Beet Salad with Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Beet salad is as delicious as it is colorful! You will love the bright, yet earthy flavors combined with the tangy balsamic vinaigrette.

Beet Salad

This beet salad recipe is full of delicious flavors and textures. The earthy, nutty flavor of the beets combined with the smooth goat cheese, sweet pears, and salty prosciutto… this combination can’t be beat! Tie it all together with the smooth and tangy balsamic vinaigrette and you will be hooked.

Benefits of Beets

Beets (also known as “Beetroot”) are incredibly good for you. They are actually considered to be a “superfood”! They are chock full of vitamins and nutrients including potassium, Vitamin C, folate, betaine, and magnesium. According to Health.com, beets can reduce blood pressure and anemia and improve circulation and cognitive function.

How to Roast Beets

Roasting beets is easier than it seems. It reminds me a lot of baking a potato. You simply scrub the beets clean then cover them in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Wrap them tightly in foil and bake until done. When they are cooked through (about 60 minutes), cool until easy to handle and rub away the skins. Slice or dice and serve!

Beet Salad Ingredients

Get creative with your beet salad and add as little or as much of each of these ingredients as you like! Use the recipe below as a guide but make this salad to your taste! Here are the ingredients we used:

• Beets – Both red beets and golden beets. You can use all of just one kind if you want. The golden beets can be tricky to find but aren’t impossible.
• Arugula and Spring Greens Mix – Use whatever base you like. I like the bitterness of arugula but sometimes it can be hard to find on it’s own so a Spring salad mix works great.
• Goat cheese – Feta can also be used
• Sliced Pears – I love the crunchy flavor of fresh pears. It also adds a sweetness to the salad that I feel it needs.
• Prosciutto – This is totally optional. It’s just a nice, subtle way to add some protein to your salad. It pairs perfectly with the beets, goat cheese and pears.
• Pecans (or walnuts) – Pecans or walnuts with add an earthy flavor and also give this salad a nice crunch. I like using pralines or candied walnuts to add another sweet element. 
• Salad Topping – Totally optional. I like the mix from Costco that has the pipits, sunflower seeds, and craisins.
• Balsamic Vinaigrette – This simple vinaigrette can be made in less than 5 minutes. Check out the recipe below!

Beet Salad Dressing Ideas

For this recipe we use a balsamic vinaigrette but you can also use other kinds of dressings depending on the flavor profile you are going for. You can do a poppy seed dressing, cranberry vinaigrette, or even strawberry vinaigrette. 

How Do You Add Flavor to Beets?

You can add some orange zest or peel to the beets when roasting or you can use a citrus-infused olive oil. If you want more of a pickled beet, you can cut up the beets and soak them in a bowl with equal parts apple cider vinegar, water, and sugar and refrigerate overnight or until ready to use.

More Salad Topping Ideas:

There are lots of topping ideas for beet salad that go well with beets. Here are a few more ideas to complement this flavorful salad:

• shallots
• avocado 
• orange or blood orange slices
• walnuts (in place of the pecans) 
• fresh mint
• Microgreens
• pomegranate seeds
• thinly sliced tart apple slices (such as granny Smith, honey crisp, or Braeburn)

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