Beet Salad with Feta Cheese
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.
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.
- 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
Serving 1servingCalories 678kcal (34%)Carbohydrates 58g (19%)Protein 13g (26%)Fat 46g (71%)Saturated Fat 9g (45%)Polyunsaturated Fat 5gMonounsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 33mg (11%)Sodium 1873mg (78%)Potassium 1274mg (36%)Fiber 12g (48%)Sugar 38g (42%)Vitamin A 5190mg (104%)Vitamin C 33mg (40%)Calcium 354mg (35%)Iron 4mg (22%)
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