This Simple Beet and Potato Salad is unique to Mauritius, and what makes it special is its refreshing vinegar-based dressing and fresh cilantro. Most vegetarian beet recipes include a dairy element like sour cream, or goat cheese, and are commonly garnished with dill. This Mauritian salad is a delicious change from these more commonly used ingredients, and it can sometimes include hard boiled eggs. My grandma used to make these all the time when I was growing so I’m quite fond of this humble but incredibly satisfying dish.
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What is Mauritian beet and potato salad?
Mauritian beet and potato salad is a vegetarian salad that combines beets, potatoes, carrots, hard boiled eggs tossed with a light vinegar-based dressing. The ingredients are simple and the salad is easy to put together. You would normally boil the beets, potatoes, and carrots as most Mauritian homes do not come with an oven.
My version, however, takes a different route. I prefer to roast them in the oven. Roasting the root vegetables, especially the beets, coaxes the sweetness out of these winter vegetables and this step makes the beet salad extra delicious.
What’s the best way to enjoy it?
Our beet and potato salad can be enjoyed as a side or as a complete meal with some fresh bread. It is not one of those meals that is usually sold as a street food, but you could find it in some small Snack establishments. Snacks are unassuming little eating establishments that serve a selection of food that people can buy on the go, or sit down and have a quick meal. See example below.
If you are curious about what typical street food to not miss on your next trip to Mauritius, be sure to check out our 27 top recommendations of Mauritian Street Food.
Ingredient swaps or omissions
Hard-boiled eggs
If you are allergic to eggs or want to transform this vegetarian beet and potato salad into a vegan one, simply omit the hard-boiled eggs, you definitely won’t miss it and the omission won’t affect the taste. Pinky swear! If fact, if I don’t have eggs at home, that’s what I do.
Acid
I use a combination of fresh lemon juice and white vinegar for this recipe but in Mauritius, we have a specific type of brown vinegar that I can’t find outside of the island. So I do my own combination of white vinegar, lemon juice and sometimes I even add a dash of red vinegar. You can’t really go wrong with almost any vinegar you choose. Of course avoid any stronger tasting ones like balsamic or sherry. Feel free to play with the ratio of lemon juice to vinegar, and see what works for your palate.
Cilantro
Many people have an aversion to cilantro (fresh coriander). If that’s you, you can exclude it from the recipe or substitute parsley for it (I have an aversion to parsley but it would go well with it if you like parsley).
Reasons to love it
- Simple: This recipe is very simple to put together, and the ingredients easy to find in your local market.
- Great as an all-week-long lunch item: Since it’s tossed in acid and oil, this vegetarian roasted beet salad will keep in the fridge for up to 5-6 days. I love prepping it on a Sunday and enjoying it all week long. This makes meal preparation so much easier.
- Grounding: Root vegetables are very grounding. This means that you will feel full and satiated for several hours.
- Versatile: This beet and potato salad can be consumed as a side dish or snack, and either of them can be eaten warm or cold. In winter, I’ll heat it up a little and enjoy it warm, and in summer, I will eat it at room temperature or cold.
- Make it vegan: This recipe can be transformed into a vegan dish by omitting the hard-boiled egg. Easy peasy!
Recipe ingredients for beet and potato salad
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this delicious and Simple Vegetarian Roasted Beet and Potato Salad:
- Beets
- Yellow potatoes (yellow potatoes are preferred to Russet as they are sturdier)
- Carrots
- Red onion
- Eggs
- Lemon
- White vinegar
- Vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper
Tips on how to make this Mauritian beets and potato salad
Follow the tips and directions below on how to make this salad successfully!
Properly roasting the beets and potatoes.
Pre-heat the oven to 400F. While the oven is pre-heating, tear two aluminum foil sheets and fill one with the beets and potatoes, and the other one with just the carrots. Wrap them each tightly.
