This beet salad recipe is a stunning fall or winter side dish! Goat cheese, apples, and arugula fill it with a delightful mix of textures and flavors.
I love all the colors in this roasted beet salad recipe. The vibrant greens, the red and golden beets, the pale pink shallot, and the dots of white cheese. This kind of colorful salad is exactly what I like to serve at a dinner party or holiday meal. It adds some needed freshness to a spread of, say, stuffing and mashed potatoes, and it looks so striking, but it’s delightfully simple to make. You can even prep the components a day or two in advance!
Beet Salad Recipe Ingredients
To make this beet salad recipe, you can use any variety of beets. Red beets, golden beets, or pink Chioggia beets would all work well. Use a mix of colors if you can, but if red beets are all that’s available, don’t worry. The salad will still look beautiful and taste great.
And tip: if the beets’ tops are still attached, don’t toss them! Instead, save them to make this yummy sautéed beet greens recipe. Waste not, want not!
Here’s what else you’ll need to make this beet salad recipe:
- Granny Smith apple – It adds crunch and sweet-tart flavor. A ripe pear would work nicely here too.
- Fresh greens – I like to use arugula or spring mix to create the salad’s fresh base. A sprinkle of microgreens is a nice touch too.
- Soft goat cheese – A perfect partner for roasted beets! Its funky flavor and creamy texture pair wonderfully with the sweet, earthy root veggies.
- Toasted walnuts – For extra earthiness, richness, and crunch.
- Thinly sliced shallot – For sharp depth of flavor.
- Balsamic vinaigrette – I make my own with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a little maple syrup, garlic, and mustard. Its sweet, tangy flavor really brings the salad together.
- And flaky sea salt and fresh black pepper – To make all the flavors pop! I love the delicate crunch that the flaky salt adds to this beet salad, but if you can’t find it, regular sea salt would be fine too.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Roasted Beet Salad Serving Suggestions
This beet and goat cheese salad is a perfect side dish for any fall or winter meal. You could enjoy it for lunch with a bowl of potato leek or butternut squash soup or serve it for dinner with pasta, risotto, pizza, or polenta. It would also be a great addition to a holiday spread. Serve it for Thanksgiving with classic dishes like green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and mashed potatoes, or pair it with lasagna or baked ziti for another holiday meal.
To get ahead, you can cook the beets and make the dressing up to two days in advance and store them in the fridge. Just before serving, assemble the salad with the roasted beets, goat cheese, apple, walnuts, shallot, and greens. Drizzle on the dressing, and serve!
More Favorite Salad Recipes
If you love this roasted beet salad recipe, try one of these fresh salads next:
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Butternut Squash Salad
- Avocado Salad
- Green Bean Salad
- Pear Salad with Balsamic and Walnuts
- Kale Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing
- Or any of these 51 Best Salad Recipes!
Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 medium beets
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 2 cups salad greens, arugula or spring mix
- ½ shallot, thinly sliced
- ½ green apple, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts
- 2 ounces goat cheese, torn
- Microgreens, optional
- Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Flaky sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Wrap each beet in a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle generously with olive oil and pinches of salt and pepper. Place the beets on a baking sheet and roast for 40 to 90 minutes, or until soft and fork-tender. The time will depend on the size and freshness of the beets. Remove the beets from the oven, remove the foil, and set aside to cool. When they are cool to the touch, peel the skins. I like to hold them under running water and slide the skins off with my hands.
- Let the beets cool and chill them in the fridge until ready to use.
- Slice the beets into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Assemble the salad with the greens, shallots, apples, beets, walnuts, cheese, and microgreens, if using. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette. Season with flaky sea salt and pepper and serve.
I made this Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic last night for dinner. Everyone loved it. All of the different flavors taste so good together.
Someone brought this to a baby shower. It is SO good – and now almost everyone who came to the shower wants the recipe! I’m rating it now because I’m going to make it and I don’t want to forget Thank you for a delicious salad! I’ll probably use pecans when I make it.
Hi Alison, aww I’m so glad the salad was a hit!
Could I substitute pecans for the walnuts? I have so many pecans in the freezer but no walnuts.
yep!
Delicious!
I recently made this salad for a fundraiser and it was an instant hit! I used a variety of beets and radishes to make it a little fancier and the crowd devoured it! It’s a lot of work roastinf and assembling, not your typical toss together salad but so so worth it!
Hi Shay, I’m glad it was such a hit! Fun idea to use the mix of beets and radishes.
Sorry I would have put up a pic but too late. All gone and delicious
So glad you loved the salad, Dawn!
This salad is so delicious. I added quinoa for additional protein to make it a complete meal.
I’m so glad you loved it, Cheri! Great idea to add quinoa.
OMG – This is fantastic!!! I am eating it right now. Be sure to use make the balsamic dressing. SO GOOD
I’m hooked…finally a salad the men in the family love..
This salad looks amazing. I’m trying to add more flavor to this BS diet I have to be on. Do you happen to have the nutritional facts on this recipe?
Delicious and refreshing… This salad is easily a meal in itself. Crowd pleaser!
Hi Heather, I’m so glad you loved it!
I will start by saying I rarely leave comments about a recipe, but I just had to post about this one.
I followed the recipe exactly as written, including the balsamic vinaigrette and I have to say it’s one of the best salads I’ve ever had.
I kept all the ingredients in separate containers because I wanted to eat it throughout the week for lunch.
I will keep this one on rotation. Thanks!
Hi Sandi, thank you so much for your comment. I’m so glad you loved the salad!
This beet salad was delicious and a big hit! I had fresh kale from the garden so used it as the greens. Will be making this again very soon!
So glad you loved it, Irene!
Very excited to make this. I love beets. Question: does it refrigerate well? There will be extra 🙂
Hi Lisa, yes, the salad should keep well for a few days in the fridge. I’d store the dressing separately so that it doesn’t wilt the greens.
Perfect addition to our Easter lunch!
Hi Laura, I’m so glad you loved it!
This was phenomenal!!! We enjoyed this with our Easter dinner, and all agreed it was the hit of the meal! We had beef tenderloin along with other sides, and this salad complemented the meat perfectly. Thank you for sharing! I look forward to pursuing you site for other recipes!!
Hi KT, I’m so glad you loved the salad!
I have now made this salad over 5 times and it’s my new go to hit every time! I do candied walnuts with a little agave and salt. I also add fresh orange wedges and add a little of the juice to the dressing. So delish! Also gluten free so added bonus for our family. It’s so pretty and gets eaten up every time.
This salad was wonderful! I used the Balsamic dressing recipe and it was perfect. The only thing I changed was that I smoked my beets on my pellet grill instead of roasting them. So good!
Another winner from one of the best recipe blogs. I made this for a dinner party last night and it was very popular. The only change was that I made candied walnuts and doubled the greens because otherwise it would have been fairly skimpy portions for 4 – not to mention, it didn’t seem quite balanced with so few greens and so many beets. I used the Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe from here and it was delicious as well.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
I apologize if this is a vegetarian recipe place, but this would be to-die-for with thick, applewood smoked bacon.mmmmm
I’d like to use this recipe as part of a 4-course meal and I want to pair it with wine. Do you have a suggestion for which wine might go best with this dish? Thanks!