Delicious Vinegret Russian Salad [GF, Vegan] 2024

Vinegret is a typical Russian salad taking all the colors and tastes, but remaining gluten-free and vegan. This tasty mixture of root crops like beets, carrots, potatoes, and peas together with a bit of pickles plus some vinegar is refreshing yet healthy. You can serve it at any gathering whether for guests or simply your family members because it can also act as a side dish especially when one wants something unique during meal preps.

Below, I will walk you through how to make this very famous food while telling you more about its history. By following this guide, you should prepare at home a salad that is not only delicious but also full of vitamins.

What is Vinegret?

A famous Russian salad, vinaigrette, is made from boiled vegetables, fermented or pickled ingredients, and dressed in a similar vinaigrette style. This salad is distinctly colored because it mainly appears pink due to the beetroot presence while many salads in the Western world are green since they are composed of different types of leaves. Therefore, the Vinegret cannot be compared with them because it is actually a hearty root vegetable dish.

This dish has been part of Russia’s food culture for over a hundred years now; traditionally prepared every time there is a family meeting or celebration event like a wedding etc., people have come to love its taste because of how sweet, sour, salty, and bitter ingredients combine harmoniously.

Why You’ll Love Vinegret

Vegan and Gluten-Free in Nature: Suited for individuals with dietary limitations or those who opt for vegan diets.
Nutrient-rich: Beetroots, carrots, and spuds contain essential vitamins and minerals.
Ideal for Bulk Cooking: Prepare enough to have it last you days in the fridge.
Vibrant and Colourful: This salad is visually appealing and tasty at the same time!

Ingredients for Vinegret Salad

You need to see the ingredients list ahead of the cooking instructions. Most of them can easily be found and are quite inexpensive.

Basic Elements
Beets: 2 medium beets
Carrots: 2 medium carrots
Potatoes: 3 small or medium potatoes
Pickled Cucumbers: 4 to 5 small pickles or 2 big ones
Green Peas: 1 cup (fresh or canned)
Sauerkraut: 1 cup (optional but very good for being real)
Onion: 1 small red or yellow onion (finely chopped)

Dressing
Sunflower Oil: 3 tablespoons (you may replace it with olive oil)
Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 tablespoon (or white wine vinegar)
Dijon Mustard: 1 teaspoon (optional but adds flavor)
Salt and Pepper: To taste

Step-by-Step Instructions

Having acquired all the necessary components, it is time to prepare a Recreation salad in your own kitchen.

 Cook the Vegetables

The initial step involves boiling the vegetables. Place each of the unpeeled beets, potatoes and carrots in separate pans (or one large pot but remove them at different times since they take varying times to cook).

Beetroots: Cook until soft slightly over 45 minutes or 1 hour. It is possible to use a knife or fork to confirm this since it should be able to penetrate easily.
Carrots: It requires only about 20-25 minutes for these vegetables to boil.
Potatoes: Do the same as with carrots, usually 20-25 minutes.
When done cooking allow enough time for cooling down add salt and dressing before serving chilled salad otherwise hot salads will result in a mushy texture.

 Peel and Dice the Vegetables

Cool down the vegetables before peeling the beets, carrots, and potatoes. They will be very easy to peel. Cut them into small uniform squares. The salad’s texture will improve as the cubes shrink.

Tip: To prevent early coloration of other veggies, cut the beets last or separate them.

 Prepare the Other Ingredients

Pickles: Cut the pickled cucumbers into small cubes.
Onion: Chop the onion finely.
Sauerkraut: if you will use it, strain it out first.

Mix Everything

Mix the diced beets, carrots, potatoes, pickles, onions, green peas, and sauerkraut in a large mixing bowl. Stir them around gently to combine all the ingredients, taking care not to turn the vegetables into a pulp while doing so.

 Prepare the Dressing

Combine sunflower oil and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl with Dijon mustard (optionally), salt and pepper pinch. To your taste, season very well your food.

 Dress the Salad

Empty the dressing over the mixed vegetables and gently move about ensuring an even coat on everything while beets will give it a beautiful pink color you can leave it sitting for 15-20 minutes before serving to let the flavors marry up and become inseparable.

Serving Suggestions

Vinegret can be eaten either as a side dish or as a full meal in itself. It goes amazingly well with other foods such as borscht which is a type of beetroot soup or pelmeni also known as dumplings typical in Russia, together with slices of crusty gluten-free bread it forms a good wholesome meal. Save vinegar in the refrigerator in an airtight container when preparing submitting your meals, store vinegar in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to eat, for up to three or four days. Vinegret gets even better when left in the refrigerator as flavors develop with time.

Health Benefits of Vinegret Salad

It is not only a beautiful dish, but also a healthy one. The different ingredients have different kinds of health benefits for the body.

Beets: The betalains in them are active antioxidants that help in reducing inflammation and in detoxification support.

Carrot: Carrots are high in beta-carotene, an important antioxidant for vision.

Potato: The potato is high in fiber, potassium, and Vitamin C

To improve gut health, sauerkruat if used provides probiotic bacteria

Green peas: Green peas are high in fiber and protein, plus other essential vitamins such as K