Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Candied Walnuts

Enjoy this easy, earthy roasted beet salad as a healthy weeknight meal or a first course to a holiday gathering. Peeling and dicing raw beets can be a mess, but roasting them whole makes the process a breeze: the cooled skins rub off easily, and the beets are tender and easy to cut.

Side Note: Don’t throw out your beet greens! Instead, sauté them with a little garlic and olive oil for a delicious and nutritious side.

Gluten-free, Vegetarian

Makes 4-6 side salads or 2 dinner salads
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 40-60 min
Total Time: 55-75 min

Ingredients

1 bunch of beets, red or golden, with tops removed about 1” from the beetroot
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt

Salad Ingredients:

You can get creative with whatever salad fixings you have around the house and substitute whatever greens you like to eat. Arugula would be particularly delicious in this recipe, but I didn’t have any on hand at the time.

I used the following this time:

½ head radicchio, julienned
Few handfuls of baby spinach
Few handfuls of red and green butter lettuce
4 oz goat cheese
Candied walnuts (or any nut of your choice)

Dressing Ingredients:

You can also experiment with different salad dressings. I prefer a simple vinaigrette-based dressing for this recipe, which allows the beet and goat cheese flavors to really shine. I used:

- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp honey meyer lemon vinegar (you can substitute with lemon juice and white vinegar)
- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the beet greens from the beetroot, leaving about 1” of the stem. Wash beets thoroughly and pat dry, then drizzle with olive oil and salt and wrap in aluminum foil. Place in a baking dish and roast for 40-60 minutes, depending on how large your beets are. Check that the beets are fork-tender before turning off the oven, then set them aside to cool slightly.
When the beets are cool enough to handle, slice the tops off and then use your fingers to rub the skins off of the beets. Dice into 1” pieces.
Assemble your salad greens and top with the chopped beets. Drizzle the roasted beet salad with olive oil, vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine, then scoop onto plates. Top with crumbled goat cheese and candied walnuts, and serve.