Beet and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese is a classic salad combo for the fall and winter months. It’s perfect paired with toasted walnuts and a simple, balsamic dressing.

Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
Beets- My go to is the standard red variety of beets for this recipe, however, you could substitute golden beets or candy striped, if desired.
Arugula- Baby or mature arugula would both be fantastic for this recipe. Baby or lacinato kale would be great alternatives.
Goat cheese- If you’re not a goat cheese lover, try feta or ricotta salata instead.
Walnuts- Walnuts might be the classic choice, but pistachios, almonds or pecans would also be delicious in this recipe.
Dijon mustard- This is something I always have on hand, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy this to use such a small amount for this recipe. Feel free to sub with yellow or whole grain mustard, or omit altogether.
Recipe Steps
First off, preheat the oven to 400F. Wrap beets in foil and roast until tender (1). Reduce oven temperature to 350F. Toast the walnuts until they’re golden brown and fragrant (2). Allow the beets and nuts to cool before handling.
In the mean time, combine the salad dressing ingredients (3) and set aside until ready to use. When cooled, chop the beets into bite sized pieces (4). Combine arugula, chopped beets and toasted walnuts in a salad bowl. Toss to coat with dressing. Place in serving dishes and top with crumbled goat cheese.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
To save time, consider using pre-cooked, ready-to-eat beets from the grocery store. Instead of roasting, you can boil beets on the stove top, if preferred. The beets will be slightly less flavorful than the roasted beets, but will save you time, especially because you can toast the walnuts at the same time as boiling the beets. You can also be more efficient by toasting the nuts and roasting the beets 1-3 days before serving the salad.
Beet salad is delicious paired with chicken, beef or even lamb. You can turn a beet and arugula salad from a side dish into an entrée by adding grilled chicken, steak or lamb chops on top.
Roasted beets can last up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Related Recipes
- Golden Beet Salad
- Kale and Pomegranate Salad
- Kale and Apple Salad
- Orange and Fennel Salad
- Kale Caesar Salad
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PrintBeet and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Beet and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese is a classic salad for the fall and winter months. It’s perfect with walnuts and balsamic dressing.
Ingredients
- 10 cups baby arugula (5 oz standard clam shell)
- 3 medium beets (2 cups chopped)
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- ½ cup walnuts
- 2 oz Goat cheese
Dressing:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ¼ tsp Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Roast the beets. Preheat oven to 400F. Wash and trim beets. Drizzle to coat with oil. Wrap with foil. Place on a baking tray. Roast for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of your beets, until easily pierced with a paring knife. Unwrap and allow to cool before handling.
- Toast the walnuts. Reduce oven to 350F. Place walnuts on a baking tray. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until lightly toasted. Place baking tray on a wire rack and allow to cool.
- Slice beets. Wear nitrile gloves to avoid staining hands, if desired. Use thumbs and fingers to gently rub skin off of beets. Cut into ½ to ¾ inch pieces.
- Make the dressing. Add all dressing ingredients to a jar. Place lid on jar. Shake until emulsified.
- Assemble the salad. In a large salad bowl, combine arugula, chopped beets and toasted walnuts. Add dressing and toss to coat. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt or pepper, as desired. Transfer to serving bowls. Top with crumbled goat cheese. Enjoy.
Notes
You can easily scale this recipe up or down.
To save time, consider using pre-cooked beets from the grocery store.
Instead of roasting, you can boil beets on the stove top while toasting the walnuts in the oven. The beets will have a slightly watered down flavor compared to the roasted beets, but they will still be delicious and you’ll save a considerable amount of time.
To prep ahead, you can toast the nuts and roast the beets the day before.
Instead of goat cheese, you can substitute feta or ricotta salata.
Instead of walnuts, you can substitute pistachios, pecans or almonds.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Roast, Toast
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ of salad
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 95mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 8g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 4mg
I love anything with a dijon vinaigrette. I definitely need to get more Farro into my life and this is just how to do it.
Thanks Romain 🙂
I love anything with a dijon vinaigrette and Maille has been my long time fave. Always have a jar in the fridge.
Love the pic from the front at the bottom of the post. Best one in the post IMO. Really nice!