It’s best to bake them in separate aluminum packets because the carrots will cook in about one third of the time that it takes the other two veggies to cook, and the beets and potatoes will be ready at about the same time.
Properly roasting the carrots
Bake the carrots for about 25 minutes. If your carrots are very large you might need to continue baking them for a bit longer, around 10-15 minutes more. Remove and set aside to cool.
Check for doneness
After 1 hour of baking, check the beets and potatoes by inserting a fork. The fork needs to go through. Add another 10-15 minutes if they are still a bit hard in the middle.
If your potatoes and your beets are the same size, the potato will be ready before the beets so be sure to check them both and increase the baking time accordingly.
If you would prefer to boil the root vegetables, please scroll down to the FAQs for boiling instructions.
Storage
Let the beet and potato salad cool down completely so it does not trap moisture. Transfer it into containers and store the containers in the fridge for a up to 5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No!
This beet and potato salad is very quick and easy to make. It takes roughly 20 minutes hands-on time, plus about 1 hour in the oven.
Yes, in fact, that’s how it’s normally prepared.
To boil them, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the beets, potatoes and carrots to boiling water. Remove the carrots after 8-12 minutes of boiling. Be sure to check that they have softened to your liking first.
Check the beets and potatoes after 25 minutes. If they are still hard, add another 10 minutes. Check again after 10 minutes, and add more time if need be.
Simple Beet and Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 5 beets medium
- 4 potatoes yellow works best, red is also okay, avoid Russet
- 2 carrots medium
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoon red onion minced or thinly sliced
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup white vinegar or a mix of white vinegar and red vinegar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil I like to use avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Cook the beets, potatoes and carrots
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Wash the beets, potatoes and carrots under cold water. You don't need to cut off the top and bottom of the beets as these keep the juices locked in. If your root vegetables are very dirty, you can use a brush. Once cleaned, toss them with a drizzle of vegetable oil.
- Lay out a large piece of aluminum foil. Wrap and seal the beets and potatoes in it. Then, do the same thing with the carrots, but with a separate aluminum foil.
- Bake the carrots for about 25 minutes. If your carrots are very large you might need to continue baking them for a bit longer, around 10-15 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
- Bake the beets and potatoes for about 1 hour. Check the beets and potatoes for doneness by inserting a fork. If it goes through, the root vegetables are ready. Add another 10-15 minutes if they are still a bit hard in the middle. Set aside to cool.Please note that if your potatoes and your beets are the same size, the potato will be ready before the beets, so be sure to check them both, and increase the baking time accordingly. If you would prefer to boil the root vegetables on the stove top instead of roasting them in the oven, please the NOTES section in the recipe card.
Boil the eggs
- Gently place the eggs into a small saucepan and fill the pan with enough water to cover the eggs. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook at this temperature for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to low, and let the eggs gently simmer for another 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare a bowl of cold water with ice cubes, about 3-4 cups and 1 cup of ice. If you'd like, you can skip this step, but the ice water bath helps peel the eggs effortlessly and halts the cooking process.
- After a total of 20 minutes, drain the hot water and put the hard boiled eggs in the ice water bath. Peel the eggs, and cut into rough slices or bite size pieces.
Mix it all together
- Now that your beets, potatoes and carrots are cooled, peel the skins and chop them into bite site pieces. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients until well mixed: white vinegar, lemon juice, vegetable oil, red onion, cilantro, salt and pepper.
- Add the chopped root vegetables into the dressing and mix really well.
- Then gently add the chopped eggs and mix carefully (or the egg yolk will over mix with the salad, you want the yolk to stay whole).
- Do a taste test. Adjust vinegar, vegetable oil, salt and pepper to your liking.
- Eat this beet and potato salad on its own or with bread. They keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
In love with beets? Check out my vegan Ethiopian Beet and Potato Salad. It’s similar this Mauritian one, but with spices and it has a nice kick from the addition of jalapeno peppers!
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