Maple Roasted Beet Salad + Pistachio Goat Cheese
This Roasted Beet Salad is covered in an easy maple balsamic dressing and spotted with pistachio-dusted goat cheese balls. It's a delicious fall salad full of flavor. You'll want to make it over and over!

ā”ā”ā” Maple Roasted Beet Saladā”ā”ā”
I spotted these pretty baby beets, with little squiggly tails and tiny tops, in the market the other day. I picked them up, looked at my too long grocery list, and put them back down. It was a rare moment when my sensibilities won over my impulses. I felt proud of myself.
That lasted all of about 38 seconds before my true self took hold and the beets found their way into my shopping basket. I suppose there could be worse things to impulse buy than a bunch of vegetables.
This roasted beet salad looks fancy, tastes amazing, but is actually super simple to make. If you can turn on your oven, you can make this. Seriously.
I leave the beets unpeeled and the tails and tops on the beets; I think they're so much prettier that way. When they come out of the oven they get tossed in a super simple (read: two ingredient) dressing and then you eat them. How easy is that?
I've rolled goat cheese in some ground pistachios and called it pistachio dust. Sounds fancy, right? You could scatter the goat cheese over the beets and sprinkle on some chopped pistachios. Same taste, even less work. Either way, I know you're going to love this roasted beet salad.

Beets are a funny thing. They taste like dirt, have little rat tails and dye your hands blood red. Until about 5 years ago, I couldn't stand them.
That all changed one summer when my mom came to visit. She roasted beets with onions, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, and some rosemary. I grilled some salmon on the BBQ. We took a bottle of wine and our dinner up to my rooftop deck and I can't say I was looking forward to it. I'm sure I said something like, “Thanks for making dinner, mom!” But inside was thinking, “Ugh, I have to eat BEETS!”
Then the strangest thing happened … I ate some and liked them. It wasn't love at first bite, but they weren't so bad.
24 hours later I had fallen hard and at every dinner for the rest of summer 2010 I had beets on my plate. No lie.
Over the past 5 years, I have eaten roasted beet salad about 562 times. Only a slight exaggeration. My favorite roasted beet salad is this one: super simple with a little goat cheese, some pistachios, and lots of delicious beets.

More Delicious Beet Recipes:
- Roasted Beet and Kale Salad with Maple Candied Walnuts
- Blueberry Balsamic Glazed Beets
- Crispy Kale Salad with Roasted Beets
- Pretty Beet Gnocchi with Pistachio Arugula Pesto
- Creamy Roasted Beet Hummus

Roasted Beet Salad and Goat Cheese Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 lb baby beets, or larger beets cut into quarters, peeled or not, your choice
- ½ lb onions
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup shelled pistachios
- ½ cup goat cheese
- 8 cups arugula, loosely packed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss the beets and onions (separately to prevent the beets from discoloring the onions) with the olive oil. Place the beets on the prepared baking sheet and roast them in the oven for 20 minutes. Add the onions to the baking sheet and roast for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until both the beets and onions are soft.1 lb baby beets, ½ lb onions, 1 teaspoon olive oil
- While the beets and onions are roasting, prepare the dressing and the goat cheese balls. In a medium-sized bowl whisk the maple syrup with the balsamic vinegar. When the beets come out of the oven immediately put them in the bowl and toss to coat.2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Put the pistachios into your food processor and process them until they are very fine. Put the ground pistachios into a bowl. Take a teaspoon of goat cheese and roll it into a ball then roll the ball in the ground pistachios. Repeat with the remaining goat cheese.½ cup goat cheese, ½ cup shelled pistachios
- To assemble this roasted beet salad, arrange the arugula on a large platter or in individual bowls. Scatter the onions over top and top with the maple roasted beets. Pour the remaining dressing over top and serve immediately.8 cups arugula
Thank you for the recipe! I bought some pre-steamed/cooked organic baby beets at Costco and was wondering if I could roast them? Will they come out the same as starting with raw beets? If so, how long should I roast them since they are pre-cooked? I have never roasted beets, so I appreciate your advice. Thanks!
You wouldn’t want to roast them, but you could warm them up and use them instead of the roasted beets. I have found that the cooked beets from Costco don’t have as much flavor as roasted beets so you might want to toss them in a little maple syrup first. š
Oh my gosh, I felt the same way about beets and it was my mom who converted me two years ago with her roasted ones as well! Love this gorgeous salad!
Roasted beets are the best, aren’t they?! I don’t know how I ever not liked them lol. š
I never peel my beets and I always find a use for the greens š
One of my favorite veggies and I love their natural sweetness!
They’re so much easier when you don’t peel them, right?!
Oh yum! I love beets with goat cheese š it’s such a delicious combo. Great idea to roll the goat cheese in ground pistachios for a crunch!
It’s so good, isn’t it. Classic and always one of my favs. š