Spinach Beet Goat Cheese Salad

This Spinach Beet Goat Cheese Salad features tender red beets paired with creamy goat cheese and spicy-sweet pecans, all on a bed of baby spinach. The 2-ingredient balsamic vinaigrette pulls it all together! 

Jump to:

• Why Make This Recipe
• Ingredient Tips for Spinach Beet Goat Cheese Salad
• How to Make Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
• Spinach Beet Goat Cheese Salad Variations & Substitutions
• Serving Suggestions for Spinach and Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
• How to Store Spinach and Beet Salad
• Recipe Tips for Spinach Beet Goat Cheese Salad
• Other Salad Recipes You Might Enjoy
• 📖 Recipe
• More About Molly

Why Make This Recipe

• Great combination of flavors and textures
• Loaded with good-for-you ingredients
• Minimal ingredients list
• Looks beautiful, whether for a weekday meal or on your holiday table

Ingredient Tips for Spinach Beet Goat Cheese Salad

• Spinach: Baby spinach is the easiest for this recipe, especially if you use the pre-rinsed packages at the grocery store. 
• Beets: You can use red or golden beets for this recipe. Both are delicious, though I love the visual contrast of ruby red beets against the green spinach and white goat cheese. The packaged, pre-cooked, and peeled beets you can find now in many grocery stores save so much time!
• Olive Oil: You’ll really taste the difference in this recipe with a high-quality olive oil, so go for an extra-virgin olive oil. 
• Balsamic Vinegar: If you have a high-quality aged balsamic in your pantry, use it! Otherwise any good-quality balsamic vinegar works. 
• Goat Cheese: The perfect creamy topping for this salad. Try feta cheese as a substitute. 
• Spiced Pecans: I love the Sweet and Spicy Pecans from Trader Joe’s, but any candied pecans will work. Plain toasted pecans are also delicious. You can substitute other nuts as well, like almonds or pistachio nuts. 

How to Make Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

1. Chop 1 pound cooked and peeled beets into 1-inch chunks.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

3. Slowly pour in olive oil while whisking constantly. 

4. Put 5 ounces of baby spinach into a large serving bowl, then pour in a small amount of the dressing. Toss until coated. Add in chopped beets.

5. Top with ½ cup crumbled goat cheese, and ½ cup spiced pecans. 

6. Serve with remaining dressing on the side. 

How to Make Beet Goat Cheese Salad Ahead of Time

If you want to make this salad ahead of time, you can make the balsamic vinaigrette days in advance and leave out at room temperature in an airtight jar or other container. You can also cut the cooked and peeled beets up into chunks and keep in the refrigerator. Wait to assemble the salad until just before serving. 

Spinach Beet Goat Cheese Salad Variations & Substitutions

Arugula or baby kale greens would make great substitutes for the baby spinach in this recipe. You could also replace the goat cheese with feta cheese or cotija cheese. Instead of the spiced nuts, you could top the salad with toasted nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts) or try sunflower seeds or toasted pumpkin seeds.

You could also serve this beet salad with a different kind of salad dressing. Try this Ginger Sesame Dressing or this Niçoise Salad Dressing instead. 

Serving Suggestions for Spinach and Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

This salad is beautiful in a large salad bowl, but also can be plated individually for a dinner party. To plate individually, toss spinach with a small amount of the balsamic dressing and divide onto each plate. Then top each plate with beets, goat cheese, and pecans.

This salad pairs beautifully with a variety of main courses. Try it on the side of this Baked Stuffed Shrimp, this Pasta Alfredo, or these Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches. Or, make it into a main course by adding a seared salmon fillet or grilled chicken breast. 

How to Store Spinach and Beet Salad

Storing the ingredients for this salad separately will ensure the salad doesn’t get soggy. You can keep the vinaigrette out at room temperature. I like to store it in a small mason jar. The spiced pecans should also be kept at room temperature. Refrigerate the spinach, beets, and goat cheese separately. They will all last for up to 5 days.

If you have leftovers of a fully assembled salad, remove the pecans before refrigerating, as the coating on them will melt into the salad. Refrigerate the rest of the salad—it should keep for about 24 hours before the spinach becomes too wilted to enjoy. 

Recipe Tips for Spinach Beet Goat Cheese Salad

If you want to roast the beets yourself, here's my technique. Cut off the greens, wash the beets gently, put them on a large square of foil, and drizzle with a teaspoon of both olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Wrap them up, careful to make sure none of the liquid will drip out. I usually put 1-2 beets together in a foil pack depending on their size. Bake them in a 400-degree oven for about 45-60 minutes—their size will determine how fast they cook. To test whether they are done, open the foil carefully and stick in a metal skewer or skinny knife. You want it to easily pierce the beet through to the middle. Then, let cool and peel. The peel comes off a little easier the warmer they are.

If you’ve got golden beets instead, see my full roasting instructions in this Roasted Golden Beets recipe.

You can also make spiced candied nuts on your own. Check out my technique for glazed walnuts in my Pear Gorgonzola Salad Recipe. The candied pepitas in this Arugula Apple Salad recipe would also be great on this salad! 

Note that if you want to serve this for a fancy dinner and want the most stunning presentation, don’t stir all the ingredients together. The goat cheese will smear and turn red, and the nuts will lose some of their sugar coating onto the spinach leaves. 

Got more beets? Try my Beet Feta Salad with Walnuts or my Roasted Golden Beet Salad. Or try this side dish of Balsamic Roasted Beets and Carrots.

Other Salad Recipes You Might Enjoy

As a serious salad lover, I have a bunch of other salads to recommend. Try one of these next: 

If you try this Spinach Beet Salad recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.

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