The only thing better than a salad topped with fresh beets, tangy goat cheese and candied nuts is a Beet and Goat Cheese Salad made with beets and lettuce grown in your own garden and harvested the same day. You can’t get any fresher than that!
Not only is this salad drool worthy, it’s also an artistic masterpiece. Beet and Goat Cheese Salad includes colourful ingredients, various textures and unique flavour combinations. We all eat with our eyes. Combining bright greens with deep red beets, orange carrot ribbons and dark balsamic dressing, well, it’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost. And those candied pecans……
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The beets need to be cooked first and chilled. You can roast them in the oven or boil them. I’ve also discovered that you can cook beets in a pressure cooker. It’s up to you which method you choose. If it’s a warm summer day who wants to heat up the kitchen by turning on the oven? Boiling takes about twice as long as pressure cooking. And smaller beets don’t take as long as larger ones. The best thing about fresh beets is once they’re cooked, they’re quite easy to peel. You can literally squeeze the beet in your hand and if you’re lucky the skin will slide right off.
You don’t want the beets to be too soft. Once you can slide a knife into the centre without too much resistance they should be good to go. When they’re cool enough to handle, peel, trim and slice into whatever shape you like. Depending on their size you can make circular slices, quarters or wedges. And if you don’t want to cook beets, just open a can. No judgement.
If you add some of the dressing to the warm beets they’ll soak up some of the flavour while cooling. Drizzle a few spoonfuls over the cut beets and refrigerate while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Maple roasted pecans add a sweet and crunchy component to Beet and Goat Cheese Salad. They’re super easy to make. Just spread some pecans halves or pieces on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with maple syrup – the real stuff – and stir to ensure they’re well coated. Lay the foil on a baking sheet and roast in the oven around 350 for about 10 – 15 minutes. Keep a close eye on them. Once they start bubbling and caramelizing and you see the pecans beginning to darken, take them out. They’ll be sticky at first but they harden when cooled.
You can make the maple roasted nuts in advance. They store well in the fridge. Walnuts would also work but I personally prefer the pecans. You’ll also find maple roasted pecans in Spinach Salad with Maple Roasted Pecans and Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette. So you might want to make a larger batch.
Use your imagination when styling the salad. Use a vegetable peeler to make carrot ribbons. And feel free to make the salad with a mixture of different greens, crunchy lettuces mixed with soft fresh leaf lettuce or really any salad greens you like. A little fresh thyme finishes Beet and Goat Cheese Salad perfectly.
Drizzle the rest of the dressing over the salad and dig in!
If you try this recipe and love it, consider leaving a rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
- 8 cups fresh lettuce greens
- 3-4 medium sized beets or 6 - 8 smaller
- 60 grams goat cheese about 2 oz or half a small package
- 1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ¼ cup pecans, halves or pieces
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Prepare vinaigrette by whisking together all ingredients or combining in a jar and shaking well.
- Spread pecans on foil and top with 2 Tbsp maple syrup. Stir to ensure nuts are coated well. Roast at 350 for 10-15 minutes until syrup is bubbling and nuts are browning. Cool before removing nuts from foil.
- Meanwhile, cook beets until sharp knife can be inserted into centre without much resistance. Drain, rinse with cool water and peel when cool enough to handle. Cut into slices or quarters. Drizzle a few spoonfuls of vinaigrette over beets and chill.
- Prepare salad by plating lettuce in one large bowl or 4 separate plates. Top with beets, carrot ribbons and red onion. Spoon chunks of goat cheese over top and add pecans. Pick fresh thyme leaves from sprigs and sprinkle over salad. Drizzle dressing over top right before serving.
Nutrition
hungry for more salad recipes? try these
Spinach Salad with Maple Roasted Pecans and Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette