Meow Recipes: Beet and Burrata Salad with Fried Bread

Beet and burrata salad in a bowl with fried bread

Here’s the thing, though: this is just my life now.

That picture of the vibrant juicy beet and orange goodness, slicked with dressing and scooped up with a hunk of creamy burrata on a bite of crispy fried sourdough? That is it. That is where I live. That is what I eat, breathe, and dream about.

Thanks for coming, but there is nothing more we need to talk about! Game over. I’ll just be eating this beet and burrata salad from here on out.

What You’ll Need For This Beet and Burrata Salad

Here’s our short and wonderful ingredient list:

pre-cooked beets
oranges
arugula
dressing (homemade or your favorite store-bought)
bread (sourdoooough)
burrata

Calling this bowl of beauty “a salad” feels not quite right, because if we’re being honest, salads leave a little to be desired sometimes.

But this salad – or maybe I should say, this big bowl of fried bread, juicy beets and oranges, quick vinaigrette, and creamy, luscious burrata – leaves exactly nothing be desired. The golden crispy-salty bites of the bread with the cool creaminess of the burrata and every juicy, vibrant, dressing-soaked bite of beets and oranges – it’s the total package. It’s a partial fork-and-knife, partial just-get-in-there-and-grab-that-bread-with-your-hands type of meal, which is my favorite kind.

New life rule: salads always need fried bread.

This Salad Makes For Great Leftovers Or Meal Prep

Some words on leftovers (or mainly just one word): YES, you can eat this as leftovers.

For max freshness, keep everything separate until you serve it.

But for the little bits of leftovers that are already mixed up, I find that the beets and the oranges hold up pretty well after they get tossed with the dressing – maybe 1-2 days. The arugula, as you can imagine, does not. So if you’re going to save leftovers, just freshen them up with a more perky handful of arugula.

The fried bread actually does pretty well if you just keep it in a container at room temp for a day or two and pop it back in the toaster / toaster oven / regular oven / skillet to get it warmed and a little crispy again. But really, any of those is going to be a sad stand-in for the real fresh fried bread. I know you don’t really need me to tell you, but where possibly, eat that fried bread right out of the pan.

Beet and burrata salad in a bowl with fried bread and a fork

Beet and Burrata Salad: Frequently Asked Questions

These salad bowls are amazing! Just want to switch up the dressing. Any ideas?

Store-bought champagne or lemon dressing would be yummy! If you want to whip up something yourself (other than what’s already written in the recipe), the lemon dressing from this salad recipe would be delicious, the kale chimichurri would be punchy and unique, and some 5-Minute Sunshine Sauce would give it a nice lift.

I want to make this, but I’m not totally sold on eating beets. What else would you recommend?

You could roast up some sweet potatoes or carrots in place of the beets if you’d prefer. Won’t have the same flavor but still yummy!

What kind of oranges should be used here?

Plain ol’ Navel oranges work just fine! But Cara Cara oranges, if you can find them, will really show off the colors in this beauty.

Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?

Beet and Burrata Salad with Fried Bread

Author: Lindsay
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 3-4 servings

Print Recipe

Description

This Beet and Burrata Salad is everything you need. Juicy beets and oranges, a creamy and luscious burrata scoop, peppery arugula, a quick vinaigrette, and crispy fried bread. SO MUCH YES!

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
a few taps of garlic powder
a big handful of chopped chives
salt and pepper to taste

(OR, a bottle of your favorite champagne dressing, lemon dressing, or similar)

For the Salad:

one 8-ounce package cooked beets
2 oranges
a handful of arugula
8 ounces burrata (two 4-ounce rounds)
4–6 slices white Tuscan-style or sourdough bread

Instructions

Video

Shake dressing ingredients in a jar.
Press excess juice out of the beets with a paper towel; cut them into chunks. Cut the peel off the orange; cut into chunks. Toss beets and oranges with dressing. Add arugula if you want.
Heat a generous swizzle of olive oil over medium high heat. Add bread; fry on each side until golden brown and crispy.
Divide into bowls, serving each bowl with a chunk of creamy burrata and a piece (or three) of grilled bread. OMG.