Grilled Zucchini and Beetroot Salad
This grilled zucchini and beetroot salad is a warm spring salad you can put together in about 15 minutes. You grill zucchini strips brushed with olive oil, then pile them over salad leaves with roasted beetroot, tomato, green pesto, olives, and a squeeze of orange. Add ricotta for a vegetarian version, or leave it out to keep it vegan.
I decided to change things on the blog a little and start posting all those excellent recipes I make every day for lunch or dinner. These are yummy, easy recipes for everyday cooking that I made and loved, but for which I did not have any time to take “professional” pictures with my camera because I was just TOO hungry. I have so many recipes like this that I never shared with you because I felt the visuals were “not worthy” — no props, no proper light, no fancy plating. But I will not let that stop me ever again.
Ever since spring arrived (well, more in theory than in real life!), I started eating more and more salads. I am a big fan of salads for three reasons: they are delicious, they are super versatile, and they are extremely easy to make. I simply LOVE warm salads, and this one is one of my latest obsessions. I made it for dinner some days ago and it was a blast — an explosion of flavors that both my boyfriend and I loved serving. So for this recipe I only have a couple of photos taken with my phone, but what matters here is the taste and the actual recipe: my real, non-polished food that I eat in real life. 🙂
This Recipe Works If You Need
- A quick spring or summer lunch that comes together in about 15 minutes, with the grill doing most of the work.
- A warm salad that feels like a real meal, not a side dish or a “diet” plate of plain leaves.
- A recipe that flexes vegan or vegetarian depending on whether you add the ricotta.
- An easy way to use up half a zucchini, a jar of roasted beetroot, and a handful of salad leaves you already have.
- A no-fuss dinner you can serve with warm wraps and call done, the way I do.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It proves salads are not boring. People associate salads with dieting or assume they are plain and tasteless. Let me be an advocate for salads: this one is an explosion of flavor, my friends.
- The warm-meets-cool contrast does the work. Hot, charred zucchini against cool crisp leaves and sweet beetroot is what makes a warm salad satisfying in a way a cold one is not.
- It is 100% customizable. What I love best about salads is that you can swap, add, or skip almost anything based on what is in your fridge.
- It is fast. Grill the zucchini, assemble, drizzle, done. No cooking marathon, no special equipment beyond a grill pan.
- It works for two diets from one recipe. Add ricotta for a creamy vegetarian plate, or leave it out and it is fully vegan with zero compromise on taste.
Ingredient Notes
Zucchini is the star here, and the cut matters. I slice half a zucchini lengthwise into long strips about 7mm thick — thin enough to char quickly, thick enough that the strips hold together and do not turn to mush on the grill. When you buy zucchini, choose small to medium ones that feel firm and heavy for their size; oversized zucchini are watery and full of seeds, which is exactly what you do not want for grilling.
Roasted beetroot brings the sweet, earthy counterpoint to the savory zucchini. I use roasted beetroot from a jar cut into cubes, which is the shortcut that makes this a 15-minute salad. If you roast your own, look for beets that are firm with smooth skin; roasting (rather than boiling) keeps the sugars concentrated instead of leaching them into the water.
Green pesto is what ties the plate together with a hit of herby, garlicky richness. A couple of teaspoons is enough — pesto is intense, and you want it to season the salad, not drown it. Check the label if you need it vegan, since many jarred pestos contain Parmesan.
Ricotta is optional and the single thing that decides vegan versus vegetarian. If you add it, the recipe is no longer vegan. If you are after the best ricotta, I recommend Galbani — I discovered it when I used to live in Milano and I still think it is the best one on our shelves.
Tomato, olives, and fresh herbs round it out. I slice one tomato, add four olives, and finish with fresh oregano and basil leaves. Fresh herbs are not a garnish afterthought here; their aroma is half the reason this salad smells so good when it lands on the table.
Olive oil and orange make the dressing. I use three tablespoons of olive oil total — two for the dressing and one for greasing the zucchini — and the freshly squeezed juice of half an orange. The orange is me feeling exotic, and it brightens the whole plate with a sweet citrus note you do not usually expect in a savory salad.
Tips
- Get the grill pan properly hot before the zucchini touches it. A hot surface sears the strips and gives you those dark grill marks; a lukewarm pan just steams the zucchini and leaves it limp and watery.
- Do not over-oil. One tablespoon to grease the strips is plenty. Too much oil drips, flares, and makes the zucchini greasy instead of charred. Brush it on rather than pouring.
