Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Pistachios
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This salad is, dare we say, the perfect combination of flavors. Roasted beet salad with goat cheese and pistachios is the very best of the earthy, tangy, and salty worlds. It’s so good.
This roasted beet salad is already packed with good things — sweet roasted beets, peppery arugula, caramelized shallots, and a maple balsamic dressing that’s tangy, lightly sweet, and completely worth making from scratch. But despite all this goodness, I think the real stars here are the pistachio-crusted goat cheese balls.
Creamy goat cheese gets rolled into little bite-sized balls, then coated in finely ground pistachios for the most incredible crunchy-creamy texture. They make the whole salad feel just a little extra in the best possible way. The nutty pistachios pair perfectly with the earthy beets and tangy dressing, while the goat cheese melts slightly into the salad once everything is tossed together.
I also love the contrast of flavors happening here. The roasted shallots become sweet and jammy, the arugula adds freshness and bite, and the maple balsamic dressing ties everything together beautifully. It’s the kind of salad that feels special enough for entertaining but still easy enough to make anytime you want something colorful and full of flavor.
What to serve with roasted beet salad with goat cheese and pistachios
Guests and family members alike will be smitten with this lineup! Here’s some ideas of what to serve with your roasted beet salad:
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Pistachios Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb small beets (or larger beets cut into quarters, peeled or not, your choice)
- 6 small shallots
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup shelled pistachios
- ½ cup goat cheese
- 5 ounces arugula (or spring mix)
Maple Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the beets into a baking dish and mix them with half of the oil. Cover the baking dish with foil and roast the beets for 20 minutes. Toss the shallots with the remaining oil. Push the beets to one side of the baking dish and add the shallots to the other side. Replace the foil cover and continue to bake for another 20 minutes, until the beets and shallots are tender. When they come out of the oven, toss them with half of the dressing. (See step 2.)1 lb small beets, 6 small shallots, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- While the beets and shallots are roasting, prepare the dressing and the goat cheese balls. Add the olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to a jar. Seal the lid and shake to combine.2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Put the pistachios into your food processor and process them until they are very fine. Transfer half of the ground pistachios to a wide bowl. Drop 24 teaspoons of goat cheese on top of the ground pistachios and then sprinkle the remaining ground pistachios over top. Roll the goat cheese into little balls. See notes.½ cup goat cheese, ⅓ cup shelled pistachios
- To assemble this salad, toss the arugula with the dressing and then arrange it on a large platter. Scatter the beets, shallots, pistachio goat cheese balls, and any leftover ground pistachios on top and serve right away.5 ounces arugula
Notes
Nutrition
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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. 🙂
Oh yum! I love beets with goat cheese 🙂 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. 🙂