This vibrant and healthy Beet Salad with Balsamic Dressing recipe relies on simple ingredients you’re likely to have on hand to deliver a big flavor without driving the price way up. Sweet, tangy, and a little garlicky, too, the homemade balsamic dressing melds with oven-roasted beets, crisp and juicy apples, and peppery arugula. Toss in a handful of roasted, salted pistachios and dried cranberries to round up the flavors, and top with crumbled goat cheese or feta. Simple and perfect.
Not only is this salad packed full of healthy ingredients, but it’s also so delicious and easy to put together. Start with the beets. Place the beets into an oven-proof dish with a thin layer of water. Cover with foil and roast until the beets are tender. Once done, allow them to cool slightly and then peel or rub the skin away. Dice the beets and place them in a large bowl. To make the dressing, combine balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, minced garlic, a pinch of salt and black pepper in a jar. Drizzle half of the dressing over still-warm beets and toss to coat. Toss in the arugula, pistachios, cranberries, and goat cheese. Add more of the reserved dressing to taste and serve warm or at room temperature. This recipe yields 8 servings and is perfect for all your summer and fall backyard parties.
To make the Beet Salad with Balsamic Dressing, you will need the following ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
Arrange 2 pounds beets in an oven-proof dish large enough to hold them in a single layer and pour a thin layer of water into the bottom of the dish. Cover with foil.
Roast until the beets are tender when pierced with a knife, 50 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes or longer, depending on the size of the beets.
In a mason jar, combine ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 clove garlic minced or grated, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, and ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper or more to taste. Screw the lid and shake the jar vigorously to mix the ingredients. Set aside.
Once the beets are roasted and tender, transfer them to a cutting board and leave them to cool slightly. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, peel or rub the skin away and dice the beets.
Place the diced beets in a large salad bowl. Pour half of the dressing over the warm beets and toss to coat.
Add 5 ounces of arugula to the bowl with the beets and toss to combine.
Toss in about two-thirds each of the apple, pistachios, cranberries, and goat cheese. Add more of the remaining balsamic dressing as desired.
To serve, sprinkle the remaining pistachios, cranberries, and goat cheese over the top, and enjoy the salad warm or at room temperature.
This easy and delicious Roasted Beet Salad with Balsamic Dressing is a perfect side dish for any meal. You can cook the beets and dress them up to 2 days in advance and store them in the fridge. Just before serving, assemble the salad with roasted beets, arugula, apple, pistachios, cranberries, and cheese. Drizzle on the dressing, and serve! Made it? Let us know in the comments below!
Absolutely loved this! Made it for the fam, they devoured it!
Amazing! This salad is as colorful as my summer memories picnicing in the park with friends. So easy and delicious, it's my new favorite side dish!
Loved it! Simple ingredients made it a breeze to prepare.
Whipped this up for our picnic, loved all the colours!
I made this salad for a friends gathering and it was just superb! Roasting the beets was my favorite part; the flavors mixed so well with the balsamic dressing. My friends couldn't stop raving about it. It's very easy, which is perfect for me since I'm not a great cook.
Yum! This salad was a hit at our family BBQ! Even my kids loved it—a perfect balance of sweet and savory! I’ll be making it again for sure!
Simply delicious salad!
Delicious and fresh
Epic!
Made this salad for a picnic; everyone loved the flavors! So easy to prepare too.
¡Increíble! Hice esta ensalada una noche y a mis niños les encantó. Los beets asados con la salsa balsámica son simplemente lo mejor. ¡Hasta mi esposo quizo repetir! Fue un exito total en nuestra cena familiar. Repetiremos seguro.
Tasty salad, mate!
Superb! I made this beet salad for a family gathering, and my kids went for seconds! The balsamic dressing was a hit, and the roasted beets added such a nice touch. Proud to serve a healthy dish that everyone loves!
OMG, this Beet Salad is the biz! I whipped it up for a summer BBQ and everyone was raving. The balsamic dressing is tip-top, and those roasted beets just pop! It's so easy to make, and my hubby couldn’t get enough. Def my go-to salad now!
Delicious healthy salad. I made it for lunch. Thanks for sharing!