Roasted Beet Salad
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Make the best Beet Salad with this easy recipe that features roasted beets tossed with arugula, spinach and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. This salad is finished with fresh pear slices, feta cheese, and candied pecans for a delicious combination of flavors and textures.
Beets are one of my favorite vegetables. They add delicious flavor and vibrant color to any dish!
One of my favorite ways to serve beets is in a salad. Beets are filling, which means that adding steamed or roasted beets to a salad can quickly turn a side salad into a main dish.
This beet salad recipe is easy enough to meal prep for lunches throughout the week, or eat for an easy weeknight meal. But it’s also impressive enough to serve at a holiday meal. And since you can find beets in grocery stores year-round, it’s easy to make this salad for everything from Easter to Thanksgiving!
It’s simple to switch out the toppings to add variety to the salad, and make it for every season!
Key ingredients and substitution tips
Above I show you all of the ingredients for the recipe (because I’m a visual person and I find it helpful, hopefully you do too!). Below I tell you about the main players in the recipe. The full list of ingredients with measurements can always be found in the recipe card.
- Beets – for this recipe, you’ll need 1 pound of fresh beets. These can be red beets, or golden beets, or a combination of both. In this blog post, I’ll show you how to roast the beets for this salad. If you’d like to steam or boil the beets, follow this post for how to cook beets 3 ways.
- Baby spinach + arugula – or your favorite leafy greens. I love the combination of fresh spinach and peppery arugula, but feel free to use one or the other, or substitute in baby kale or spring mix.
- Balsamic vinaigrette dressing – feel free to use your favorite bottled dressing or a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. For a creamy addition, try this avocado balsamic vinaigrette. Or for a sweeter salad dressing, try this poppy seed dressing recipe.
- Shallot – a thinly sliced shallot adds the perfect delicate flavor to this salad. You can also use thinly sliced red onions, but just note that the onion flavor will be stronger.
- Feta cheese – this is my favorite salty, crumbly cheese to pair with beets. But I also love crumbled goat cheese on this salad. Feel free to use either, or switch between the two to mix things up!
- Candied pecans – click the link for my homemade candied pecans. You can also purchase pre-made candied pecans at the grocery store. You can also use regular pecans, if you’d like to reduce the sweetness added to the salad. Or substitute in walnuts, pistachios, or almonds for a nice crunch.
Instructions
- Roast the beets. Remove the beets from the stems, peel them and place them in the middle of a large piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil over the beets, then season with salt and pepper. Wrap the foil up and over the beets. Place them on a baking sheet and into the oven for 60 minutes, for medium-to-large beets. After the roasting time, unwrap the foil and allow the beets to cool, then slice them into 1 inch cubes.
- Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, toss spinach and arugula with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Top the salad with the roasted beets, thinly sliced shallots, feta cheese, candied pecans and sliced pears. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top, to taste.
Whit’s Tip! To make this salad quickly, purchase peeled and steamed beets at the grocery store. The beets can be put right on top of the salad, or you can roast them with olive oil, salt and pepper for 10 minutes to add more flavor.
Additions and variations
It’s fun to mix up the toppings on this salad, based on the season or your personal taste preference. You can also switch out the toppings each time you make it, then it’s like a new salad every time!
- Avocado – in the spring and summer months, add thinly sliced avocado on top of the salad for a wonderfully creamy addition!
- Orange segments – to add a zesty citrus element to the salad, ditch the pears and replace them with orange segments.
- Cherry tomatoes – in the summer months, add halved cherry tomatoes to the salad for a sweet burst of flavor.
- Beet greens – instead of spinach, use the green leaves picked from the stems of the beets to add an earthy flavor to the salad. Check out this blog post for how to use beet greens in salads, side dishes and more!
- Blue cheese crumbles – for a funky addition to the salad, swap out the feta cheese with blue cheese crumbles.
- Dried cranberries – in the fall and winter months, add a handful of dried cranberries for a sweet and tart addition to the salad.
- Pomegranate arils – when pomegranates are in season in the fall, remove the arils and add them on top of the salad for a tart flavor and beautiful pop of color.
- Salmon – add this balsamic salmon or marinated salmon for a delicious addition.
- Chicken – add this Honey Mustard Chicken or this Greek Marinated Chicken for a tasty topping for the salad. You can cook the chicken on the grill, on the stove, or in the oven.
What to serve it with
If serving this roasted beet salad as a side dish, try pairing it with these other main dishes and sides.
Beet Salad with Feta Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound beets, stems removed and peeled
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 3 cups arugula
- ½ cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (or goat cheese)
- ½ cup candied pecans, or walnuts
- 1 pear, thinly sliced (or apple)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Remove the stems and greens from the beets. Peel the beets, then place them in the middle of a large piece of foil.
- Drizzle olive oil over the peeled beets, then season with salt and pepper on all sides.
- Wrap the foil up and over the beets. Place them on a baking sheet and into the oven for 60 minutes, for medium-to-large beets.
- Unwrap the foil and allow the beets to cool.
- Cut the beets into 1 inch pieces.
- Place the baby spinach and arugula in a large bowl.
- Add the balsamic vinaigrette and toss until the greens are fully coated.
- Top the salad with the roasted beets, thinly sliced shallot, feta cheese, candied pecans and sliced pears.
Notes
- To make this salad quickly, purchase peeled and steamed beets at the grocery store. The beets can be put right on top of the salad, or you can roast them with olive oil, salt and pepper for 10 minutes to add more flavor to the beets before topping the salad.
- The beets can also be roasted ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to 7 days. Pre-roasting the beets is great for meal prep and will help this salad come together in just 5 minutes.
- The beets can be served warm or cold on top of the salad. This is simply a personal preference. I generally serve them cool, or cold, on top of the salad.
- If you want to add a little sweetness to the beets, add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar to the beets before roasting.
- To make this recipe vegan, omit the feta cheese. Candied pecans or glazed pecans are traditionally made with egg white or butter. So be sure to check the ingredients if adding them to the salad. You might have to make a vegan version yourself, or just add plain pecans.
- This salad is naturally gluten free, using the ingredients shown above.
- Instead of roasting the beets, you can boil or steam them. Visit this blog post for how to cook beets for step by step instructions on how to boil beets and steam beets.
- This recipe serves 2 as a meal, or 4-6 people as a side dish. If you’d like to double this recipe to serve 10-12 people at a holiday meal, simply click the 2X button above. The ingredient amounts will automatically update for the new serving size. The nutrition information provided above is for one half of the salad, which is one serving of this salad as a main dish.
Nutrition Facts
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