Beetroot Salad with Goat's Cheese & Pine Nuts

This beetroot salad is the perfect way to enjoy beetroot. The sweetness of the beets goes perfectly with the salty goat's cheese, peppery rocket and pine nuts!

This is the perfect lunch or dinner for all that autumn beetroot. I always forget how much I like beetroot and I've cooked with it nowhere near enough.

There's only a couple of other beetroot recipe on the blog (beetroot and goat's cheese one pot pasta and beetroot burgers in case you were wondering) but this year I'm definitely planning on making up for it.

Click here to pin this beetroot salad recipe for later!

I've been starting to really consider my autumn menu planning recently. It pains me because I love summer so much and I especially love summer food. We've had some truly amazing food this summer and it's made me so happy to eat light and fresh dinners everyday.

But of course it's not just the food I love about summer. It's the warmth and the sunshine and the happy days spent sitting outside.

Of course I don't want to depress you about the end of summer so lets talk about the only saving grace about the weather cooling and the evenings getting rapidly darker...the food!

As soon as it's not boiling hot then I immediately turn to comfort food and beautiful seasonal ingredients to make the autumn and winter bearable.

Of course that can mean polenta, pasta and slow cooking galore but if I want something a bit lighter then this beetroot salad ticks all the boxes and is fast becoming one of my favourite healthy recipes. Serve with some fresh crusty bread and you've still got something pretty comforting to get you through those cooler evenings.

Why we love this beetroot salad:

• It's a light and healthy meal using autumn ingredients to help you stick to healthy eating even as the weather is cooling
• It's a super simple recipe which requires a handful of ingredients and just a few simple steps to make
• The beetroot salad dressing is made from a combination of balsamic, olive oil and honey which gives an amazing tangy sweet flavour
• This is a delicious vegetarian recipes and it takes just a few easy switches to make this beetroot salad vegan. You can leave off the goat's cheese altogether or swap it for another vegetable or protein of your choice and use agave nectar or maple syrup in place of the honey in the dressing
• This recipe is also gluten free which makes it great for anyone with dietary restrictions

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS BEETROOT SALAD WITH GOAT'S CHEESE:

• Beetroot: If you're worried about staining then wear gloves to peel and chop it although I'm quite happy to walk around with pink hands for a day or two afterwards
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Honey
• Rocket: The pepperiness works great here but you can use a different salad leaf if you prefer
• Goat's Cheese: Or you could use feta cheese if you prefer, that salty kick is really what you're after. Use leftovers in this baked aubergine with tahini and goat's cheese
• Pine Nuts: Stir any leftovers through this caprese pasta salad

Keep scrolling to get the full recipe for this beetroot salad...

So let's talk about this salad then. My favourite thing about it is probably the simplicity of the whole thing. I don't always subscribe to the whole less is more thing and sometimes like to make more complex recipes but the best thing about really simple recipes like this is that every single ingredient plays a role in making this salad amazing.

The beetroot is sweet from roasting with honey, there's a tang from the balsamic and creaminess from the goat's cheese. Plus a nutty flavour and bite from the pine nuts and peppery rocket.

And that's it. It's honestly that simple. Just a collection of beautiful ingredients that come together to give you all those amazing flavours.

I really love it.

HOW TO PREPARE BEETROOT SALAD WITH GOAT'S CHEESE (STEP BY STEP):

1. Heat the oven. Place the beetroot in a dish with the olive oil, honey & balsamic and bake for half an hour.
2. Mix the beetroot with the rocket, goat's cheese and pine nuts and serve with extra olive oil.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH BEETROOT SALAD:

I like a crusty loaf of bread with this salad. Will loves baking so he made one for us and if you can go homemade then you definitely should. Either way, store bought will still be delicious and go perfectly with all the flavours in this salad. If you want something other than carbs then try a piece of chicken or you could add some extra vegetables to bulk it out.

HOW TO ROAST BEETROOT FOR THIS BEETROOT SALAD WITH GOAT'S CHEESE:

Roasting beetroot is my favourite way to prepare it. It really brings out all those earthy flavours. For this recipe I peel and chop the beetroot before roasting.

If you're worried about staining your hands then feel free to wear gloves but I normally just give them a good scrub afterwards.

My beetroot were pretty small so I just chopped them into 4 or 6 pieces and chucked them in a roasting tin before drizzling with honey, olive oil and a little balsamic. Then they're simply roasted for 30-40 minutes until they're sticky and softened.

IS BEETROOT SALAD HEALTHY?

This salad is made up of just a few healthy ingredients. Beetroot is a great source of vitamins and minerals and along with the rocket and goat's cheese is a really balanced meal.

WHAT MEAT GOES WELL WITH BEETROOT?

We enjoyed this salad as a main with some crusty bread but if you'd like to have it on the side of a meat dish then it will work best with a richer meat like pork, beef or duck or even with an oily fish like salmon.

HOW TO STORE THIS BEETROOT SALAD?

If you'd like to make this salad for meal prep it's great served cold the next day. Simple prepare the salad and store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days for grab and go lunches.

Want more? Get all my other vegetarian recipes before you go or try one of the salad recipes below!

• Winter Citrus Salad with Sherry Vinegar Dressing
• Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad with Sesame Dressing
• Greek Spaghetti Squash Salad
• Balsamic Pasta Salad
• Quinoa Veggie Bowls with Tahini Ranch
• Halloumi Salad with Kale & Tahini Dressing
• Salmon Salad with Watercress & Edamame
• Cauliflower Salad with Hummus

Recipe

Like the look of this recipe? Make sure you pin it for later!