Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Pears
on Nov 18, 2021, Updated Jul 08, 2022
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This roasted beet salad is a mix of earthy, savory and sweet flavors with oranges and pears. While light on greens, baby arugula lends its peppery bite to the fresh and crisp combination of vegetables and fruit. I also add crumbled blue cheese and pistachios and toss the salad in a citrus vinaigrette.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Salads are always great when they have lots of leafy greens, but you should get excited about salads where the lettuce is almost an afterthought. Roasted beets are a solid starting point for any salad. They have wonderfully earthy flavor that plays well with lots of other ingredients.
The oranges do double duty. There are diced orange segments mixed into the salad, but then you also use the juice to make citrusy orange vinaigrette with chives to dress everything.
This colorful salad is beautiful for an everyday lunch or dinner and even a holiday spread. Besides fruit, I stir in crumbled blue cheese, chopped pistachios and a generous handful of arugula.
How To Roast Beets
Before you ask, yes, you can roast the beets ahead of time. After that, the salad comes together very quickly. Just wait to combine the beets with the pears and oranges because their color will stain the fruit. I don’t mind that tie-dye look, but I don’t want everything to end up fully fuchsia!
To roast the beets:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place each beet on a small piece of aluminum foil.
- Drizzle the beets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Fold the foil to make loose packets. Place them on a sheet pan.
- Roast the beets for 45-50 minutes. They will steam in the packets. The beets are ready when you can easily pierce them with a paring knife.
- When the beets are cool enough to handle, rub off the skins with a towel. The color of the beets will stain it.
- Cut the beets to the desired size. For this recipe, dice them about 1/2-inch.
The Ingredients
You will need these ingredients for the salad:
- Beets: Since you don’t use beet greens for this recipe, try to buy beets with the tops already removed. You can usually find them this way at the grocery. If you do end up with greens, they are great for pesto.
- Oranges: Navel oranges are sweet, aromatic and pretty easy to peel. I also like these large oranges because they are seedless.
- Pears: Bartlett pears are a fantastic choice for an all-purpose pear that’s tasty in salads.
- Arugula: To balance out the sweetness of the orange and pears, I like adding peppery baby arugula.
- Blue cheese: I am a big fan of the pungent bite of blue cheese with beets and especially fruit.
- Pistachios: Nuts add another level of crunch. I adore pistachios because they have personality without being too much.
- Chives: Minced chives give the salad something herby and oniony.
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is my go-to for roasting the beets and making the dressing.
- Champagne vinegar: This is a good vinegar choice for lighter dressings.
- Garlic: There is a minced garlic clove in the vinaigrette.
- Salt and pepper: I season the beets with salt and pepper before I roast them, and I season the vinaigrette too.
How To Make This Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Pears
- Roast the beets. Once the beets are roasted, peel and dice them.
- Peel and slice the oranges. Make sure the catch the juices from the oranges in a bowl to save for the vinaigrette. Dice the orange segments.
- Combine the beets, oranges, pears, blue cheese, pistachios, arugula and chives in a large bowl.
- Make the vinaigrette. Whisk the olive oil, champagne vinegar, garlic, chives, salt and pepper into the orange juice.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette into the salad, gently folding the ingredients, so the oranges and pears don’t get too stained by the beets.
Looking for a Shortcut?
You can buy roasted beets in the refrigerated section of the produce department. These packaged beets tend to be juicier. Really pat them off well with a towel to get rid of some of that extra moisture before you dice them or they will be more likely to stain the other salad ingredients.
Serving The Salad
One of the best things about this salad is how it adds freshness to a meal especially for big holidays including Thanksgiving. It is a much-needed lift to go with heavier side dishes and mains. Also, since it has less greens than the usual salad, it doesn’t wilt quickly like it would if it were all lettuce.
More Beet Recipes
Roasted Beet Wild Rice
Beet Orange Kale Salad
Baked Beet Chips
Beet Green Pesto
Fresh Beet Pasta
Beet Grilled Cheese
Tomato Beet Salad
Check out my collection of simple seasonal salad recipes including some of favorite ingredients and tips for making better salads.
Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Pears
Ingredients
For beets
- 2 pounds beets (without greens)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For salad
- 2 navel oranges
- 1 pear, diced
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped pistachios
- 1 cup baby arugula
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
For vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- For the roasted beets: Place each beet on an individual piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle the beets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Fold into loose packets and place on a sheet pan. Roast the beets for 45-50 minutes until they can be easily pierced with a knife.
- When the beets are cool enough to handle, use a towel to rub off the skins. Then cut the beets into a 1/2-inch dice.
- For the oranges: Cut the skin and white pith from the oranges. Slice between the membranes removing the orange segments while collecting the juice in small bowl. Dice the oranges.
- For the salad: In a large bowl, combine the beets, oranges, pears, blue cheese, pistachios, arugula and chives.
- For the vinaigrette: Whisk the 3 tablespoons olive oil, champagne vinegar, garlic, chives, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper into the orange juice. Drizzle the vinaigrette into the salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was hesitant to try this because I don’t always enjoy beets, but I really loved this salad.
How much oj in dressing? Also not listed in ingredients .
Never mind previous question. I see to save juice from cut oranges.
I loved this recipe. I have beets coming out of my ears this time of year and looking for creative ways to use them. This recipe is downright delicious. Something you’d have at a Michelin rated restaurant. Very tasty. The recipe instructions were easy to follow. Thanks!
My variations – I added about 1/4 cup of OJ to the dressing as my oranges weren’t super juicy and used a Bosc pear