Pancar Salatasi is one of our favorite traditional Turkish side dishes also known as Beet Yogurt Salad.
Our quick & easy healthy vegetarian Pancar Salatasi recipe is the perfect Middle Eastern meze recipe to serve with your favourite dips, flatbread and grilled barbecue dishes.
This beautiful bright pink-coloured Turkish Salad is prepared with healthy ingredients like grated beets, lemon juice, olive oil, Greek-style yogurt, parsley and walnuts.
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What Is Pancar Salatasi?
Pancar Salatasi means beet salad or dip in Turkish. It’s like tzatziki ot tarator made with beets instead of cucumbers.
The popular appetizer / meze from Turkey is often served as a winter salad with grilled meats or roasted vegetables.
The dish is most commonly prepared with boiled beets that are then shredded against a metal grater. You can also roast the beets and use a food processor if you prefer. A great way to avoid staining your hands!
Travel to Turkey by Making Pancar Salatasi Beet Yogurt Salad at Home
I love traveling to the Middle East and North Africa.
As a professional food and travel journalist, I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy amazing meals in the Middle East, from authentic markets to award winning restaurants.
For over ten years, I’ve been on the hunt for the best Pancar Salatasi recipe via adventures that had me zig-zagging through Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Dubai.
I ate traditional Beet Yogurt Salad with flatbread at a traditional Moroccan riad, a modern Turkish take covered in fresh herbs in Istanbul and Bodrum, memorable late night feast at the luxurious Four Seasons in Amman, tahini drizzled vegetarian lunch in Tel Aviv and a Middle Eastern salad buffet in the Dubai desert while belly dancers twirled under the night sky.
My most romantic memories eating Turkish Beet Yogurt Salad were at celebratory barbecue feasts in the cave town of Goreme, beach break in Bodrum, ancient city of Ephesus and a culinary walking tour of Istanbul.
I particularly like to order the bright pink salad with pide topped with spicy local meats and sausage. The sweetness of the beets and creamy yogurt help cool the spicy flavours. A match made in Turkish heaven!
Where To Eat Pancar Salatasi
If you live in a large city in Canada or America you’ll likely have access to a local Middle Eastern restaurant that serves authentic Pancar Salatasi.
Haven’t traveled to the Middle East before? It may be helpful to first sample Turkish Pancar Salatasi at a local restaurant to better understand how the dish is served.
You’ll get an idea for the desired thickness of the shredded beetroot, ideal yogurt to beet ratio, and preferred eye-catching toppings such as fresh parsley and chopped roasted walnuts. Find inspiration on what to pair with your Turkish beet salad, such as creamy dips, flatbread, grilled seafood and spiced roast meat.
In Toronto, popular Middle Eastern restaurants that may serve healthy Beet Yogurt Salad include Parallel, Byblos, Tabule, Fat Pasha, Maha’s, Masrawy Kitchen, Paramount Fine Foods, Anatolia, Barans, Meat Point, Sofra Istanbul and Pizza Pide.
My Family Loves Turkish Beet Yogurt Salad
When my family moved to Oakville the first restaurant we visited was a local Middle Eastern restaurant called Agabi. Ranked as one of the best restaurants in Oakville, Agabi, became our family’s go-to Middle Eastern take out joint.
We’ve been eating at Agabi for years and have tasted almost every dish on the menu. Each member of my family has discovered a favourite dish, that we always seem to consistently order.
My father loves the Creamy Chicken, muddled with mushrooms and onions. My mother is a fan of the Lamb Shashlik, grilled to perfection with green pepper and mushroom. My sister always orders the Chicken Pineapple, marinated boneless chicken served with crispy bacon and juicy pineapple. I’ve always had a heart for Agabi’s signature Chicken Shawarma, served alongside the chef’s creamy Pancar Salatasi recipe, aromatic rice and creamy garlic kebab sauce.
After discovering Turkish Beet Yogurt Salad at a local restaurant I sought it out on my travels throughout the Middle East and now like to make this quick & easy recipe at home.
Pancar Salatasi Health Benefits
Our healthy Beet Yogurt Salad recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
Beets are very low in cholesterol and saturated fat, they are a very good source of dietary fibre, folate, potassium, manganese, Vitamin C, iron and magnesium.
A rich source of phytochemicals and vitamin C, lemons help boost your immune system and neutralize free radicals that cause disease and skin aging. Lemons also protect against heart disease and help improve blood flow to the brain.
Olive Oil is ranked as one of the healthiest fats and is a staple in the Mediterranean diet. It contains vitamins E and K and plenty of beneficial fatty acids and antioxidants.
Packed with calcium and friendly probiotic bacteria, sour cream and yogurt help keep your bones strong and your gut healthy. Yogurt may also help reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes and some types of cancer.
An excellent source of vitamin K, as well as vitamin C, folate, and iron, parsley helps keep your bones and blood healthy, and protects your skin from damage by free radicals.
