Beet Salad Recipe
- Updated
- 32 comments
This Beet Salad recipe is one of my favorite ways to use fresh beets, arugula, and goat cheese. It takes just over an hour to prepare, but most of that time is hands-off while the beets roast. The balsamic vinaigrette brings everything together with rich, earthy flavor and a tangy finish.
I’m all about veggie-packed salads a few times a week. Honestly, nothing beats the taste of a fresh salad you toss together at home. If you’re like me, you might also want to try my tabbouleh salad or this delicious Greek salad. They’ve been on repeat in my kitchen lately.
Beet Salad
Beet salad is all about fresh cooked or raw beets, sliced or cut, and served with a simple vinaigrette or paired with greens, cheese, or nuts. I love how the sweet, earthy flavor of beets shines in this dish, and honestly, outside of pickled beets this is hands down my favorite way to enjoy them.
There are so many ways to make this salad, and I’ve tried them all depending on what I have in the kitchen. Some days, I keep it super simple with just the beets and dressing. Other times, I go all out with greens, apples, crispy bacon, or even a sprinkle of grains or seeds.
Beets really play well with all kinds of flavors, which makes them one of my favorite veggies to get creative with.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beets – You will need fresh red or golden beets for this recipe.
- Greens – I prefer to use a sharper green, like arugula, to balance with the sweetness of the beets. However, other good greens are baby spinach, spring mix, or watercress. In addition, I used some micro greens as garnish.
- Cheese – crumbled blue or goat cheese works well in this beet salad.
- Dressing – I believe balsamic vinaigrette is best. However, other dressings that work well are lemon vinaigrette or my poppy seed dressing.
- Nuts – Almonds, walnuts, and pecans work best. You could even use candied pecans if you’d like.
- Onions – Thinly sliced red, white, or sweet onions are great to use. To take it a step further, picked red onions are even better.
How to Make a Beet Salad
Preheat the oven: First thing I do is preheat my oven to 350 degrees. Then, I slice off the stem end of the beets so they’re ready to roast.
Prepare the beets for roasting: I place the beets cut side down in a pan or pot, then pour in about a cup of cold water to help them steam while they roast.
Cover and roast: I cover the pan with a lid or foil and let the beets roast in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees until they’re tender.
Cool and peel the beets: Once the beets are done, I take them out of the pot and let them cool for about 30 minutes on a plate or platter. When they’re cool enough to handle, I use gloves, clean hands, or a paper towel to gently rub off the peels.
Slice the beets: After peeling, I cut the beets into thick slices or wedges, depending on how I plan to serve them.
Assemble the salad: I layer the sliced beets with arugula, almonds, crumbled cheese, and pickled onions. Then, I drizzle everything with balsamic vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper, and if I have some, I like to top it off with a handful of microgreens.
Chef Tip + Notes
I highly recommend, when I’m making my beet salad, that I tuck the beets in close together in the baking dish with just a splash of water. That little bit of steam really makes a difference. It keeps them tender all the way through without drying out, and I’ve found they’re easier to peel when they’ve had that steam bath.
- For extra color and a little sweet note: You can toss in a few fresh basil leaves. It’s not necessary, but it’s a nice touch when you have some.
- Make it complete: Feel free to add a protein like cooked chicken, fish, or steak.
- Beets matter: If the beets are large, they might need an extra 10 to 15 minutes in the oven. I usually check with a paring knife to see if they’re tender.
- Cheese types: Either goat cheese or blue cheese works, but I go with whichever I have in the fridge.
- Keep it crispy: I like to keep all the salad components separate until right before serving. That way nothing gets soggy, and the arugula stays crisp.
Serving Suggestions
If I’m serving this for lunch, I sometimes add grilled BBQ chicken or a piece of salmon piccata on the side to make it more filling. When I’m hosting, I like to serve this as a starter with some crusty French bread or even a light soup. It also works really well alongside New York strip steak, especially if you keep the vinaigrette bright and tangy.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: Keep the dressing separate and the salad accompaniments separate, but you can prepare this up to 2 days ahead of time for freshness. Don’t season it until it’s ready to serve.
How to Store: If you can keep the ingredients and vinaigrette separate, cover and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will not freeze.
More Salad Recipes
Beet Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized red beets
- 4 medium-sized golden beets
- 4 cups baby arugula
- ¼ cup pickled red onions
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ½ cup crumbled goat or blue cheese
- ½ cup Balsamic vinaigrette
- microgreens
- coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Slice off the stem end of the beets.
- Place them in a pan or pot cut side down, along with 1 cup of cold water.
- Cover with a lid or foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour at 350°.
- Remove them from the pot and let them cool for about 30 minutes on a plate or platter.
- Using gloves, clean hands, or paper towels, remove the outside peelings of the beets.
- Cut the beets into thick slices or wedges.
- Serve the prepared beet with arugula, almonds, crumbled cheese, pickled onions, balsamic vinaigrette, salt, pepper, and optional microgreens.
What can I use instead of arugula?
Baby spinach, spring mix, or watercress are all good options.
One of my go to salads. Thank you for sharing wonderful recipes. I love your cooking.
This was absolutely perfect! I could eat it every day. Thank you!
my pleasure!
Love your beet salad.. thank you
of course!
Loved this salad!
so good!!
Thank you Chef Billy for your tasty recipe beetroot salad love beets sooo good for body 😁😋👋🤩
Love your recipes you are amazing at what you do and how you help people eat healthy
Great salad. Thanks for posting Chef.
Delicious and easy
Delicious one of my favorite salads