Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese & Pistachios

Roasted Beet Salad is one of those easy-fancy salads or side dishes to serve guests that will have them fooled into thinking you are a gourmet chef. This healthy, flavorful dish is so simple to throw together but tastes complex with the combination of creamy goat cheese, sweet, earthy beets, crunchy pistachios, and bright homemade vinaigrette that can be thrown together in minutes.

I'm not the biggest salad eater, so when I post a salad recipe, you know it's going to be a good one that is absolutely packed with texture and flavor! Some of my other favorites are this Fall Panzanella Salad, Asian Slaw with Ginger Peanut Dressing, Curried Chicken Salad, and this Chopped Kale Salad.

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Whenever Paul and I go to nice restaurants in San Francisco for a date night, we almost always find ourselves order the roasted beet salad if it is on the menu. Actually, anything with beets always draws Paul's eye. He loves them! I've already recreated our other favorite beet dish from our favorite Greek restaurant in San Francisco that you should check out if you love beets too.

Beets seem to be one of those vegetables where you either love them or you hate them. Growing up I only ever had pickled beets that came up from my grandparent's cold storage. They weren't my favorite, but man my grandpa sure loved them!

But I learned as an adult that I really love roasted beets. They have such an amazing, unique flavor, and they are really easy to do at home, even though most people seem to leave it to the professional chefs at restaurants for some reason. But it's as easy as making a baked potato!

How to roast beets

To roast beets, you just want to cut off the leafy ends, leaving about an inch of stem on the beet root. You do NOT need to peel a beet before roasting it. Just scrub the outside well under some cold water, then wrap them up in aluminum foil and pop them in a 425 degree F oven for 50-60 minutes until you can easily stick a sharp knife right into them. I find it helpful to rub them with a little drizzle of olive oil first, but it isn't absolutely necessary if you don't want to bother.

When the beets come out of the oven, unwrap them and let them cool until you can touch them. Then use your fingers or a paper towel to just rub the skin off the beets. It should slip right off, and what doesn't come off easily you can peel away with a sharp paring knife. Be warned that this will stain your fingers, so wear gloves if you are worried about this part and watch out for your clothes!

Ingredients in roasted beet salad

• Roasted beets: Purple or golden beets both work equally well in this salad. You can even do a mix of the two! Just be sure if using golden beets with purple beets to peel the golden ones first so you don't stain them and mar their appearance in the salad. And be sure to use fresh beets and roast them yourself! Since they are the star of this recipe, you don't want to use inferior canned beets if you can help it.
• Spring mix salad greens: We like to bulk out the salad a bit with lettuce greens, although you really could serve this with just beets and it would be a delicious appetizer or side. Arugula would be another excellent choice in place of the spring mix for a more peppery flavor.
• Goat cheese: We love goat cheese and it's flavor pairs perfectly with beets. But feta is another great option if you have some on hand.
• Pistachios: The salty crunch of the pistachios and green color make it our favorite choice for this particular salad. But walnuts, hazelnuts, or pine nuts are also excellent choices.
• Vinaigrette: Combine olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, kosher salt, and black pepper. You can whisk them together in bowl or add them to a mason jar with a lid and shake until they are mixed together.

How to make roasted beet salad

1. Roast the beets. Once they are cool enough to peel, remove the skins and slice the beets into bite-size chunks. I actually really enjoy this salad with the beets served warm, but some people prefer it cold, so you might want to plan far enough in advance to have your beets completely chilled before assembling the salad.
2. Make the vinaigrette. This vinaigrette couldn't be easier! Just dump all the ingredients in a mason jar, screw the lid on tightly, and shake well to combine.
3. Toss the salad greens with the vinaigrette. I use about half the vinaigrette and drizzle it over the spring mix lettuce in a large bowl, tossing until it is evenly coated. This way every bite of salad has a bit of the delicious dressing instead of getting a mouthful of dry greens.
4. Assemble & dress. Although you could serve this salad family style, I think it's much prettier and more impressive to plate it individually. Divide the dressed lettuce between 4-6 plates (depending on the serving size you want), Then top with the roasted beets. Crumble the goat cheese over each salad and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. I usually drizzle a little extra vinaigrette over each salad, then serve the rest at the table for anyone who wants more.

More Side Dish Recipes

• Oven Roasted Asparagus with Garlic, Parmesan, and Lemon
• Easy Oven Roasted Cauliflower
• Oven Roasted Broccoli with Garlic
• German Red Cabbage (Rotkohl)
• Fried Yellow Squash
• Southern Tomato Pie
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apples
• Green Beans with Bacon & Pine Nuts

Appetizers

Skordalia (Greek Garlic-Potato Spread)

Pasta

TikTok Beet Pasta

Meatless

Best Mushroom Risotto Recipe

Print Pin Rate

Roasted Beet Salad

4.66 from 46 votes

Amy Nash

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 4 -6 Servings

Roasted Beet Salad is one of those easy-fancy salads or side dishes to serve guests that will have them fooled into thinking you are a gourmet chef. This healthy, flavorful dish is so simple to throw together but tastes complex with the combination of creamy goat cheese, sweet, earthy beets, crunchy pistachios, and bright homemade vinaigrette that can be thrown together in minutes.

Ingredients

  

123

Salad

• ▢ 3-4 large beets, either red or gold
• ▢ 10 ounces of spring mix salad greens
• ▢ ½ cup crumbled goat cheese
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped roasted pistachios

Vinaigrette

• ▢ ⅓ cup olive oil
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons honey
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare the beets by cutting off the leaves and stems, leaving just about 1-inch attached to the beet root. Wash the beets well and drizzle them with a little olive oil before wrapping in aluminum foil. Bake for 50-60 minutes until you can easily stick a knife in the beets. Remove the beets from the oven and unwrap. Let them sit until cool enough to handle, then rub the skins off with a paper towel or your hands. Slice the beets into bite-size chunks.
• Mix vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar with a lid and shake well until combined, or add to a bowl and whisk well.
• Add the salad greens to a large bowl. Add half the vinaigrette and toss well. Pile the dressed greens on individual salad plates, then top with beets, goat cheese, and pistachios. Drizzle with remaining dressing.

Notes

• We like this served with the beets just slightly warm, but you can chill them completely if you want.

Nutrition

Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 616mg | Potassium: 889mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1201IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 3mg

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