This delicious Roasted Beet and Orange Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette makes a wonderful fall or winter salad. Serve this beet and orange salad at your next dinner party for the perfect starter!
This Roasted Beet and Orange Salad is full of fresh ingredients that are vibrant and colourful. The sweet and tangy citrus vinaigrette used to dress the salad complements the earthy taste of the beets perfectly.
The contrasting flavours between the sweet and savoury ingredients make this salad so addictive. And the creaminess of the goat cheese and the crunchiness of the toasted hazelnuts give this salad so much texture.
I love serving this roasted beet salad as a side with this Roast Chicken or as a starter to these Pistachio Crusted Lamb Chops or this Pistachio Crusted Salmon.
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How to Make it
Here's an overview of the ingredients and steps to make this beet orange salad. Though this is an easy recipe, this colorful salad does require a few steps and some time to prepare it but it's well worth the effort.
For the full recipe please see the recipe card at the end of the post.
Ingredients Overview
- Mixed spring greens: Baby spinach is also a good choice.
- Oranges: Cara Cara, Navel and blood oranges are all great choices.
- Beets: I used red beets, but you can also used golden beets. If using raw beets see how to roast them below.
- Hazelnuts: If you are using raw hazelnuts, you'll need to roast them to bring out their flavor and make it possible to get their skins off.
- Goat cheese: Feta cheese is a also delicious.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed will give you the best flavor
- Orange juice: Freshly squeezed
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Honey: Maple syrup also works.
- Salt and black pepper
Steps Overview
How to Roast Beets
One way to speed up the process of making this beetroot salad is by roasting the fresh beets and the hazelnuts the day before you plan on serving it. If you're a beet lover, you could always roast a few extra beets to enjoy later.
To roast the beets, simply preheat your oven to 400°F. Remove the tops and roots of the beets, wash the beets well and drizzle them with a bit of a light tasting oil.
Wrap them individually in aluminum foil and roast the beet packages on a baking sheet until you can easily pierce the beets with a knife, about 45 minutes.
Carefully open the foil packages and let the beets cool. Once the beets are cool, remove the skins and cut the beets into small wedges.
Store the beets in an airtight container in the refrigerator if you're not making the salad on the same day.
How to Roast Hazelnuts
If you are using raw hazelnuts roasting them will help bring out their great flavor and will make it possible to get their skins off.
The easiest way to roast hazelnuts is to spread them on a baking sheet and roast them in a 350°F oven for approximately 10 minutes or until their skins begin to split and the hazelnuts begin to turn lightly golden. Remember to stir the hazelnuts mid-way while roasting.
Remove the hazelnuts from the oven, let them cool just slightly and place them in a clean dish towel, let them sit a minute and then rub them together to loosen their skins.
Assembling this Beet and Orange Salad
Once you've roasted the beets and hazelnuts, all that will be left to do will be to wash the salad greens, segment the oranges and make the citrus vinaigrette.
Top the salad with the roasted beets, orange slices and some chopped hazelnuts. Add the crumbled goat cheese or Feta cheese. To finish the salad, add the orange dressing and toss.
Serving suggestions
This orange beet salad can be served as a side salad or enjoyed on it's own as a light lunch.
Enjoy!
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Other Special Occasion Salads
- Spinach Clementine Salad
- Spinach Apple Cranberry Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Citrus Tahini Dressing
- Pomegranate, Pear and Pecan Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Have you made this recipe? Let us know how it turned out! Leave a star rating and a comment below, we'd love to hear from you.
Roasted Beet and Orange Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed spring greens washed and dried
- 2 oranges segmented
- 3-4 small beets roasted
- ½ cup toasted* hazelnuts roughly chopped
- 3-4 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon orange juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Wash beets very well, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, rub them with the oil and wrap them in foil. Roast the beet package on a baking sheet in the oven until you can easily pierce the beets with a knife, about 45 minutes. Carefully open the foil package and let the beets cool. Once the beets are cool, remove the skins and cut the beets into small wedges. Set aside.
- Segment the oranges by slicing a bit off the top and bottom of the orange with a sharp pairing knife. Remove the skin and the pith of the oranges and then working over a bowl, cut between the membranes of the orange.
Citrus Vinaigrette
- To make the vinaigrette, combine the olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice, honey, salt and pepper and whisk until the dressing has emulsified. Set aside.
Assembling the Salad
- Arrange the roasted beets and segmented orange pieces over the salad greens and then top with goat cheese and hazelnuts. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss well or serve the dressing on the side.
Notes
- To toast the hazelnuts, spread them on a baking sheet and toast them in a 350°F oven for 8 to 10 min., stirring mid-way. Remove from the oven, let cool only slightly, place them in a clean dish towel and rub them together to loosen their skins.
David T. LeBlanc says
We made this for dinner last night. Enjoyed it thoroughly, paired deliciously with the quiche my wife made. We did make two small changes. Because we are in Texas, we used pecans instead of hazelnuts and queso fresco for the goat cheese. Going to make it again.
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Hi David, that's fabulous so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Myrna says
This salad looks delicious!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you Myrna, I'm sure you would love it 🙂
nancyc says
This salad sounds and looks wonderful–I love the colors! And beets are so good for you! Sorry you had some recipe disappointments–I know how frustrating that is!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you Nancy! Yes it can be very frustrating, luckily things are looking better for this week 🙂
apuginthekitchen says
Gorgeous salad, I love beets and citrus. Love the combination, I could eat this every day!!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you! So could I, I just love beets 🙂
Sue says
This is definitely a restaurant worthy salad, so beautiful and with so many different textural and color elements! I love salads like this with lots of good stuff in them. Beautiful and thank you.
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you!
Butool says
You mention honey but I was curious what the quantity is for this recipe?
Thx
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you for letting me know Butool. I made the correction in the recipe.