Beet and Goat Cheese Salad combines roasted beets, creamy goat cheese, pistachios, avocado, and tangy citrus with a simple orange-honey vinaigrette.
This salad is great as a main course! Add some grilled and sliced chicken or steak.
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad is inspired by one of my favorite restaurant salads. Combining beets and goat cheese isn’t new, but their orange-honey dressing is unbelievably good—and now I can enjoy it at home!
Homemade always tastes better since you can pile on your favorite toppings and drizzle as much dressing as you want (extra for me, always). This salad is pure perfection!
Ingredients In Beet And Goat Cheese Salad
- Mixed Greens Lettuce: I love using spinach and spring mix, but arugula works.
- Avocado: Toss with lemon juice to keep it from browning.
- Pistachios: Use roasted for extra flavor, slivered almonds or walnuts work.
- Mandarin Oranges: Fresh mandarins are best, but canned work in a pinch.
- Goat Cheese or Feta: Goat cheese is milder; feta is saltier.
- Roasted Beets: Roast with olive oil, salt, and pepper until tender.
- Dressing: 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
- Roast Beets: Peel, cube, and toss with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast until tender.
- Make Dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar, shake well.
- Prepare Salad: Layer greens, mandarins, avocado, beets, nuts, and cheese on a platter.
- Assemble and Serve: Drizzle dressing over the salad, toss gently, and serve!
Salad Shortcuts
- Work Ahead: Roast beets up to 5 days early and keep them in the fridge. Make the dressing 3–4 days ahead.
- Pre-Roasted Beets: Use plain, store-bought roasted beets or canned beets (drain well) to save time.
- Mandarin Oranges: Canned mandarins can replace fresh ones; just drain them well.
Storage
Leftover Beet And Goat Cheese Salad
Dressed leftovers don’t store well.
Store salad components separately for freshness. Keep greens, roasted beets, and toppings in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store dressing in the fridge for up to 1 week.
More Delicious Salads
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with apple slices
- Autumn Crunch Pasta Salad with a poppy seed dressing
- Corn Salad perfect summer salad
- Turkey Taco Salad with a creamy cilantro dressing
- Italian Chopped Salad readers favorite
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad combines roasted beets, creamy goat cheese, avocado, roasted pistachios, and tangy citrus, all tossed in an orange-honey vinaigrette—fresh and flavorful!
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 15×21-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
Note 1: Beets can stain your hands, nails, cutting board, and pan. I recommend using a dark plastic cutting board, lining the pan with parchment, and if desired, handling beets with gloves. (If you wash your hands often and quickly after handling beets, the color usually washes out well.)
Note 2: Do not toss the salad with the dressing until ready to use. This salad doesn’t store or sit well when dressed, and is best enjoyed right after being served.
Storage: If making this salad ahead of time, keep the lettuce, dressing, and all the veggies and toppings separate. Toss together right before enjoying.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.1g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21.9g | Cholesterol: 2.2mg | Sodium: 101.4mg | Fiber: 5.9g | Sugar: 14.3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love this! It’s fancy enough to be a holiday side or simple enough to be a regular dinner. I stumbled across it looking for something to use up beets but now I love this and regularly use it
I am thrilled to hear this! Thanks Rebekah! 🙂
This is my all time favorite salad. It is so good! I love how light yet flavorful the dressing is.
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Katie! 🙂
This Was Outstanding!!! We added grilled chicken strips to make it more filling. Would love to serve this as a ladies lunch!!!
Yum! So happy to hear! Thanks Shannon! 🙂
I made this last night exactly as written except I added some cubes of savory roasted butternut squash. My husband and I LOVED it! I can’t wait to make it again for family and friends! Thank you!!
Sounds amazing! So glad it was a hit 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Everyone in the house loved it!!!
So happy to hear it! 🙂
Made this tonight and my husband and I both loved it! Thanks for sharing your recipe! God bless you, your family, and all your future food adventures. ??❤️
Ahhh you are soo sweet! I’m so glad you enjoyed! And same to you! 🙂 Thanks Sonja!
I love your post and recipe and included a link in my post about The Health Benefits of Beets and How to Eat More of Them. It is quickly becoming one of my most popular posts. I had no idea of the popularity of beets
These recipes are amazing! Everything looks so delicious and simple! I am so glad to find your website)
Thank you so much Katherine! 🙂
I’m on vacation in Kihei, Hawaii at the moment. I purchased those amazing beets from Costco and chopped up three of them into your amazing salad. I didn’t have any pistachios but I did have chopped walnuts. I added a tablespoon of honey to the walnuts and tossed it with all the other ingredients. I swear my dinner guests went into a swoon from your salad.
I will definitely be making this one again and with your pistachios instead. It was totally yummers.
Oh awesome!!! This made my day! So thrilled to hear this salad was so well enjoyed. And the walnuts sound amazing! Thank you Judith!!
Sounds delicious! I am adding this to our meal plan for next week.
Awesome! I hope you love it!