Roasted Golden Beet Salad

With crumbled goat cheese, walnuts, scallions and herbs, this easy roasted golden beet salad can be served as a vegetable side dish too.

There are so many reasons why I’m a fan of beets, specifically in salads. They taste earthy and have a little bit of sweetness that plays well with lots of other beautiful salad ingredients like peppery arugula and creamy goat cheese.

How To Make Roasted Golden Beets (or Red)

One of the best things about this dish is that you can roast the beets a few days in advance. You can even make the dressing ahead of time too. Then when you’re ready to eat it all you have to do is the assembly. Often times I roast beets when I have the oven on for something else. I like to just check it off my to-do list, and it doesn’t matter if it’s for that upcoming meal or not.

To Roast Beets:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Put each individual beet on a small piece of aluminum foil.
3. Drizzle the beets with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Loosely wrap them into foil packets. I like to do this right on a baking sheet, so then it’s all set to go in the oven.
5. Roast the beets for 45-50 minutes. Carefully open the packets. You know the beets are ready when they are tender enough that you can pierce them with a paring knife.
6. Give the beets a little time to cool off. Then you can peel beets by rubbing off their skins with a towel. Just a warning that the color will stain no matter if you have golden or red beets.
7. Slice or dice the beets to your desired side. For this recipe, cut them into 1/2-inch-wide wedges.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This is what you need for the recipe:

• Beets: I think red beets are easier to find at grocery stores than yellow beets especially when you want to buy them without the leafy tops. You can swap beet types or use a mix. Just know that the red color is more likely to stain everything else pink. If you are looking for a shortcut, roasted red beets are sold in vacuum packs in the refrigerator case in the produce department. Pat the juices off with a towel before cutting them and adding them to the salad.
• Arugula: There’s a reason why beets and this specific green pair so well together, the peppery flavor of the leaves creates a nice balance.
• Walnuts are my first choice nut variety, but you can also use chopped almonds or pistachios.
• Goat cheese is creamy and pleasantly rich in the salad. Feta cheese would be fantastic too.
• Scallions: These green onions are crisp and add something fresh.
• Parsley chopped in the salad is nice and herby.
• Garlic: There is a clove pureed in the vinaigrette.
• White wine vinegar is one of the main ingredients in the dressing. You could also use red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
• Olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil is a must for this recipe.
• Salt & pepper season the beets and the vinaigrette.

How To Make This Roasted Golden Beet Salad

1. Roast the beets. When they are out of the oven, cool enough to handle and peeled, cut them into wedges.

2. Make the vinaigrette. Use a food processor or blender to puree the garlic, arugula, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. The garlic and leaves should be very finely chopped. Pour the vinaigrette into a large bowl.

3. Assemble the salad. Stir the beets into the dressing. Add the arugula, scallions, parsley, cheese and walnuts in a large bowl. Toss to combine.

Make-Ahead Tips

As mentioned, the beets can be roasted up to 3 days in advance. Store them wrapped tightly or in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

The vinaigrette can also be made up to 3 days ahead of time. In the chill of the fridge, the oil may turn solid. Just let it sit out at room temperature to liquefy again. Or rinse the container the dressing is in under warm water and shake it around to do this faster.