This Roasted Beet Salad with Goat’s Cheese makes a festive addition to any special gathering or holiday dinner!
The roasted beets, goat’s cheese, apples and toasted pecans bring so many wonderful flavors and textures to this healthy side dish. With the homemade balsamic honey dressing, this tastes like the ultimate gourmet salad.
I know, I know… Beets aren’t really everybody’s darling in the vegetable world. But I adore them! And roasted beets do really taste delicious in a salad.
While citrus and beets are a very popular pairing, I actually like them even more with apples. Add some toasted pecans and cheese (plus red onion for good measure) and you have one delicious salad! There are quite a few ingredients in this recipe, but I promise it’s still very easy to make.
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Salad greens: I used a mix of arugula and baby spinach, but pretty much any dark leafy salad greens are delicious here. Baby greens are usually milder and softer, so go for these if you can.
- Beets: Roasting your own is easy and delicious, but you can also buy already cooked beets and use them in the salad without losing too much flavor.
- Pecans: Walnuts make for a great alternative. Feel free to leave out the nuts entirely if you need to skip them, or replace them with toasted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds if you tolerate those.
- Apple: I prefer to use sweeter Gala apples in this salad. Whatever you decide to use, make sure your apples are firm and crisp.
- Red onion: Shallot is a great substitute, or just leave it out if you’re not a fan of onion.
- Dried cranberries: I love these in the salad, but they are not a must. Dried cherries are also delicious!
- Cheese: Feta cheese or goat’s cheese are my favorite for this salad. But my husband also really enjoys it with blue cheese, so that’s a great way to switch things up if you enjoy the taste of blue cheese.
- Dijon mustard: If you don’t keep Dijon mustard on hand, feel free to opt for yellow mustard. The taste is a little different, but still delicious.
- Dried thyme: Feel free to leave out the thyme if you don’t keep this in your pantry. Italian seasoning would be a suitable substitute, but will yield a slightly different taste.
How to make a salad with roasted beets
The first step in this recipe is obviously to roast the beets. See my tutorial for how to roast beets. Since this can take up to 90 minutes, plus chilling time, you need to plan ahead for this salad. Alternatively, use pre-cooked beets!
Once your beets are roasted, combine them with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped parsley. Allow them to cool and chill in this marinade.
Once you’re ready to make the salad, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth.
Add all salad ingredients to a large salad bowl. Pour over the dressing.
Very gently toss the salad to evenly coat with the dressing, then serve immediately!
Recipe tips
- If you’re using pre-cooked beets, just let them sit in the fridge in the balsamic marinade for 15-30 minutes before using in the salad.
- To keep the cheese from turning pink, do not add it to the salad bowl with the other ingredients. Instead, sprinkle it on once the salad has been tossed. I only take the time to do this for photos, privately my kids think the pink cheese is the coolest thing ever 😉
- This makes a large salad for sharing. Make sure you use a very large salad bowl to comfortably hold all of the ingredients. Otherwise you’ll have a hard time tossing it.
- Feel free to cut the ingredients in half, or to even quarter the recipe to yield a smaller amount.
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Roasted Beet Salad with Goat’s Cheese
Recipe details
Ingredients
Beets
- 4-5 medium beets roasted (see this recipe for roasting instructions)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- salt & pepper to taste
Dressing
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ground black pepper to taste
Salad
- 1 (10-oz) bag arugula OR baby spinach OR mixed baby greens
- ½ cup toasted pecans roughly chopped
- 1 large apple cored and thinly sliced
- 4 oz goat cheese OR Feta cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion OR shallot
Instructions
- Marinate beets: Peel and dice freshly roasted beets. Place in medium bowl and combine with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley and salt & pepper. Place in refrigerator until chilled.
- Make dressing: Once beets are ready, make dressing by whisking together all dressing ingredients until smooth.
- Assemble: Place salad ingredients in a large salad bowl (see notes if you want to keep cheese from turning pink), add marinated beets and pour over dressing. Gently toss to coat all ingredients with dressing. Serve immediately.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Salad greens: I used a mix of arugula and baby spinach, but pretty much any dark leafy salad greens are delicious here. Baby greens are usually milder and softer, so go for these if you can.
- Beets: Roasting your own is easy and delicious, but you can also buy already cooked beets and use them in the salad without losing too much flavor.
- Pecans: Walnuts make for a great alternative. Feel free to leave out the nuts entirely if you need to skip them, or replace them with toasted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds if you tolerate those.
- Apple: I prefer to use sweeter Gala apples in this salad. Whatever you decide to use, make sure your apples are firm and crisp.
- Red onion: Shallot is a great substitute, or just leave it out if you’re not a fan of onion.
- Dried cranberries: I love these in the salad, but they are not a must. Dried cherries are also delicious!
- Cheese: Feta cheese or goat’s cheese are my favorite for this salad. But my husband also really enjoys it with blue cheese, so that’s a great way to switch things up if you enjoy the taste of blue cheese.
- Dijon mustard: If you don’t keep Dijon mustard on hand, feel free to opt for yellow mustard. The taste is a little different, but still delicious.
- Dried thyme: Feel free to leave out the thyme if you don’t keep this in your pantry. Italian seasoning would be a suitable substitute, but will yield a slightly different taste.
Recipe tips
- If you’re using pre-cooked beets, just let them sit in the fridge in the balsamic marinade for 15-30 minutes before using in the salad.
- To keep the cheese from turning pink, do not add it to the salad bowl with the other ingredients. Instead, sprinkle it on once the salad has been tossed. I only take the time to do this for photos, privately my kids think the pink cheese is the coolest thing ever 😉
- This makes a large salad for sharing. Make sure you use a very large salad bowl to comfortably hold all of the ingredients. Otherwise you’ll have a hard time tossing it.
- Feel free to cut the ingredients in half, or to even quarter the recipe to yield a smaller amount.
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