Shake up your salad routine with this golden beet salad with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. It’s packed with nutrients, easy to make, and full of flavor!
Do you dread cooking with beets because they turn your fingers purple? I recommend trying gold beets instead!
In fact, this golden beet salad with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette is one of my favorite sides. It’s as beautiful as it is delicious! I love serving it when I have guests over.
And the recipe is so simple to make. Simply steam the beets, combine the salad ingredients, and drizzle with vinaigrette. It couldn’t be easier.
This is absolutely my favorite way to prepare beets. They’re perfectly cooked, full of flavor, and they don’t leave purplish-red stains everywhere!
Combined with the goat cheese, balsamic, fresh chives, and black pepper, this is the kind of salad you’ll want to make over and over again!
How to make golden beet and goat cheese salad with balsamic vinaigrette
I recommend starting this recipe about an hour in advance to give the beets time to steam and cool. Besides that, prep takes five minutes or less!
Step 1: Add the water to a medium saucepan fitted with a steaming rack. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the water to a simmer.
Step 2: Place the whole beets on the steamer rack and then cover.
Step 3: Steam until the beets are cooked but still firm, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat.
Step 4: Once the beets have cooled, slice them into ¼-inch rounds.
Step 5: Place the lettuce leaves on serving plates, then arrange the beet slices and goat cheese on top of the lettuce.
Step 6: Drizzle the balsamic vinaigrette over the salad, garnish with chives, and finish by seasoning with black pepper.
Enjoy right away!
Nutritional information for this salad
Not only does this salad look pretty and taste delicious, but it’s also so good for you!
If you divide the recipe into four servings and use one tablespoon of my balsamic vinaigrette, it will come out to about 121 calories. Not too bad!
Plus, this salad is a good source vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein. In other words, it packs quite a punch nutrition-wise.
One thing to note is that goat cheese is high in saturated fat. So if you’re watching your fat intake, you could reduce the amount or substitute a lower-fat cheese.
Storage
Like most salads, this one can be hard to store after you’ve added the dressing. It will still be tasty, but the lettuce and beets may get a bit soggy. I would recommend storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eating within a day or two.
If you want to prep this salad in advance, you can always cook the beets and then store them in the refrigerator. Once you’re ready to make the salad, just slice up the beets and combine the rest of the ingredients!
Other delicious beet recipes
Beets are becoming more and more popular these days. After all, they’re a versatile vegetable with a unique flavor that can add so much to a dish! If you’re looking for more ways to incorporate beets into your weekly menu, check out some of these recipes:
When you’ve tried this salad, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Gold Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 3 gold beets (without tops, peeled)
- 4 leaves leaf lettuce
- 1 ounce goat cheese (crumbled)
- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
- fresh chives (minced)
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Add the water to a medium saucepan fitted with a steaming rack. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the water to a simmer.
- Place the whole beets on the steamer rack and then cover.
- Steam until the beets are cooked but still firm, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Once the beets have cooled, slice them into ¼-inch rounds.
- Place the lettuce leaves on serving plates, then arrange the beet slices and goat cheese on top of the lettuce.
- Drizzle the balsamic vinaigrette over the salad, garnish with chives, and finish by seasoning with black pepper.
I wrap my beets in foil after cleaning and drizzling with EVOO, that helps them maintain their moisture, I then peel after roasting about 40 minutes. I make a Gold Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with EVOO and Balsamic Vinegar, I grate my beets!
I’m definitely going to try this next time I have some good-looking beets. Thanks, Kate.
Skin on. Once the beets are done, and slightly cooled, the skin just slips right off. I also leave the spindly root tip and very bottom of the greens in place while roasting, because I find that they don’t ooze as much that way. I just trim those parts off while removing the skin.
Oh, I like the foil idea. Skin on or off?
Yumm. This salad looks delicious. Thanks for the credit, but this salad was all you! The golden beets sure look gorgeous.
Once again I love that you include the nutritional information.
I’ve never steamed beets because I always roast them. Per yours and Patricia’s suggestion, I must try it now. Not sure that I have THE secret to roasting, but I wrap them individually in foil and then roast at 350 F until they are tender. The foil helps them to retain their moisture, and roasting in their own juices intensifies the flavor (in theory). Time of roasting will depend on size of beets, but I usually count on at least 30 minutes. I think I learned this technique from Marc Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything”.