This easy and healthy Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Apricots, and Pistachios is perfect as a salad course or as a vegetarian side dish. Leftovers are wonderful for lunch too!
I love beets. I love them any way I can get them. Raw, cooked, roasted, grilled, fried, poached, steamed, marinated, pickled, savory, sweet, as patties, as soup, with meat, without meat…literally any way possible, but my favorite is in a delicious salad.
I have friends who greatly dislike beets, like flat out refuse to eat them. Pretty sure they’ve never had a great beet salad with goat cheese. I’ll make quite the bold statement by saying that this beet Salad with goat cheese, apricots, and pistachios salad can convert even the most hardcore beet hater.
I’ve heard that weight loss is 75 percent diet and 25 percent exercise so I’m also trying to eat healthier. That is not an easy task for someone who loves all kinds of food and finds it so damn difficult to say “no” to yummy eats. And then I do things like make this Blueberry Granola Soda Bread or this Spanish Pan Pizza, neither of which are diet food.
Calling beets to the rescue!!! This salad is perfectly hearty enough for lunch and is chock-full of yummy dried apricots, roasted pistachios, and topped with a herb goat cheese.
Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for several days and it’s a great convenience to have them as a quick weekday lunch…plus it keeps my tater chips cravings at bay.
Originally, I was thinking a honey balsamic vinaigrette would pair nicely with these flavors, but my beets were really sweet on their own, so I left it simple. Feel free to add honey or even Dijon mustard to the dressing to give it some sass, if it’s needed.
Embrace healthy eating with this Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Apricots, and Pistachios for lunch or dinner as a side or main entrée.
Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Apricots, and Pistachios
Ingredients
- 4 medium organic golden and/or red beets
- 3-4 ounces herb goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1/3 cup roasted pistachio pieces (I used Trader Joe's dry roasted & unsalted)
- 3 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/176C degrees.
- Scrub beets well, dry, and coat with a little olive oil. Place beets in an ovenproof pan, cover with foil, and roast for 40-45 minutes, or until knife tender.
- When beets are cool enough to handle, remove the skin, and cut into slices. Place beets on a serving platter, sprinkle with goat cheese, chopped apricots, and pistachios.
- In a small bowl, combine olive oil and balsamic vinegar and mix well. Drizzle over beets. Serve immediately.
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four says
This beet salad looks incredible, Karrie! What a healthy and delicious meal. Love that you’ve got all these textures going on too in the salad. You will make anyone a beet lover with this salad!
[email protected] says
Thank you Beeta!
kushi says
WOW! Lovely colors and interesting combo!
[email protected] says
Thank you so much Kushi! I could eat this salad every day 😉
Meghan | Fox and Briar says
Oooh, this is such a pretty salad! I think beets and goat cheese were meant to be together. I must admit that I had a hard time with beets until I had them in a salad that included goat cheese. And these, the colors are just beautiful! I also love the apricots in this salad. As far as the workout, i have done some barre classes, and phew! That is a serious workout. I always notice that after a really hardcore workout I seem to gain weight. I am convinced that it is water retention because your muscles are all inflamed, but I have no idea if that is actually true. Anyway, forget about the scale and just focus on how pretty this salad is!
[email protected] says
Thanks and I agree with you Meghan! Beets and goat cheese are the best combo 🙂 I hope this is all water retention because I’m getting a little discouraged. Darn barre classes! hahahaha!
GiGi Eats says
WHAT A UNIQUE combo! I know my Food Pervert bestie would totally approve! She loves sweet and savory combos like this!
[email protected] says
The Food Pervert knows good food so no doubt she’d like this 😉