Beet and Goat Cheese Salad brings together caramelized roasted beets, creamy goat cheese, salty roasted pistachios, creamy avocado, and tangy citrus in a simple orange-honey vinaigrette.
This salad is great as a main course! Add some grilled and sliced chicken (here’s a great Grilled Chicken Marinade) or steak.
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad is based on one of my favorite salads from a local restaurant. Combining beets and goat cheese into a salad is nothing revolutionary, but they serve theirs with an orange-honey vinaigrette that is life-changing good. And now I can make it in the comfort of my own home, which only means it tastes even better! That’s because when you make it homemade, you can add exactly as much of each topping as you’d like, and drizzle on extra dressing without an additional charge.
And in my case, that always means extra dressing.
The beets are roasted to caramelized perfection, with crispy exteriors and soft, savory interiors. And when you pair those beets with the creamy goat cheese and a ripe, velvety avocado, there are few things better! The clementines add the perfect hit of crisp freshness and the pistachios add a great crunch.
Ingredients In Beet And Goat Cheese Salad
- Mixed Greens Lettuce: Provides a fresh, crisp base. I love using a mix of spinach and spring leaves, but it’s also delicious with arugula.
- Avocado: Adds creaminess and healthy fats. Toss with lemon juice to keep it from browning and try to add right before serving.
- Pistachios: Use roasted for extra flavor, slivered almonds or toasted walnuts will work as well.
- Mandarin Oranges: Fresh mandarin orange segments are the best, but in a pinch canned will work.
- Goat Cheese or Feta: Adds a tangy, creamy element. Goat cheese is milder; feta is saltier.
- Roasted Beets: Roast with olive oil, salt, and pepper until tender. Cool before adding to salad. Optionally, toss hot beets with some dressing for more flavor.
- Dressing: Adds sweetness, tang, and spice. Shake all ingredients in a jar for easy mixing. Adjust to taste.
Quick Tip
A word to the wise: You may want to wear gloves when working with beets because they can stain your hands and fingernails. Also, I recommend a dark plastic cutting board, since beets will stain wood and lighter boards.
How To Make Beet And Goat Cheese Salad
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss cubed beets with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 30-35 minutes until tender, stirring halfway.
- For the dressing, mix orange juice, zest, honey, mustard, salt, onion powder, olive oil, and poppy seeds in a jar and shake well.
- Assemble the salad by placing mixed greens in a bowl, adding segmented oranges and avocado tossed with lemon juice. Drizzle with dressing and top with roasted beets, pistachios, and crumbled cheese.
Salad Shortcuts
While this salad is the best made according to the recipe, I understand that we all need shortcuts here and there. Here are a few ways to speed up the prep of this salad:
- Work ahead of time: You can roast the beets ahead of time and store them in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also make the dressing 3-4 days in advance.
- Pre-roasted beets: A lot of stores have already-roasted beets in their produce section; pick the plain variety and simply chop those up for Beet and Goat Cheese Salad. In a pinch, you can use canned beets; make sure to drain them thoroughly.
- Mandarin oranges: A can of mandarin oranges will work in place of the clementines; again, make sure to drain thoroughly.
More Delicious Salads
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
- Autumn Crunch Pasta Salad
- Corn Salad
- Turkey Taco Salad
- Italian Chopped Salad
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
Equipment
- large sheet pan, 15 x 21-inch
- Parchment paper
- Vegetable peeler
- Jar or other sealable container
Ingredients
Salad
- 7 cups and 6 ounces mixed greens lettuce I use 50/50 blend spinach and spring mix leaves
- 1 large avocado
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup lightly salted roasted pistachios coarsely chopped
- 3 to 4 mandarin oranges peeled and segmented
- crumbled goat cheese or feta, add to preference (I add 1/3 cup)
Dressing
- 1/4 cup orange juice freshly squeezed
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1-1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
Instructions
Roast Beets
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a large 15x21-inch sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside (see note 1). Remove the tops and stems of beets and peel with a vegetable peeler. Cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes (see photos in the post for tips). Add beet cubes to the prepared sheet pan. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil plus salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Toss to coat the beets and spread in an even layer so beets aren’t overlapping.
- Bake 15 minutes, remove and toss, and bake 15 more minutes. If needed, toss again and bake for another 5–10 minutes or until a fork easily pierces through a beet. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature before adding to the salad. If desired, toss hot beets with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the dressing to help cool them down quicker and infuse them with more flavor.
Dressing
- While beets are roasting, prepare the dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid. Close tightly and shake well until combined. Taste and adjust any flavors to personal preference.
Salad Assembly
- Place lettuce in a large bowl or on a platter. Peel and segment oranges and add to salad. Remove the pit and peel of a ripe avocado. Chop into small pieces (or thin slices) and toss with lemon juice. Add to lettuce.
- Drizzle dressing to preference. (You may not want to use all the dressing; leftover dressing will stay good for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge; see note 2). Then sprinkle with chopped pistachios and crumbled feta or goat cheese.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
i will try to make this tom for dinner, except that i’ll change the citrus to strawberries as i’m doing low carb, ty very much for the recipe
Sounds delicious! Hope you enjoy! 🙂