Walnuts offer heart-friendly fats, immune-boosting copper, and manganese, which helps keep your brain and nerves healthy.
Pancar Salatasi Recipe Cooking Tips
It’s quick & easy to make a fresh and healthy homemade Pancar Salatasi recipe in your kitchen at home.
In order to make the best Beet Yogurt Salad we suggest finding the freshest, in-season vegetables at your local grocery store or farmers market.
Traditionally Turkish chefs use boiled beetroot, which is cooled to room temperature and then shredded by hand on a metal grater. You can also prepare this salad by roasting the beets in your oven, barbecue or air fryer.
If you’ve got a food processor in your cupboards and are looking to save time use a grater attachment and in just seconds the beets will be grated perfectly. This also helps reduce the amount of skin contact you have with the beets, ensuring your hands don’t stain dark red during the preparation process.
Always use freshly squeezed lemon juice, not from concentrate, as your guests will certainly taste the difference in quality. You can also add 1/2 tsp of finely grated lemon zest to enhance the citrus flavour.
We typically use curly parsley as it grows in our backyard herb garden but you can substitute for Italian flat leaf parsley if you prefer.
Roast a handful of walnuts and let them cool before chopping them and scattering them on top of the salad as a garnish. You can substitute with pistachios if you prefer or pomegranate seeds.
Add a dollop of creamy Greek yogurt to the top of the salad before serving for a more eye-catching presentation.
We love to double this recipe so we can enjoy leftovers that linger in the fridge for up to 3 days. Overnight, the ingredients marinate, producing a flavourful cold salad to serve at breakfast or lunch the next day.
What To Serve With Beet Yogurt Salad
Visit a new Turkish restaurant each week and you’ll find each chef serves their own signature Beet Yogurt Salad recipe.
At brunch we love to serve Pancar Salatasi with poached or fried eggs and grilled flatbread.
The dish can be served by itself as a cold starter or a meze. It also works extremely well as an accompaniment to grilled meat such as grilled lamb or barbecue seafood.
If you’re hosting a large dinner party we suggest serving a Turkish Buffet, rather than building an individual plate for each of your guests. We find folks love a DIY culinary challenge and it’s especially fun for families with kids.
Set your kitchen counter up with bowls of pickles, olives, creamy dips, grilled meat, barbecued seafood, freshly baked pide and a large bowl of Pancar Salatasi. Each guest can create their very own pretty plate from the platter you masterfully create!
You May Also Enjoy These Turkish Recipes…
- BBQ Tavuk Sis Turkish Chicken Kebab
- Mucver Tarif Vegetarian Turkish Zucchini Fritters
- Turkish Pogaca Feta and Dill Bread Rolls
- Mihlama Kuymak Turkish Melted Cheese and Cornmeal
- Vegan Spicy Turkish Salsa Ezme Salata Salad
- Kisir Vegan Turkish Bulgur Salad
- Peynirli Pide Cheesy Chorizo Turkish Pizza
- Kiymali Pide Spiced Minced Meat Turkish Pizza
- Turkish Mint Yogurt Corbasi Soup
You May Also Enjoy These Salad Recipes…
- Ensalada de Gambas Spanish Grapefruit Fennel Shrimp Salad
- Erdapfelsalat Viennese Warm Austrian Potato Salad
- Arugula Fig Burrata and Prosciutto Salad
- Healthy Vegetarian Indian Paneer Tikka Salad
- Mexican Vegan Cucumber Radish Salad with Chipotle Peanuts
- Warm Indian Vegan Sprouted Mung Bean Salad
- Scallion Dill Beetroot Salad with Yogurt
- Sangchu Geotjeori Sweet and Sour Korean Lettuce Salad
- Yum Woon Sen Thai Glass Noodle Salad
- Vegan Lebanese Cabbage Malfouf Salad
- Toasted Pecan Parmesan Pear and Rocket Salad
- Cambozola Currant Pear and Fennel Salad
- Healthy Romaine Salad With Tahini Caesar Dressing
- Cilantro Ginger Lime Cajun Shrimp Salad
- Egyptian Salad Vegan Salata Baladi
- Healthy Vegetarian Lebanese Eggplant Fatteh
- Vegan Citrus “Rojak” Singapore Salad
How To Make Pancar Salatasi Turkish Beet Yogurt Salad
Pancar Salatasi Turkish Beet Yogurt Salad
Equipment
- Large pot
- Grater
- mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- French knife
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 1 lb Beets
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 tbsp Parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp Walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Cut the tops of the beets and boil them in water for 30-40 minutes, until tender. Peel and shred them with a cheese grater.
- Mix the lemon juice with the oil. Add yogurt and salt and beat well. Mix into the beats.
- Pour into a serving dish and garnish with chopped parsley and walnuts.
Nutrition
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