If you’ve only ever eaten beets by themselves as a side dish, you won’t believe how delicious they taste when paired with goat cheese. There’s something delectable about the creamy cheese paired with the slightly sweet, earthy taste of beets. And the colors look so pretty together, too. This salad takes advantage of that pairing and keeps things light with a bed of baby greens. The crunch of candied walnuts adds a magical texture.

If you have beets handy from your garden, you can put this salad together within minutes. The walnuts are candied while the beets are cooking. If you have baby greens from your garden, great. If not, packaged mixed baby greens from the market, well-rinsed, will do just fine. Although goat cheese works beautifully in this salad, you could certainly leave it out for your vegan guests. If you want to add protein, and make it more of a main dish, you could add grilled or roasted chicken on top or on the side. Either way, feel free to add whatever vegetables you have in your garden that go well with beets.

The dressing couldn’t be simpler. The combination of orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil bring a brightness and slight salty-sweetness to the party. Serve this salad year-round. It makes a wonderful lunch or brunch dish or as a starter with a main course of grilled fish or another protein. Once you have beets with goat cheese, you’ll always want to keep both on hand.

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

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Beets and goat cheese complement each other so well! However, this versatile salad can be assembled to cater to any guest’s preference. Omit the goat cheese to make it vegan or add chicken to up the protein factor. You can enjoy this beet salad any time of the year—feel free to add seasonal vegetables from your garden or the market.

• Author: Norann Oleson
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: Serves 6
• Category: Salads & Dressings

Ingredients

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• 4 medium beets, scrubbed, trimmed, and cut in half
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 4 cups (10 ounce) mixed baby salad greens
• 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces goat cheese

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Instructions

1. Place beets into a saucepan and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool, then cut into cubes.
2. While the beets are cooking, place the walnuts in a skillet over medium-low heat. Heat until warm and starting to toast, then stir in the maple syrup. Cook and stir until evenly coated, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil to make the dressing.
4. Place a large helping of baby greens onto each of four salad plates. Divide candied walnuts equally and sprinkle over the greens. Place equal amounts of beets over the greens, and top with dabs of goat cheese. Drizzle each plate with some of the dressing.

Have you tried this salad? What did you think? Please let us know if you made any changes or have any suggestions.