Easy Beet And Goat Cheese Salad

This post contains helpful tips and tricks! If you’re in a rush, please use the “Jump to Recipe” above!

💭 Perfected over many summer barbecues!

I’ve made this for so many summer potlucks and perfected it over time. The salad uses super simple ingredients and requires minimal active prep work but still packs a punch. It’s also super customizable. You can swap the goat cheese with feta or any crumbly cheese, the arugula with other salad greens, and the pistachios with other toasted nuts. It’s also not just for summer barbecues, you can easily add a protein on top and make it a main meal. What’s not to like?

📋 Ingredients and substitutions

To make this easy beet salad, you’ll need beets, goat cheese, pistachios, arugula, grapefruit, olive oil, salt and pepper. That’s it.

Notes and substitutions

Though this is a simple salad, it’s easy to substitute or add ingredients. I’ve included a quick list here but there are a ton of options - so get creative!

Greens: I’ve used arugula because I love the peppery taste, a nice contrast to the sweetness of the beets. You can use beet greens, mixed greens, or baby spinach. Or be a rebel and leave the greens out altogether! Cheese: The creamy nutty flavor of goat cheese pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the roasted beets. That said, you can also use feta or cotija cheese (or a suitable substitute for cotija) for a saltier flavor profile. If you’re into stinky cheeses, blue cheese and gorgonzola dolce are both excellent with beet, but maybe not for the fainthearted! Nuts: I use pistachios here because the saltiness of toasted pistachios pairs super well with both beets and goat cheese. However, I’ve also used pepitas, walnuts, and even almonds occasionally. Toast what you have at home! Citrus: I’ve used grapefruits in this recipe (this was the last fruit of the season) - but you can use oranges, tangerines, or whatever citrus you have available locally in season.

👩🏽‍🍳 How to perfectly roast beets (with tips!)

I tend to use red beets for this recipe for the beautiful color, but you can also use golden beets. If you’re like me, and curious about working with beets, here are the answers to some of the most common questions I get.

How do you roast and peel beets?

Don’t try to peel them before you cook them! If you cook the beets, the peel comes off so easily (seriously, it’s similar to potatoes). I typically wrap the beets in aluminum foil, pop them in the oven to roast (~30 minutes at 425F). Once they’re cooked (and cool), I typically just pop them in a bowl of cold water (or under running water) and the peel slides right off. I still try to use a peeler or a thin knife sometimes so I don’t get my hands looking bloody! An alternative method is to first peel the beets using a peeler (chop the tops and roots off first). Then you can just toss them in olive oil and throw them in the oven for roasting. This speeds up the roasting time a bit.

Can you eat the beet greens?

Yes, absolutely! You can totally saute or roast the beet tops (or even make a pesto with it) - just add them to a pan with some olive oil, saute and use as a side (or salad) by themselves. They taste quite delicious too.

🍊 How to make grapefruit /citrus vinaigrette

I love making citrus vinaigrette as a dressing for my salads, especially in the summer. It’s literally such a simple process and I’m surprised I didn’t think of this before! Any vinaigrette needs 3 parts of olive oil to one part of some type of vinegar. While store bought ones typically use balsamic, and white or red wine vinegar, I’ve found that citrus makes a great substitute. Squeeze half a grapefruit (or any other citrus you have on hand). Then add that to olive oil, and whisk with a fork. Drizzle copiously on the salad. You can also use the citrus two ways:

I squeeze some of the juice and mix it with some olive oil to make a delicious, light and refreshing vinaigrette (and yes, it’s still a vinaigrette!) You can also just add sliced grapefruit into the actual salad.

🍴 Serving and storage suggestions

I love serving this roasted beet salad with almost any main dish - because beets are super versatile! Though there’s a time and place for hot beets, I strongly recommend that once you roast the beets, you chill it for at least an hour before serving. That makes this an ideal make-ahead salad. If not, pop them into the fridge while you assemble the rest of the ingredients! I suggest assembling the salad right before serving (the vinaigrette and goat cheese) can cause the arugula to get soggy if left soaking for too long.