I am always, always, looking for ways to mix up my salad routine. This Roasted Beet & Citrus Salad was the result of my mind endlessly wandering with thoughts of food. On this day, I was thinking about roasted beets and started playing with ideas about what to mix them with.
Honey goat cheese is one of my go-to’s for it’s slightly sweet, tangy flavor and soft texture. It is fantastic with beets. And I had recently toasted walnuts with orange zest and thought why not add those along with some fresh citrus segments. Ripe oranges and grapefruit for its bitterness were my choice. What a fantastic combination of sweet, salty, rich creaminess, tang and crunch this turned out to be. Just the kind of salad that is light and fresh, yet still filling.
Orange Toasted Walnuts
I have made this with both dried orange rind and fresh orange zest. Both work well and based on the amounts in this recipe, the result will be a mild orange flavor. Feel free to increase the amount of orange rind/zest in the mix if you’d like. To roast the nuts, heat your frying pan to a medium high heat. Add the oil, water, orange and salt to the pan. Swirl it around for a moment or two then add in the walnuts. As the liquid evaporates, the nuts will be coated in the salt/orange mixture. Make sure to keep stirring to prevent the orange zest from sticking and burning. When the pan is dry and walnuts are toasted, remove from heat, pour them onto a plate or parchment paper & allow to cool to room temp.
Roasted Beets
I used both golden & purple beets in this recipe for the color. To keep the purple beets from sharing their color, I keep them separated while seasoning & roasting. It takes a little longer this way, but the salad looks so beautiful in the end that it is worth it.
Simply trim the ends of the beets, peel the tough skins & cut the beets into a ½ inch dice. Then place the diced beets in bowls, season with olive oil, salt & pepper. Then roast in an even layer on a well greased baking sheet. I like to line the sheet pan with foil for easy cleanup.
Cutting the beets into a smaller ½ inch dice allows them to cook quickly and evenly. They will be easier to eat once mixed into the salad too.
The Dressing
Super easy, fresh and delicious. All of the ingredients go in the bowl at the same time and get mixed together. Set it aside or store it covered in the fridge until you are ready to eat. The dressing can be made several days ahead & leftovers are great on grilled meat & cooked veggies too.
Assemble the Roasted Beet & Citrus Salad
You can certainly throw everything in a bowl, give it a mix and call it a day with this salad. However, I like to make a bed of greens on a large serving platter then scatter the roasted beets, small chunks of goat cheese and walnuts on top of the greens. Then group the citrus sections along the outside of the platter. I keep the dressing on the side when serving, even to my family! We all have our preferences as to how much dressing we want. This presentation allows each person a chance to take as much or as little of the salad ingredients as they would like.
More Gluten Free Salad Love
- Thai Chopped Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Peggy’s Salad
- Fiesta Salad
- Audrey’s Salad
- Panzanella & Prosciutto Salad
- Charlotte’s Salad
- Garden Fresh Quinoa Salad
- Kim’s Salad
Roasted Beet & Citrus Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 2 bunches beets - any color or mix of varieties
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 large navel orange - cut into sections
- 1 small grapefruit - cut into sections
- 4 oz honey goat cheese - plain goat cheese works too!
- 18 oz spring mix salad greens
Orange Toasted Walnuts
- 1 cup walnut halves
- zest of 1 orange - or ½ teaspoon dried orange peel
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- pinch salt
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette:
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with foil and generously grease the foil with olive oil.
- Trim the ends of the beets, peel the tough skins & cut the beets into a ½ inch dice. Then place the diced beets in separate bowls to maintain their color if you’d like, season with olive oil, salt & pepper. Then roast in an even layer on a well greased baking sheet for approximately 30 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temp.
Orange Toasted Walnuts:
- Heat a frying pan to a medium high heat on a stove top. Add the oil, water, orange and salt to the pan. Swirl it around for a moment or two then add in the walnuts.
- As the liquid evaporates, the nuts will become coated in the salt/orange mixture. Make sure to keep stirring to prevent the orange zest from sticking and burning. When the pan is dry and walnuts are toasted, remove from heat, pour them onto a plate or parchment paper & allow them to cool to room temp.
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette:
- All of the dressing ingredients go into the bowl at the same time and get mixed together. Set it aside or store it covered in the fridge until you are ready to eat.
Salad Assembly:
- You can certainly throw everything in a bowl, give it a mix and call it a day. However, I like to make a bed of greens on a large serving platter then scatter the roasted beets, small chunks of goat cheese and walnuts on top of the greens. Then group the citrus sections along the outside of the platter. I like to keep the dressing on the side when serving.
Roderick G Cannon says
These are great recipes
Thank you
Shay says
Thank you Roderick!