- Watch for the visual cue. You know the zucchini is ready when the edges look golden, the surface has clear grill marks, and the strips have softened just enough to bend without falling apart. Season with salt, pepper, and dry oregano before they go on.
- Squeeze the orange juice fresh, right over the leaves. Bottled juice tastes flat. The whole point of that half orange is the bright, fresh acidity, so do it last so it does not soak in and wilt the greens early.
- Assemble just before serving. Warm salads are best the moment the zucchini is still hot against the cool leaves. Let it sit too long and you lose the contrast that makes it special.
Substitutions and Variations
- Make it vegan. Simply omit the ricotta. The salad is fully plant-based without it, and you lose none of the warm, savory character.
- Swap the cheese. If you want creaminess in a vegan version, a spoonful of a soft plant-based cheese works in place of ricotta. Just check that your pesto is vegan too.
- Change the leaves. I use my favorite pre-washed salad mix, but any sturdy greens work. Peppery leaves like arugula stand up nicely to the sweet beetroot and the orange.
- Play with the finish. Salads are 100% customizable, so swap the olives for capers, the basil for mint, or add a few toasted seeds for crunch. Use this as a base and make it yours.
Storage and Make Ahead
This is a warm salad, so it is at its best assembled and eaten right away while the zucchini is still hot against the cool leaves. If you want to get ahead, you can grill the zucchini strips in advance and keep them in the fridge for up to two days in an airtight container, then bring them to room temperature or warm them briefly before assembling. Keep the dressing, the leaves, and the grilled components separate until serving so the greens stay crisp and the orange juice stays bright. We served ours with wraps heated in the oven, which makes it a fuller meal.
If you catch the salad bug like I did, you will want a few more in your rotation. Try this summer salad when the weather warms up, or browse more vegan zucchini recipes to keep using up the season’s best produce.
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Grilled Zucchini and Beetroot Salad
Ingredients
- ½ zucchini cut in long strips, approx. 7mm thick
- 1 tomato sliced
- 4 Tbsp roasted beetroot from a jar, cut into cubes
- 2 tsp green pesto
- fresh oregano and basil leaves a few
- 4 olives
- 3 Tbsp olive oil 2 for the dressing and 1 for grilling the zucchini
- 1 Tbsp ricotta optional (omit it for the vegan/dairy-free version)
- ½ orange
- pre-washed salad mix your favorite, 2 generous handfuls per portion
Instructions
- Cut the zucchini into long strips about 7mm thick. You will use 2 strips per portion. Score the strips in a zig-zag pattern, then brush with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and dried oregano and grill until tender and lightly charred on both sides.
- Once the zucchini is done, all that’s left is to assemble the salad.
- Add 2 generous handfuls of salad leaves to each plate. Drizzle with olive oil and freshly squeezed orange juice.
- Add the tomato slices, beetroot cubes, pesto, ricotta, and olives, dividing the quantities between the 2 plates, then scatter fresh oregano and basil leaves on top.
- Serve the salad with wraps heated in the oven.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
It can be either. As written with ricotta it is vegetarian. To make it vegan, simply leave out the ricotta and check that your green pesto does not contain Parmesan. Everything else in the salad — zucchini, beetroot, tomato, olives, herbs, olive oil, and orange — is plant-based.
Cut the zucchini into long strips about 7mm thick. That thickness is thin enough to char and soften quickly on the grill, but thick enough that the strips hold their shape and do not turn to mush. Plan on about two strips per portion.
This recipe uses roasted beetroot from a jar, cut into cubes, which keeps it quick and gives a sweet, earthy flavor. You can roast your own beets instead. Roasting concentrates the natural sugars, while boiling tends to leach them out, so roasted beetroot is the better match for this warm salad.
We served ours with wraps heated in the oven, which turns the salad into a fuller meal. It also pairs well with crusty bread, a grain like couscous or quinoa, or simply on its own as a light spring or summer lunch.
Because it is a warm salad, it is best assembled and eaten right away while the zucchini is still hot against the cool leaves. To prep ahead, grill the zucchini strips up to two days in advance, store them in an airtight container in the fridge, and warm them briefly before assembling. Keep the leaves and dressing separate until serving.
The freshly squeezed juice of half an orange brightens the whole plate with a sweet citrus note you do not usually expect in a savory salad. Squeeze it fresh right over the leaves just before serving so the acidity stays vivid and does not wilt the greens early.
I’m absolutely in LOVE with this recipe!