This roasted beet salad with goat cheese is easily one of our favorite beet recipes. The combination of tender roasted beets and our citrus dressing is incredible.
Every time we make this salad, we both say we need to make more. It really is so delicious and truly one of our favorite uses for beets. If you’re looking for a beetroot salad recipe, this is it. This salad starts with roasting the beets, but we’ve also added the option of buying prepackaged cooked beets, which you can easily substitute instead of roasting the beets yourself.
The citrus dressing goes so well with the beets. Think orange, lemon, a little vinegar and olive oil. It’s absolutely perfect. Then we add creamy goat cheese and toasted walnuts for lots of texture. If that wasn’t enough, this salad keeps well in the fridge. In fact, we think beets just keep getting better and better (all thanks to that incredible dressing). If you’re like us and love beets but don’t really eat enough of them, this recipe is for you. For more beet recipes, see our pickled beets and these roasted golden beets.
Main ingredients:
- Beet. The star of our salad. We start with raw beets and fry them completely until soft. Use red beets or yellow/golden beets here. You can also buy pre-cooked beets (usually sold in the refrigerated section of the produce aisle) to save some time. If you have leftover beets, try juicing them and make ours beet juice (we love it a lot).
- Orange and lemon. Our beet salad dressing is really citrusy (which we love). You need orange and lemon to make it. The fresh juice from both is what makes it so good.
- Olive oil and vinegar. These complete our outfit. Use high quality extra virgin olive oil and a milder vinegar such as white wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
- Goat cheese and walnuts. Beets are delicious on their own after being tossed in our citrus dressing, but this salad comes alive when you add goat cheese and walnuts. The texture is amazing and the combination is super classic (for a reason). There are other nuts at work here too. Try pistachios, slivered almonds, or buttery pine nuts.
- Herbs. These are optional, but if you already have them in the fridge, add a few tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs. Mint, basil, and dill are our favorites.
Check out the full recipe with measurements below.
How to make our beet salad
Tip 1: Boil the beets and let them cool. We’ve already talked about using prepackaged cooked beets in our salad recipe below, but if you’re like us and start with raw beets, you’ll need to roast them for this salad. It’s very easy to do.
→ To roast the beets for this salad, clean them of any dirt, then add them to the foil. Drizzle with olive oil, crumple the foil into the packet, then roast in the oven until tender (we use 375°F, which takes about 45 minutes). Once your beets are soft, remove them from the oven but leave them in the foil box. Set them aside to cool to room temperature before using them to make the salad.
Tip 2: Make our citrus dressing. This sauce is absolutely perfect with beets. We make a lot of it. You will whisk in orange zest, lemon zest, orange juice, lemon juice, honey, vinegar, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and it’s ready for your beets.
Tip 3: Putting the salad together. Once your roasted beets are at room temperature, peel them (a vegetable peeler makes quick work of it), then cut them into wedges. Add them to the bowl and pour most of the sauce over them. Arrange the beets on a plate, add the goat cheese, scatter over the walnuts, then spoon more sauce over the top. Finish with herbs and flaky salt (if you have them on hand).
Tip 4: Make this a ready salad. These beets are perfect for up to 5 days in the fridge. If you plan to make this beet salad, we recommend saving the goat cheese and adding it when serving. Otherwise, everything sits really well in the fridge.
Service offers
We have enjoyed this salad with so many side dishes over the past few weeks. The only thing to keep in mind is that when this salad hits your plate, there’s a good chance the bright red dressing will ruin everything else on there too. Because it’s so delicious, we don’t mind, but we wanted you to know.
Some of my favorite main dishes we’ve enjoyed with this salad are on the lighter side, like ours Lemon Dill Baked Salmon, baked pork chops, grilled chicken breast, glazed salmonand: trout baked in the oven.
More delicious salad recipes
Roasted beetroot salad with goat cheese
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PREP
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Cook
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TOTALLY
We both went heavy on this beet salad and love that it keeps well in the fridge for days. Instructions for roasting raw beets are in the recipe below, but if you’re starting with prepackaged cooked beets, you can skip that step.
Serves 4 to 6
You will need it
For fried beets.
2 pounds medium beets, peeled and trimmed (5 to 6 beets)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For the salad:
1 medium orange
1 medium lemon
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces soft goat cheese
⅓ cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as mint, basil, or dill
Flaked sea salt, like Maldon, to serve
Directions:
1:Heat the oven 375°F (190°C). Place the whole beets in the middle of a large sheet of foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Wrap the foil around the beets to wrap. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool, wrapped in foil, to room temperature.
2:Peel the skins with a vegetable peeler, then cut the beets into wedges. Place them in a large bowl.
3:Squeeze half of the orange and half of the lemon, then add the zest to a small bowl. Whisk together the orange and lemon juice, honey, vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
4:Pour a third of the sauce over the beets and toss well. Spoon the beets onto the plate, arranging them in a single layer. Toast the goat cheese on top, then scatter the toasted walnuts and fresh herbs over the beets. Spoon more dressing over the top and finish with flaky sea salt (if using).
Advice from Adam and Joan
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. If making ahead, set goat cheese aside until serving.
- Replace raw beets with prepackaged cooked beets. You need about 2 lbs.
- Nutrition facts provided are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
Serving size
3/4 cup (1 of 6)
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Calories
284:
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Total fat
20.2 g
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Saturated fats
4.9 g
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Cholesterol
8.7 mg
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Sodium
257.6 mg
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Carbohydrate
22.2 g
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Dietary fiber
5.3 g
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Total sugars
15.8 g
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Proteins
7.2 g
