Arugula and Beet Salad with Walnuts and Goat Cheese

This Arugula and Beet Salad is made in minutes and is the perfect healthy salad to finish your weekday lunch or dinner.

Bring on the Beets

These jewel tone beauties haven’t always been my favorite. My grandma used to put pickled beets on everting and I didn’t enjoy them. It was a long time before I tried them again…like not until I was a full grown adult.

However, I took my own advice and tried them different ways. Roasted beets are probably my favorite. This Arugula and Beet Salad recipe is a close second. I will say though this beet salad recipe is so much quicker to make than roasted beets.

Oooh imagine if I added roasted beets to this salad…best of both worlds!

Nutritional Benefits of Beets

Beets make a great addition to a healthy diet. They are a nutrient dense, root vegetable that are low in calories, fat, and cholesterol. In other words – a heart healthy veggie.

High in Fiber

One cup of beets has about 3.5 grams of fiber. Dietary fiber helps reduce cholesterol, stabilizes blood sugar levels and helps us stay full longer. Getting adequate fiber in your diet can lead to decreased risk for heart disease, diabetes and certain forms of cancer. It can also help your bowel movements and aid in weight management.

Find out how much dietary fiber you need in your diet here – Dietary Fiber, the #1 Thing Missing from Our Diet.

Blood Pressure Regulation

The nitrates found in beets help dilate our blood vessels, which helps with blood pressure, brain function and athletic performance. Important to note these are different than the “nitrates” found in processed lunch meats.

High in Antioxidants

Antioxidants are important in fighting the free radicals in our body that can lead to abnormal cell growth. They aid in preventing certain forms of cancer that can result from this abnormal cell growth.

Good Source of Potassium

Potassium is a key nutrient for heart health. Adequate potassium in the diet helps with lowering blood pressure.

Arugula and Beet Salad with Walnuts and Goat Cheese

This salad is extremely easy to pull together. It’s filling and full of great flavors. The arugula is the base of the salad and provides a nice peppery bite. My tip for this salad is drizzle the greens with olive oil, salt and pepper before topping with the other ingredients. I feel like this makes sure the greens are dressed well and the other ingredients don’t get too soggy.

We saved time and used precooked and pre-peeled beets that we got from Trader Joe’s. You could certainly cook your own beets, roast them or used canned beets as well.

The salad is topped with goat cheese (I like to use the herbed goat cheese for extra flavor), chopped walnuts, micro greens (because you can never have too many greens) and then drizzled with a little more olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

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Arugula and Beet Salad with Walnuts and Goat Cheese

Peppery arugula is topped with gem colored beets, tangy goat cheese and crunchy walnuts for the quickest beet salad around.

Course side/salad

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword beets, salad

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Brynn McDowell, RDN at The Domestic Dietitian

Ingredients

• 3 cups arugula
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (we use precooked and presliced beets to save time)
• 1 cup beets, cooked and peeled, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/4 cup goat cheese (we like herbed goat cheese for extra flavor but plain works as well)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup micro greens (sprouts would work as well)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• salt nad pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Add the arugula to a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil.
• Layer on chopped beets, goat cheese, chopped walnuts and micro greens.
• Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper

Recipe Frequently Asked Questions