Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Roasted beets are a natural match with tangy goat cheese in this simple salad recipe. The beets give the salad a vibrant color. Toss it all in a honey-kissed vinaigrette and enjoy!
This citrus beet salad is a delicious tangle of crunch, color and flavor. Overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables, a vibrant salad recipe will make you forget that it might be cold outside (for a few minutes, anyway!).
With roasted root vegetables (carrots and beets) sliced into wedges, coins and ribbons, this salad has a colorful variety of citrus, greens along with chickpeas and chopped pistachios.
Beets taste great, but I think they can be intense if served all by themselves in a salad. Like my crunchy fresh carrot salad with almonds, they really shine when they’re paired with citrus fruits and tangy soft goat cheese.
Roasted beets make a bright and beautiful salad. Is it a beautiful coincidence that both beets and citrus fruits come in a kaleidoscope of colors, like sunset orange, deep crimson and magenta?
Sometimes you gotta give Mother Nature a round of applause. Not only that, but they pair so well with each other!
Beets have an intense, earthy sweetness that marries perfectly with acid in every form, which citrus fruits are happy to deliver.
The dressing for this roasted beet salad recipe contains a vibrant combo of lime and orange juices, each one delivering differing levels of sweetness and acidity.
Beets and goat cheese
Beets and goat cheese are such a classic pairing it’s apparently considered a cliché. But who cares about that!
You can use any soft goat cheese in this citrus beet salad, but I also love a good semi-aged goat cheese with a white rind (such as Bucheron) that has a slightly nutty flavor. Feta cheese made from goat’s milk or sheep milk would be great in this salad, too!
How to roast beets for salad
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Put the beets in a small oven proof skillet or small baking dish.
- Add about 1/4-inch water.
- Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and roast until tender, 30-40 minutes.
- When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip off the peel and slice them into wedges.
My tips and tricks for making the salad:
- To make pretty citrus segments, use a small, very sharp knife to slice off the top and bottom ends of the fruit so it sits flat on your cutting board. Run the knife closely along the flesh of the fruit from top to bottom to shave off the skin (be sure to get most of the white pitch). Hold the fruit in one hand over a bowl, while inserting the knife in between the membrane of each segment, pushing out the segment as you go. Save the juice!
- You can use yellow and golden beets, which are milder and less earthy-tasting than the red ones — they’re what I use in this salad. It’s your call —If you’re a full-on beet fan, make the salad with red ones or a mixture of colors!
- Instead of butter or bibb lettuce, use a combination of baby arugula and spinach leaves.
- If you have a high-powered blender, use it to make a creamier, emulsified dressing.
- Use a sharp, sturdy vegetable peeler to make thin carrot ribbons.
- If you’d rather, skip the roasting step for the chips and shavings and toss the raw beet rounds and carrot ribbons into the salad.
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
Ingredients
Honey-Citrus Dressing:
- ½ cup (45 ml) fresh orange juice, or a half-and half mixture of lime juice and orange juice
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon (22.5 ml) white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) crushed toasted cumin seed or ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) teaspoon Alepppo pepper or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (75 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Salad:
- 3 golden or red beets, tops and tails trimmed
- 2 large carrots, sliced into thin coins
- 1 tablespoon (22.5 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- Flaky sea salt
- 3 oranges or tangerines — try mixed varieties like blood orange, Cara Cara and mandarins, divided into segments
- ½ cup shredded red cabbage or radicchio
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
- ½ cup (82 g) cooked or canned chickpeas
- 3 cups bibb lettuce, arugula, spinach or a mixture
- 4 ounces (125 g) soft goat cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup (25 g) chopped pistachios
- Small handful of fresh cilantro, dill or parsley sprigs
Instructions
Make the dressing
- Whisk the juice, honey, vinegar, cumin, chili and salt in a bowl. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking until emulsified. For a creamier dressing, blend everything in a high-powered blender or mini food processor. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, honey and/or acid to suit your taste. Set aside. Dressing will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Make the salad
- Heat oven to 425 (220 C) degrees.
- Put 2 beets in a small oven proof skillet and add about 1/4-inch water. Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast until tender, 30-40 minutes. Cool, slip off the peel and slice into wedges.
- Peel and slice the remaining beet into thin circles on a mandolin or with a sharp knife. Add to a mixing bowl.
- Put the carrots in the bowl with the beet rounds. Add the olive oil and a pinch of salt and toss to coat. Transfer the mixture to a large rimmed baking sheet and spread out in an even layer. Roast until golden brown, 12 minutes or so, stirring around halfway through.
- Combine the roasted beet wedges, beet-carrot mixture, cabbage, red onion, scallion and chickpeas in a large bowl. Add ¼ cup of the dressing and toss to coat.
- To serve, arrange the lettuce on a serving platter or a bowl and top with the dressed vegetables. Sprinkle the cheese, pistachios and herbs over the salad and gently toss. Drizzle the salad with little more dressing and serve.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- You can roast the beets and carrots one or 2 days ahead.
- Keep extra dressing in the fridge for up to a week. It may separate – just whisk before using.
- Depending on how juicy your fruit is, count on 1 or 2 limes plus 1 orange to make the dressing.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
Leave a comment and star rating
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Gorgeous spring salad, I love all the vibrant pops of color!