Pancar Salatasi is a popular Turkish beetroot salad served as an appetizer. Think sweet, roasted beets accented by the tangy cool yogurt, flavoured with lemon, garlic, and mint, with the ultimate crunch from the walnuts. It’s a balanced and utterly unique salad you’ll enjoy making over and over!
Pancar Salatasi Meaning & Variations
The word “pancar” in Turkish means beets and “salatasi” means salad. This beet salad comes from the Turkish cuisine and always features beets, but it is actually made in a variety of different ways across the region. Some people use a lot more yogurt and shred the beets very finely, which makes it more of a dip rather than a salad. I’ve also seen variations with no yogurt at all, which I have tried and loved.
My favourite variation thus far is this one: roasted beets (not boiled), coarsely shredded, with a bit of yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, mint and walnuts. The earthiness and sweetness of the beets work so well with the tanginess from the yogurt, along with the crunch from the walnuts. Also, this salad looks very very pretty, which is a great bonus.
I’ve made pancar salatasi with and without the crushed garlic, and I prefer it with the garlic just to give it a flavour boost. But if you are one of those who think fresh garlic is too strong (I mean, I’m clearly not since I can eat toum with a spoon), feel free to skip it.
This salad is quite similar to Jajik or tzatziki, but hold the cucumbers and replace with beets. If you’re as into Turkish food as I am, I highly recommend you also try kisir (best use of bulgur), and this quick Ayran savoury yogurt drink.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Let’s run through the ingredients and substitutions you can make; this salad is quite flexible.
- Beets / beetroot: You’ll need 3 small beets, scrubbed well and ready to roast.
- Yogurt: Regular whole milk yogurt or greek yogurt will work.
- Fresh Mint: a handful of leaves, finely chopped will do. You can also add parsley if you like.
- Olive oil, salt, lemon juice and garlic: These are the flavour enhancers. Garlic is optional.
- Walnuts: So needed for that delicious crunch. You can substitute other nuts like walnuts or pistachios if you have them.
How To Make Turkish Beet Salad: Step-by-Step
The first step is to roast the beets. I start by washing and scrubbing them well, then drizzle each one with a bit of olive oil and salt, and wrap them in foil. Bake at 400F for 1 hour, or until soft when pierced with a fork.
I find that roasting the beets gives better flavour as opposed to boiling them. Also; you can roast them a few days in advance and just keep them wrapped in foil and in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.
Next, allow the beets to cool down and use your fingers to take off the peel. It should come off fairly easily. Use a box grater to grate the beets. If you don’t have a box grater, you can chop them into small cubes.
I use gloves and usually have a few paper towels under my cutting board to avoid getting beet juice all over my hands and counter.
The grated beets go into a bowl, along with the finely chopped mint, lemon juice, salt, and crushed garlic. Give all of the ingredients a quick mix.
Next, spoon the yogurt on top and gently mix it in. I like to mix most of the yogurt in with the beets but leave a bit of the salad un-mixed so I can still see the darker beet colour peeking through; it just looks really beautiful like that.
Top with the chopped walnuts, more fresh mint leaves, and more salt and lemon juice if required. It’s now ready to serve!
Serving Suggestions & Storage
- How to make this salad ahead of time: you can roast the beets and leave them in the fridge for a few days until you’re ready to use them. You can also mix the whole salad and leave it in the fridge for a day. at most. After that, it will start to get soggy as the yogurt releases moisture.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge and eat them the next day.
Serve this recipe with other mezze-like dishes for a delicious summertime spread, such as:
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Pancar Salatasi (Beetroot & Yogurt Salad)
Ingredients
- 3 small red beets scrubbed clean
- 3 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt divided, plus more to taste
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/4 cup fresh mint finely chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 small garlic clove crushed
- 1/2 cup whole yogurt or greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- To roast the beets: wash and scrub the beets, then drizzle each one with olive oil (use roughly 1-2 tablespoons total), sprinkle with half the salt, then wrap each one in foil individually. Place them in an oven safe tray and bake at 400F for 1 hour, or until a knife can be pierced through. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.
![Beets with the tops cut off and one placed in foil and sprinkled with salt on a wooden cutting board on a white tiled background]()
- Once the beets are cool, use your fingers to easily remove the peels. Shred them coarsly using a box grater. Use gloves and place a paper towel under your cutting board to avoid getting your hands and the counters messy with the beet juices.
![Grated beet with a metal grater on a wooden cutting board on a white background]()
- Place the shredded beets in a bowl, then dress them with the remaining salt, olive oil, all the lemon juice, fresh mint and crushed garlic. Stir to combine.
![Grated beet in a white salad bowl with chopped mint on top on a green background]()
- Place the yogurt on top and gently stir it in. Add the chopped walnuts and garnish with more mint, a drizzle of olive oil, and more salt to taste.
![Turkish beet salad garnished with walnuts and mint in a white salad bowl on a green background]()
Notes
- You can roast the beets and leave them in the fridge, wrapped in foil, for a few days until you are ready to use them.
- You can omit the garlic if you find fresh garlic to be too strong.
- Feel free to also add finely chopped parsley.
Nutrition
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