Beet Salad with Spinach, Cashews, Cranberries, and Goat Cheese with honey, lemon and olive oil dressing. Healthy, gluten free, Mediterranean-style salad, packed with fiber and nutrients. Goat cheese adds a touch of creaminess, while the cashews add a bit of crunch to this healthy beet salad.
Beets have long been my secret love. I eat them all the time, and my husband jokes that if there is ever a shortage of beets it will be because I bought too many. Not only do I like how the beets taste, they are so good for you - you can read more about the benefits of beets in this article.
I really should share more beet recipes, but the truth is I often eat beets plain. I boil them in the water until they are soft (about 20-30 minutes in boiling water), let them cool, peel them, and then I just eat them with some olive oil. And, often with some goat cheese.
So, this time I decided to cook the beets not so plain. I made a beet salad. With goat cheese. And with spinach, cranberries, cashews, and a homemade salad dressing with honey, lemon and olive oil.
Ingredients for beet salad
You only need 5 ingredients for this delicious beet salad and here they are:
- beets , cooked, sliced
- baby spinach
- cashews , roasted
- dried cranberries
- goat cheese
Honey-Lemon Salad Dressing ingredients
And the beet salad dressing requires only 3 ingredients:
- olive oil
- honey
- lemon juice freshly squeezed
How to make beet salad with spinach and cashews
- Add baby spinach, sliced cooked beets, roasted cashews, and dried cranberries to a large salad bowl.
- Combine salad dressing ingredients in a different bowl: olive oil, honey, lemon juice. Whisk until combined.
- Pour the salad dressing over the beet salad, and toss to combine. Top with crumbled goat cheese.
This beet salad is so delicious and has so many ingredients that are good for you - I really recommend you make it! It's so simple but has so much flavor! This salad is healthy, gluten free, full of fiber.
This spinach and beet salad is a perfect lunch or snack. It also looks really pretty, and will make a beautiful side dish to any dinner.
How to cook beets
The easiest and the best way to cook beets is by boiling them. Here is how you do it:
- Place raw beets in a large sauce pan and cover with water.
- Bring to boil - it usually takes 10 minutes for the water with beets in my pan to start boiling. Once the water starts to boil, boil the beets for 20-30 minutes, depending on the thickness and the size of your beets.
- Next, carefully pour the hot water out and let the beets cool off (without lid on) for another 20 minutes. It's important to pour the water out and remove the lid when cooling off the beets, otherwise they will get too soft.
- After beets have cooled off, use butter knife to easily peel the skin off them just like shown in the photo below:
After that, beets are ready to be placed in an air tight container (or zip-lock) and be kept in the refrigerator.
Note: While I usually boil all the beets for 20 minutes, you might have to boil them 10 minutes longer, especially if your beets are large, because the centers of large beets might not cook through in 20 minutes. But for small or medium size beets - 20 min is perfect!
Other beet recipes:
- Goat cheese is not the only cheese that goes great with beets in a salad. Gorgonzola cheese tastes amazing with beets too: Arugula Salad with Beets and Gorgonzola cheese.
- Yes, I made the soup with beets, and it was delicious! I used Kefir to make this soup creamy: Beet Soup.
- And, yes, I made pasta with the goat cheese and beet sauce, too. It's of a beautiful bright maroon color (all natural color, of course, from beets): Beet and Goat Cheese Fettuccine.
Are you convinced yet that I love beets?!
Beet Salad with Spinach, Cashews, and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
Beet Salad:
- 2 beets , cooked, sliced
- 4 oz baby spinach
- ½ cup cashews , roasted
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 2 oz goat cheese
Honey-Lemon salad dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
Instructions
- In a salad bowl, combine baby spinach, sliced cooked beets, roasted cashews, and dried cranberries. (You can cook the beets by boiling them in water for about 20-30 minutes, letting them cool, peeling them, and then slicing them). Do not add goat cheese yet.
- In a separate small bowl, combine salad dressing ingredients: olive oil, honey, lemon juice. Whisk until combined.
- Pour the salad dressing over the beet salad, and mix. Do not add all of the salad dressing at once. Add just enough to coat the salad to your taste. You might use all of the dressing - you might not. Top your beet salad with crumbled goat cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This recipe is AMAZING! Everyone loved it.
Thank you, Linda! You are so sweet! 🙂
This salad is so delicious and pretty. The combinations of the vegetables, nuts and fruit is excellent, then the crumbled goat cheese and sweet/tart dressing finishes it off perfectly. Thanks Julia.
I'm glad you love this combination! Beets are one of my favorite ingredients.
Love beets! Nice combo. Just a few ideas….
You could use canned sliced beets. The dressing is oil heavy; maybe cut by a 1 TBLSP.
Or add ann additional TBLSP of lemon juice. I added some salt to the dressing even though the goat cheese is salty. Could use another seasoning…not too sure what!
Thx for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the tips! You could also add 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard to the dressing for more flavor.
Love your recipes, healthy y delicious, thank you.
Tricia, I am so glad you enjoy my recipes. ❤️
With pool and grilling season upon us, so grateful for your salad recipes! All are healthy, delicious and eye-pleasing. Thank you
Thanks, Catherine, I am glad you enjoy my salads! 🙂
May I use canned sliced beets in this recipe? Have a hard time finding fresh beets were I live this time of year. Thank you.
Sheila, yes, you can use canned beets or pickled beets - they will work great!