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Delicious Beetroot Salad Recipe with Goat Cheese, Dates, Grilled Chicken, and a Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette!
I am all about comfort food in the winter, but I find the need to break up warmer meals with a light green salad every now and again. This delicious Beetroot Salad topped with grilled chicken, goat cheese, dates, pumpkin seeds, and my creamy homemade balsamic vinaigrette is the perfect lighter lunch or dinner to enjoy during the colder months.
Winter Salads: You Use What You Can Get, But That Doesn’t Mean It Can’t Be Wonderful
The winter season is all about comfort food, so a salad seems like an afterthought meal that might be thrown together just to add some greens to the table. While summer salads are bursting with sweet fruit, when one does have the hankering for a winter salad you have to get creative with what’s in season. This salad was actually inspired by a cafe down the street from my Vancouver apartment that makes a similar beet salad with a bright pink vinaigrette. As an ode to that delicious salad, I wanted to incorporate beets in my own way by pairing them with other seasonal items that really work together, and adding my own personal touch with my favorite homemade dressing. Goat cheese is also one of my absolute favorite salad toppers, so I wanted to create a goat cheese salad with beets and other seasonal ingredients.
Medjool dates and beets seem like an odd combination, but in this particular salad when you add them together with goat cheese, salty pumpkin seeds, and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette, they add a depth of sweetness that complements the acidity and saltiness of the other ingredients quite nicely. It’s also relatively easy to find Medjool dates and cooked beets at the store year around!
Pairing This Beetroot Salad With The Easiest, Most Delicious Balsamic Vinaigrette
One of the best things that I’ve learned how to make is a good vinaigrette, a skill that I picked up from one of my favorite cooking books written by Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid Heat. You really just need olive oil, your vinegar of choice, an emulsifying agent like dijon mustard, something sweet like honey, salt, and pepper. I usually have all five of these things on hand (and you probably do, too!) so you can make this dressing anytime.
I use balsamic vinegar in this recipe because it pairs so well with the beets and dates. I also love using this dressing on summer salad with fruit and goat cheese because the tanginess marries perfectly with the sweetness of the fruit.
Why I Love This Goat Cheese Salad with Beets, Chicken, Dates, and Balsamic
In 2024, I discovered that my body produces antibodies that attack my thyroid. My doctor highly recommended that I stick to an anti-inflammatory diet because of the correlation between thyroid function and inflammation. I create most recipes, including this Beetroot Salad recipe, with the intention of making something delicious that is going to serve my needs and leave me feeling my absolute best. I’ve noticed that eating as clean as possible has made me feel better, heal faster, and help with my overall cognitive function. I am by no means a doctor or registered dietician, but I did want to share my personal “why” for creating recipes like this one.
How to Make This Beetroot Salad Recipe
Cook Your Chicken: Cook your chicken or protein of choice (if any) however you like and let it cool before adding it to the salad.
Arrange Your Salad: Add your spring mix to a bowl as your base and then add your cooked beets, chopped dates, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese, and chicken/protein of choice to the top.
Make Your Dressing: Combine your olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix it until combined – the end result should be a delicious, tangy vinaigrette that has some body but still drizzles nicely.
*TIP: Place your dressing ingredients into a container with a lid and shake until completely combined – this should save you some time (and splashes!).
Dress Your Salad and Serve: Dress you salad with your homemade vinaigrette and serve. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- Spring mix
- Cooked beets
- Medjool dates
- Goat cheese
- Pumpkin seeds
- Grilled chicken breasts
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Honey
- Dijon Mustard
- Salt
- Pepper
Full Goat Cheese Salad with Beets Recipe:
Print
Beetroot Salad with Goat Cheese, Dates, Grilled Chicken and Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This delicious Beetroot Salad is topped with goat cheese, dates, and grilled chicken, and tossed in a creamy balsamic vinaigrette.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 4 cups of spring mix
- 3 cooked beets (diced)
- 6–8 Medjool dates (pitted and diced)
- 1/4 c pumpkin seeds
- 3–4 tbsp goat cheese
- 2 cooked chicken breasts
For the balsamic vinaigrette:
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Cook Your Chicken: Cook your chicken or protein of choice (if any) however you like and let it cool before adding it to the salad. I recommend grilled chicken!
- Arrange Your Beetroot Salad: Add your spring mix to a bowl as your base and then add your cooked beets, chopped dates, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese, and chicken/protein of choice to the top.
- Make Your Dressing: Combine your olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a dish and mix it until combined – the end result should be a delicious, tangy vinaigrette that has some body but still drizzles nicely. *TIP: Place your dressing ingredients into a container with a lid and shake until completely combined – this should save you some time (and splashes!)
- Dress Your Salad and Serve: Dress your salad with your homemade vinaigrette and serve. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: salads
For more recipes like this one, follow me on social media at @dinneratallis!