This Roasted Beet Salad with fresh oranges and creamy avocado is topped with the best crispy goat cheese, tossed with a flavorful orange honey vinaigrette and crunchy pecans. This beet salad recipe is hearty, colorful and delicious!
Learn How To Cook Beets to tender perfection with these 6 different methods!
This beet goat cheese salad is a beauty! It’s a great salad to serve for lunch as well as dinner and of course a great dish to add to your holiday table.
Roasted Beet Salad
Beetroots, commonly known as beets, are loaded with nutrients like vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. This hearty root vegetable comes in different colors; red beets, golden beets and even white candy-stripe beets!
These days you can find beets at the market year round although, they are at their peak during the cooler months.
This healthy root vegetable is even more delicious and flavorful when roasted. Roasting beets intensifies their flavor turning them into the sweetest most flavorful winter vegetable.
Fresh oranges and creamy avocados are combined with peppery mesclun greens or arugula balancing the sweetness of the beets. Pecans add a much needed crunchy bite, making this salad simply perfect!
Fried Goat Cheese
Robust and tangy goat cheese gets a special treatment in this beet and goat cheese salad. Crispy on the outside with a warm and creamy interior, fried goat cheese is truly heavenly and a great addition to this dish.
Beet Salad Dressing
The easy orange honey vinaigrette is super easy to make. It goes so well with a simple green salad and is the perfect salad dressing to pour over roasted beets.
Roasted Beet Salad Ingredients
This is a partial list of ingredients and substitutions for this Beet Salad recipe. For a full list of ingredients and quantities, check the printable recipe card below.
Orange Honey Vinaigrette Ingredients
- Orange Juice and Zest: I use fresh orange juice. Bottled orange juice is a bit too sweet so I prefer fresh juice.
- Vinegar: I used Champagne vinegar but white wine vinegar works very well.
- Honey: You can also use maple syrup.
- Dijon Mustard
- Oil: I use olive oil but you can use any mild oil.
- Salt and Black Ground Pepper
Beet Salad Ingredients
- Beets: You can use red beets, golden beets or any other variety.
- Oranges: There are so many varieties of this citrus fruit. Use what’s available and seasonal.
- Salad Greens: Mesclun mix, arugula and spinach are great options.
- Nuts: Candied pecans, pecans, walnuts, almonds and pistachios all work well.
Fried Goat Cheese Ingredients
- Goat Cheese
- Panko
- Cornstarch and Flour
- Egg
- Italian Seasoning, Sea Salt or Kosher salt
- Vegetable Oil: Or any mild oil for pan frying the cheese.
How To Make Crispy Goat Cheese
For detailed instructions and cooking times, check the printable recipe card below.
- Freeze the goat cheese log for 15 minutes. Don’t skip this step. You want the cheese to be firm before cutting it.
- Combine the panko, the cornstarch and Italian seasoning in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water.
- Remove the goat cheese from the freezer and slice it.
- Dust the cheese with flour, dip in the egg mixture and roll through the panko mixture.
- Place the breaded goat cheese coins on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Sauté the cheese croquettes until golden brown and crispy. Remove from the skillet and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
How To Roast Beets
For detailed instructions and cooking times, check the printable recipe card below.
Read my post about How To Cook Beets, beet’s health benefits, how to select, store and cook beets with my 6 easy different methods! Boiled, steamed, roasted whole, roasted cut-up, microwaved and pressure cooked in the Instant Pot.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Scrub the beets clean, dry them and trim them.
- Place beets in a big piece of aluminum foil – big enough to create a sealed pouch. Coat the beets very lightly with olive oil and season them with salt
- Wrap the beets with the aluminum foil (as if creating a pouch) and place the pouch on a baking sheet.
- Roast until tender.
- Remove from the oven, peel and slice.
Beet Salad Recipe Tips
- Pick beets that have the stems, the leaves and the taproot still attached.
- Don’t peel the beets before roasting them. Removing the skin from cooked beets it’s so much easier.
- You can make/assemble the crispy goat cheese fritters ahead of time. Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
- Pan fry the goat cheese close to serving time for best results.
- The citrus vinaigrette can be kept at room temperature for up to 24 hours and refrigerated for 3-4 days.
Take A Look At These Other Easy Salad Recipes:
- Mexican Three Bean Salad
- Grilled Vegetables and Couscous Salad
- Citrus Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
- German Potato Salad
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Tuna Salad (No-mayo)
Roasted Beet Salad with Crispy Goat Cheese
Ingredients
For the Orange Honey Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 teaspoons honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For the Crispy Goat Cheese
- 1 8-ounces log goat cheese
- 2 cups panko
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or Kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup all purposed flour
- Vegetable oil or any mild flavored oil for frying or more if needed
For the Salad
- 3-4 beets red, golden or any variety (depending on size)
- 2 oranges peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1-2 avocados peeled, seeded and sliced
- 8 ounces Mesclun mix fresh arugula or fresh spinach
- 1/3 cup pecans candied pecans or walnuts, chopped
Instructions
Make the Orange Honey Vinaigrette
- Whisk all the ingredients together except for the olive oil. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in while whisking constantly. Reserve until ready to use
Roast the Beets
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut off the tops close to the top of the beets. Don’t trim the root. Place your beets in a big piece of aluminum foil – big enough to create a sealed pouch. Coat the beets very lightly with olive oil and season them with salt (this step is optional but recommended as it flavors the beets). Wrap the beets with the aluminum foil (as if creating a pouch for the beets). Place the pouch on a baking sheet. Roast for 40-55 minutes (depending on their size) or until a small sharp knife can easily be inserted in the middle. Carefully open the aluminum foil pouch (steam may come off) and set the beets aside to cool. Peel the skin off and slice (you may want to wear gloves and cover your cutting board with parchment paper to prevent stains). Toss the roasted beets with about 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette and refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the Crispy Goat Cheese
- Freeze the goat cheese log for 15 minutes to firm before cutting.
- Combine the panko, the cornstarch and Italian seasoning in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water.
- Remove the cheese from the freezer. Using a small sharp knife, slice the goat cheese into ½-inch rounds. Wipe the knife clean in between cuts. Reshape the round if needed to create nice round coins.
- In an assembly line, lightly dust the cheese coins in the flour, remove the excess flour and dip them into the egg mixture, then roll them in the panko mix. Make sure you coat all sides of the cheese.
- Place the cheese coins on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- In a small skillet, add enough oil to reach halfway up the goat cheese (about 1/4-inch deep) Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the cheese coins until golden brown and crispy approximately 1 minute per side (the cheese cooks very quickly so check for doneness after 30 seconds). Remove from the skillet and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
To Assemble the Salad
- Place the greens, beets and sliced oranges and sliced avocados on a platter or salad bowl. Top with the crispy goat cheese and nuts. Season to taste with salt and black ground pepper and serve with the vinaigrette.
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