Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Pecans: A Vibrant, Healthy, and Flavorful Dish
Elevate your salad game with this exquisite Roasted Beet Salad featuring creamy goat cheese, crunchy pecans, and a zesty Newman’s Own® Balsamic Vinaigrette. This light yet incredibly flavorful salad is not just a perfect option for a healthy lunch but also makes a stunning and wholesome addition to any dinner table. Its vibrant colors and contrasting textures make it a true culinary delight that appeals to both your palate and your eyes.
The Allure of Roasted Beet Salad
There’s something truly special about roasted beets in a salad. While some might be hesitant about beets (my husband, for instance!), I’ve always been a big fan. Their earthy flavor and vibrant color are simply captivating. While I can enjoy them plain, they truly shine when incorporated into a fresh, light salad. Today, we’re diving into the details of this magnificent Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Pecans, a recipe designed to be a fantastic light lunch or a versatile accompaniment to your weeknight meals.
Ingredients That Sing: The Perfect Harmony of Flavors and Textures
What makes this roasted beet salad truly exceptional is the thoughtful combination of its core ingredients, each bringing a unique element to the table:
- Roasted Beets: Roasting beets transforms their flavor, bringing out their natural sweetness and softening their texture. This process reduces their earthiness, making them more approachable even for those who typically shy away from them. Their deep, vibrant color, whether red or golden, adds incredible visual appeal to the salad.
- Creamy Goat Cheese: The soft, tangy, and slightly pungent flavor of crumbled goat cheese provides a beautiful contrast to the sweet earthiness of the beets. Its creamy texture melts slightly, creating pockets of delightful richness that elevate every bite.
- Crunchy Pecans: For essential texture and a hint of nutty sweetness, pecans are the perfect choice. Their buttery crunch complements the soft beets and creamy goat cheese. While pecans offer a wonderful sweetness, you can also substitute them with walnuts for a slightly less sweet, more robust flavor if preferred. Lightly toasting the pecans before adding them can further enhance their flavor profile.
- Fresh Arugula: The peppery, slightly bitter notes of arugula provide a vibrant base that cuts through the richness of the cheese and nuts and balances the sweetness of the beets. It adds a fresh, crisp element that makes the salad feel invigorating and light.
- Newman’s Own® Balsamic Vinaigrette: Tying all these incredible ingredients together is a light yet flavorful dressing. Newman’s Own® Balsamic Vinaigrette offers the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, enhancing the natural flavors of the salad without overpowering them. Its high-quality ingredients make it a simple yet effective choice for a sophisticated dressing.
Tips for a Perfect Salad Experience
Creating this delicious salad is straightforward, but a few tips can ensure your salad turns out perfectly every time:
- Choose Your Beets: Both red and golden beets work wonderfully in this recipe. Red beets offer a deeper, earthier flavor and a striking color, while golden beets are milder and prevent the salad from “bleeding” color, resulting in a cleaner presentation. Feel free to use either or a mix for an even more visually appealing dish.
- Perfect Roasting: The key to delicious beets is proper roasting. Ensure they are scrubbed clean and lightly coated with olive oil before wrapping them in foil. This method steams them while roasting, making them tender and easy to peel. Roasting time can vary depending on beet size, so check for tenderness with a fork.
- Serving Temperature: Allow the roasted beets to cool completely before adding them to the salad. Warm beets can wilt the delicate arugula and affect the texture of the goat cheese.
- Dress Right Before Serving: To prevent the salad from becoming soggy, especially if you’re making it ahead of time, always add the dressing just before you’re ready to eat. This keeps the arugula crisp and fresh.
- Nut Variations: While pecans offer a sweet, buttery crunch, feel free to experiment with other nuts. Walnuts are an excellent alternative, providing a more robust, earthy flavor that complements the beets and goat cheese beautifully. Lightly toast any nuts you use for maximum flavor.
Ideal for Meal Prep and Busy Days
One of the best features of this roasted beet salad is its suitability for meal prepping. I often make a large batch at the beginning of the week and store the components separately. This way, I have a healthy, delicious, and easy meal ready to assemble for lunches throughout my busy week. It’s incredibly convenient to have something wholesome and satisfying on hand, especially when I’m occupied with feeding my kids and need a quick, nutritious option for myself.
More Than Just Dressing: Newman’s Own and Its Mission
Beyond creating delicious products like the Balsamic Vinaigrette that perfectly complements this salad, Newman’s Own stands out for its incredible commitment to philanthropy. Did you know that with every bottle of Newman’s Own salad dressing (and their other products) you purchase, you are directly contributing to charitable causes?
This commitment to giving back dates back to when Paul Newman founded Newman’s Own with the groundbreaking philosophy of “All Profits To Charity.” Since its inception, the Newman’s Own Foundation has generously donated more than $600 million to thousands of charities worldwide. Paul Newman famously believed that “From salad dressing, all blessings flow,” a sentiment that truly encapsulates the brand’s dedication to making a positive impact on the world, one delicious product at a time.
In the past, initiatives like the “Greens for Good” Salad Recipe Contest (which ran from June 23, 2015, to August 21, 2015) invited consumers to engage creatively while supporting charity. Participants had the opportunity to showcase their favorite salad recipes using Newman’s Own Dressing for a chance to direct substantial donations to their chosen charities. The grand prize winner in that contest could direct a $35,000 donation, with nine runners-up each directing $1,000 to their selected nonprofits. While the specific contest dates are in the past, the spirit of giving and community involvement remains a cornerstone of the Newman’s Own brand. This ongoing commitment means that every purchase you make continues to contribute to various impactful charitable causes, reinforcing the idea that good food can lead to greater good.
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Roasted Beet Salad
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Ingredients
- 3-4 beets, scrubbed, leaves trimmed, roasted (you can use red or golden beets)
- Olive oil , for cooking beets
- 7 cups arugula
- 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup pecans, halved
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinaigrette, Newman’s Own
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Scrub and trim the leaves off of the beets. Lightly coat the beets with olive oil.
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Using aluminum foil wrap the beets and place them on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until cooked through and tender.
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While the beets are cooking, combine the arugula, goat cheese, and pecans in a large salad bowl.
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Once the roasted beets have cooled completely, peel them (the skin should slip off easily) and dice them into bite-sized pieces. Add them to the salad.
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Just before serving, drizzle with Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette and gently toss to combine.
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Serve immediately as a light lunch or a fresh side dish with your favorite dinner.
Nutrition
Carbohydrates: 6g,
Protein: 6g,
Fat: 12g,
Saturated Fat: 3g,
Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g,
Monounsaturated Fat: 4g,
Cholesterol: 9mg,
Sodium: 153mg,
Potassium: 258mg,
Fiber: 2g,
Sugar: 4g,
Vitamin A: 767IU,
Vitamin C: 6mg,
Calcium: 77mg,
Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This post was sponsored by Newman’s Own. As always, opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make A Cedar Spoon possible.