roasted beet salad with goat cheese, strawberries and preserved lemon vinaigrette

This roasted beet salad is layered with goat cheese, buttery manchego, fresh strawberries, avocado and crunchy pistachios. It’s tossed with a preserved lemon vinaigrette that’s equal parts fresh and mellow— you’ll want to put it on everything.

This isn’t your average roasted beet salad with goat cheese. It’s so much more than the classic salad of roasted beets, goat cheese and arugula, like so many of recipes out there. 

This one starts with the simple and delicious combination of roasted beets and creamy goat cheese. It’s a classic for a reason, right? That creamy tangy goat cheese is just so good with sweet, caramelized beets. But then it veers off to something much more interesting, much more exciting— and of course— much more delicious. 

so what makes this roasted beet salad with goat cheese so special?

To take the salad to the next level of delicious, I toss in juicy summer strawberries, creamy avocado and crunchy, salty pistachios. There’s something just so perfect about roasted beets and strawberries— the contrasting textures, the balance of fresh and earthy— it’s unusual and really, really good. 

Then there’s the preserved lemon vinaigrette. It’s bright and citrusy and fresh. Roasted beets need acidity to make them pop out of their earthy sweetness (which can be a little dull and bland on its own). The preserved lemons add complexity and amplify the lemon notes-- it's a beautiful foil to the earthy, mellow roasted beets.

Finally, the greens. I love arugula salads for their peppery bite (and I prefer their texture over raw spinach, which to me is a little too…spongy). Baby kale adds flavor and sturdiness, but feel free to sub in shredded flat leaf kale if you can’t find it, or use all arugula in its place. Just try not to go romaine here, the watery crunch distracts from all that glorious creamy, richness.

This roasted beet salad has it all— creamy, crunchy, fresh, roasted, sweet, tart, bright and mellow. I hope it will inspire you to branch out from your traditional beet salads! Try new flavors, textures and make beautiful and exciting food you can’t wait to share.

what you need for this roasted beet salad with goat cheese:

• beets 
• olive oil
• baby arugula
• baby kale
• strawberries
• manchego
• fresh goat cheese
• avocado
• pistachios
• preserved lemon
• white wine vinegar
• fresh lemon juice
• honey
• garlic
• dijon mustard

do you have to peel roasted beets?

Yes, it is best to peel roasted beets. The skin can be tough and bitter, which is especially off-putting in a salad. It’s less of an issue when the beets are young and served raw, but I always peel them after roasting. The act of roasting will loosen the skin, so you can quickly and easily peel the beet (and often times without even needing a knife).

Which brings me to another point— it’s much easier to peel beets after roasting. This is a common question. The beets are partially steamed in the roasting process, which loosens the skins and makes peeling very simple and quick. Just make sure to let them cool enough before you dive in!

what to do with roasted beets:

Roasting beets takes a while. As long as the oven is on and you’re cooking, you might as well roast a bunch of them to use throughout the week. Here are a few ideas of what to do with extra beets:

• sprinkle with flaky salt and eat them as is
• toss with your favorite dressing
• blend up and turn into borscht
• make a roasted beet tart with puff pastry, goat cheese and thyme
• put them in your favorite pasta salad or grain bowl
• slice them and make roasted beet focaccia (use my all time favorite artisan pizza dough!)
• make baby food
• puree them and make roasted been risotto 
• roasted beet hummus
• beet crostini with your favorite soft cheese and honey
• thinly slice them in put them in a wrap or sandwich

what’s the best way to roast beets: with or without foil?

There are pros and cons to both common methods of roasting beets: wrapped in foil or simply exposed, on a sheet pan.

On a sheet pan is less wasteful. A lot of foil can be used when individually wrapping beets, and it’s faster (again, all the wrapping). The downside, though, is the beets can get tough and leathery and their skin can be difficult to peel. The beets are more likely to burn, because this is true roasting and it takes longer to cook them to tenderness. 

When wrapped, the beets are roasted and steamed. This has several benefits. For one, the beets cook more quickly and aren’t at risk of burning. The steaming also helps loosen the skin, so they’re easier to peel. While some people say you lose out on some of the flavor complexity that comes from straight roasting, I think there’s enough sugar in beets that you’ll get plenty of caramelized complexity either way. And no one wants burnt complexity, which is a real risk! 

To address the downsides of wrapping beets individually in foil, I’ve found a simple solution. Place the seasoned beets in a baking dish and cover tightly with foil.

This way, some of the moisture is contained which helps the beets cook more quickly and loosens their skin. It also makes checking the beets for doneness much more straightforward— no more unwrapping steaming packets to check all the beets with molten hot red juice spilling everywhere. Remove the pan from the oven, peel of the foil, stab a beet or two with a paring knife and you’re done!

other salads you'll love:

raw beet salad with citrus vinaigrette

cucumber avocado salad

fried halloumi salad

butter lettuce salad with pecorino breadcrumbs

roasted pear endive salad with blue cheese

summer panzanella salad with peaches, cucumber and burrata

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