Ingredients for vinaigrette Russian salad:
Potatoes – you can use any potatoes you like. I tend to go for Yukon gold or red potatoes, which keep their shape well even after cooking and don’t become too mealy even if you overcook the potatoes.
Beets – I like to boil the potatoes, beets and carrots all together. If you are short on time, you can use pre-cooked or even canned beets.
Carrots – any carrots work here, except miniature peeled carrots.
Onion – a regular yellow onion is best
Pickled cabbage (sauerkraut) – I like to use homemade pickled cabbage for my vinaigrette salad. My grandmother also makes it with dill pickles.
Lemon juice – some people use vinegar instead of lemon, but I find that it’s not necessary when using sauerkraut.
Oil – traditional Russian vinegret salad is made with sunflower oil, but you can use vegetable oil or Canola oil instead.
Salt and pepper – to taste.
Equipment
1 Large pot
1 Chef’s Knife
1 Cutting Board
Mixing bowls
How to make this vinaigrette salad recipe with sauerkraut
Prep and boil the vegetables
Wash and the typical Russian vegetables that this salad uses: clean beets, carrots and potatoes. At this point, you can either peel them, or proceed as my family does and cook without peeling.
Prick each vegetable a few times with a fork. Place all unpeeled vegetables in large pot, and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil potatoes and carrots and beets, and continue cooking for 20-30 minutes more, until they are easily pierced with a knife. Let vegetables cool to room temperature.
When cooked vegetables are cool enough to handle, do your best to peel them (potatoes will peel easily, beets a little less so, and carrots will likely be the hardest to peel), but don’t worry if some skin remains. This is where the nutrients are!
Alternatively, you can also peel the vegetables before cooking them.
Dice vegetables
Chop all the boiled vegetables into ½-1-inch cubes, and mix them in a large mixing bowl.
Finely chop onion, and add to bowl with cooked vegetables.
If using sauerkraut, add to bowl as is. If using pickles, chop finely and add to the rest of the vegetables. Mix well.
Make vinaigrette salad dressing
Stir together vegetable oil, lemon juice and salt for this vinaigrette russian salad dressing.
Season vinegret salad and let rest
Season salad with dressing, mixing until all the veggies are well combined.
Let rest in refrigerator for 1.5 to 2 hours, or overnight. Taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Serve this vinaigrette salad recipe topped with parsley.
Variations
As a time saving hack, use canned beets when making this salad! I also like to buy vacuum-sealed pre-cooked beets, which my kids love.
You can use roasted beet in the salad for a deeper, earthier flavor. You will need to wrap the beets in foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You can see my method for roasting beets in this roasted beet salad.
For Ukrainian vinaigrette salad, a former boyfriend’s dad used to make this vinaigrette salad recipe with kidney beans.
Try cooking the vegetables in the Instant Pot. You can cook the beets in the Instant Pot, boil potatoes in the Instant Pot, and cook the carrots in the Instant Pot, as well.
You can also add canned peas, eggs, diced apples, and olives, or even cooked chicken or turkey meat for other variations.
You can season the vinegret salad with mayonnaise instead of my vinegret salad dressing.
Serving Suggestions
This Russian vinaigrette salad recipe is a great winter or fall dish.
