Roasted Beet Walnut Salad (Printable)

Sweet roasted beets paired with crunchy walnuts, goat cheese, and peppery arugula topped with vinaigrette.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 4 medium beets, trimmed and scrubbed
02 - 5 oz fresh arugula

→ Nuts

03 - 1 cup walnut halves
04 - 3 tbsp granulated sugar
05 - Pinch of sea salt

→ Cheese

06 - 4 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled

→ Vinaigrette

07 - 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
08 - 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
09 - 1 tsp Dijon mustard
10 - 1 tsp honey
11 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil and roast on a baking sheet for 35 to 40 minutes until tender. Remove, let cool slightly, then peel and cut into wedges.
02 - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toast walnut halves in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and sea salt, stirring continuously until sugar melts and coats the nuts, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately transfer to the prepared baking sheet and separate with a fork. Let cool.
03 - In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
04 - Arrange arugula on a serving platter. Top with roasted beet wedges, candied walnuts, and crumbled goat cheese.
05 - Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad just before serving.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The beets take all the time while you're free to do other things, then the whole salad comes together in five minutes flat.
  • Every bite has a different texture—creamy, crunchy, peppery, sweet—so it never gets boring.
  • It's fancy enough for guests but honest enough for a quiet lunch, and somehow tastes even better the next day.
02 -
  • Don't skip wrapping the beets in foil—roasting them unwrapped is how you end up with a shriveled, concentrated disaster instead of sweet, tender wedges.
  • The moment those candied walnuts touch a cool surface is when they crystallize and separate; if you forget and they clump together, they're still delicious but lose that sophistication.
  • Dress the salad at the last second or the arugula will wilt and become something else entirely—this is the kind of dish where timing matters.
03 -
  • If your beets bleed too much color into the vinaigrette, toss them with a tiny bit of lemon juice before adding them to the salad—it seals their color in a weird kitchen magic kind of way.
  • Make the candied walnuts in double batches and keep them in a jar; they're impossible to have around without constantly eating them straight from the container.
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