makes 6, Calories: 177kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 197mg, Potassium: 379mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 82IU, Vitamin C: 25mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or tag @whatgreatgrandmaate!
What Great Grandma Ate / Jean Choi is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Regarding other affiliate links and affiliate relationships: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Jean Choi

Iโ€™m a food lover and recipe developer living in Southern California. I love to share simple and approachable gluten-free recipes that are healthy but never sacrifice on flavor.

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11 Comments

  1. Pamela Causgrove says:

    5 stars
    What a delicious and refreshing salad! And it gets even better the next day as it marinates overnight in the fridge. My whole family loved it!

    1. Jean Choi says:

      Thank you so much!

  2. Alli says:

    This is delicious! I was on a time crunch so I shredded raw beets and used Napa Cabbage. It was so good! I will try using cooked beets next time. Thank you!!!

    1. Jean Choi says:

      What a great idea! So glad you enjoyed it!

  3. Laura says:

    5 stars
    Fantastic! Making it a second time todayโ€ฆ this time for cookout with family and friends. Would work beautifully for Thanksgiving as well. A real unusual winner! Thank you for sharing!

  4. Laura says:

    5 stars
    Phenomenal! Would make againโ€ฆ especially for a holiday meal; beautiful & delicious.

    1. Jean Choi says:

      Thank you so much!!!

  5. AbbyJoy says:

    5 stars
    I cooked some beet salad in the instant pot a couple days ago and wanted to make a salad for a weekend camping trip. Holy cow, this was so easy and the end product was delicious. I can feel the nutrients seeping into my body with every bite. Thank you so much, this will be a great summer recipe ๐Ÿ‘โ˜บ๏ธ

    1. Jean Choi says:

      I’m so glad you enjoyed. Thanks so much for leaving a review!!

  6. Mary Anne says:

    5 stars
    This recipe is tasty and beautiful! I did take the easy way out and use pre-cooked beets so it was fast and simple. The only thing Iโ€™d do different next time is to chop up the cabbage smaller to make it easier to eat. Looking forward to cabbage and beet salad all week!

    1. Jean Choi says:

      Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!!