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With earthy beets, creamy goat cheese, crunchy walnuts, and a tangy vinaigrette, this salad looks fancy but comes together fast. Add sliced steak, salmon, or chicken, and it doubles as a gorgeous main.
This beet salad recipe with goat cheese and walnuts is my go-to dinner party salad. And I don’t think I’ve ever served it without sending a few people home with the recipe. Years ago, I would roast my own beets, but high-quality vacuum-packed roasted beets, such as Love Beets, are now available in the produce section of most grocery stores, which makes the salad a breeze to prepare.
“Absolutely delicious 💯 The dressing is superb. I follow the recipe to the T, I’ve made this 3x already this week. YUM!”
What You’ll Need to Make Roasted Beet Salad with Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette
- Dressing ingredients (red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, shallots, salt, pepper, and vegetable oil): A bright vinaigrette with subtle sweetness and a little zing. I prefer vegetable oil over olive oil here for its more neutral flavor.
- Mixed greens: The base of the salad—baby spinach and arugula are my go-tos, but any tender greens work.
- Roasted beets: I use vacuum-packed, precooked beets to save time. They’re already cooked and ready to use—no roasting necessary. If you prefer to start with fresh beets, see how to roast beets below.
- Walnuts and goat cheese: Add crunch, tang, and creaminess.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Roasted Beet Salad
Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, shallots, salt, and pepper and whisk to combine. While whisking constantly, slowly stream in the oil until the dressing is emulsified. (Alternatively, you can toss everything into a jar, seal it, and shake vigorously.)
Assemble the salad: Put the greens in a large bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Arrange on a platter or divide onto plates, then top with walnuts, goat cheese, and beets. Add the beets last so they don’t tint the rest of the salad pink. Serve and enjoy!
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
This salad is easy to prepare ahead of time. The vinaigrette can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving, then give it a good shake to bring it back together.
You can also prepare the beets ahead of time and refrigerate them until ready to use. Keep the greens, beets, walnuts, and goat cheese separate, and toss everything together just before serving so the greens stay crisp. Add the beets last to keep them from turning the whole salad pink.
How to Roast Beets for This Salad
As mentioned above, I use vacuum-packed, precooked beets to save time, but you can absolutely roast your own. You’ll need about 3 medium beets.
Preheat the oven to 425°F and set a rack in the middle position. Scrub the beets clean and trim the stems to about 1 inch, leaving the tails intact. Place them on a large piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and wrap into a packet.
Roast directly on the oven rack for about 1 hour, or until a knife slides easily into the largest beet. Let cool until you can handle them, then peel and cut into wedges. Allow the beets to cool before adding them to the salad.
Roasted Beet Salad with Walnuts, Goat Cheese & Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1½ tablespoons minced shallots
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the Salad
- 10 oz mixed greens
- ½ lb vacuum-packed roasted beets, cut into wedges (see note)
- ½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 3 oz goat cheese
Instructions
For the Vinaigrette
- In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, shallots, salt and pepper.
- Whisking constantly, slowly add the oil in a steady stream. (Alternatively, add all the ingredients to a jar, cover with the lid, and shake vigorously to blend.) Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
For the Salad
- Place the greens in a large bowl, drizzle with about half of the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Add as much of the remaining vinaigrette as desired and toss again.
- Arrange the greens on a large platter or divide onto plates, then top with beets, walnuts and goat cheese. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you’re following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
See more recipes:
Roasted Beet Salad Variations
This salad is easy to change up depending on what you have on hand. Try pecans or pistachios instead of walnuts, or swap the goat cheese for feta or blue cheese. For a different take, replace the beets with sliced apples or strawberries. To make it a complete meal, top the salad with sliced steak, grilled chicken, or pan-seared salmon.
More Salads You May Like
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Another great recipe from Once Upon a Chef that I will serve again and again. Thank you so much, Jenn! I avoid using foil unless absolutely necessary for environmental reasons. If others share that concern, here’s another way to cook the beets for this recipe: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, cut off the tops and roots, and peel the beets. Cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks, toss with 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, and roast for approx 45 minutes or until beets are tender.
I agree about environmental waste, so I wonder if, instead of foil, these could be roasted in an oven proof casserole dish with a cover.
Hi Kathy, That should work – enjoy!
Hi, your recipe looks great. I don’t have any shallots. Is there anything l could use instead. Thanks
Hi Stacey, You could use an onion (preferably red), but chop it very finely – it will be stronger in flavor so I’d use a little less.
Hi Jenn, l actually had some spring onions and used them. It’s a great sauce and l can’t wait to make it with the proper ingredients next time. Thanks.
This salad is amazing! I love a good beet salad and will order it any time I see it on a menu, but have never tried to make one myself. This came together so quickly and easily. As many other reviewers commented, the dressing is out of this world and perfect for this salad.
I do have one question, you don’t mention toasting the walnuts. Should they be toasted or raw?
Glad you liked this! I don’t toast the walnuts in this, but you definitely can. 🙂
My go to salad dressing. It’s simple and delicious. Family and friends love it. Thanks Jenn!
Love this recipe, the dressing is amazing. Made this for friends last night and they couldn’t stop raving about the whole way through eating it! This is my new go-to beet and goat cheese salad, the dressing is definitely what makes it!
Hi Jenn,
Would this salad work with arugula, or a mix of arugula and romaine?
Thanks,
Mary
Definitely, it would be excellent with arugula. Please LMK how it turns out!
This dressing recipe is outstanding… I’ve made it three times during the past two weeks. Everyone has really liked it. For the salad I cooked the beets and diced them ahead of time – so handy to pull out of the fridge and put salads together. We toasted our walnuts in a bit of sugar for an extra bit of “special”. I intend to try more of your recipes very soon.
Love the dressing – it has been my go to all summer! I’ve been on a roasted beet and walnut craze and this was perfect! Thank you.
Wonderful salad, but I couldn’t find goat cheese, so I found a substitute recipe which was a combination of cream cheese and feta, Worked great!
I love this salad. It is my go-to salad to impress people! I made it for our company’s healthy lunch challenge and it was the most favorite salad!