Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula Dressing is my favorite way to serve beets. After roasting, beets are cut into wedges, arranged decoratively atop crisp butter lettuce along with goat cheese and red onion, then served with a creamy, peppery, delicious dressing.
I love this Roasted Beet Salad, frankly because I love the Arugula Dressing. Reminiscent of a green goddess dressing, it includes baby arugula, green onion, garlic, mayonnaise, sour cream, anchovy and lemon, topped off with fresh tarragon. I could eat it with a spoon! And the flavors pair really well with almost any roasted vegetable, especially beets. I recommend only using fresh tarragon; the dressing just simply isn’t as good using dried.
Note you have to make the dressing at least one day ahead. If you have dressing left over, use it as a dip with fresh veggies.
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[This recipe was updated on April 11, 2018.]
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Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula Dressing
Roasted beets, goat cheese and red onion are arranged decoratively atop crisp butter lettuce and served with an amazing arugula dressing!
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (about 1 1/2 to 2 ounces) packed baby arugula
1/3 to 1/2 cup (about 4) sliced green onion (white, light green and some dark green part)
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste (in a tube) – see Note below
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 large beets (red or mixture of red and yellow)
9 to 10 cups Boston, Bibb or Butter lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
Crumbled goat cheese
Sliced red onion
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the arugula, green onion, garlic, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, anchovy paste and tarragon; process until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Wash the beets and trim off the ends. Inside a large piece of foil, place 2 beets side by side and fold foil edges up and together tightly to make a packet; repeat with remaining beets and foil.
- Place packets in oven directly on oven rack with seam side up (this keeps any beet juice from going into your oven) and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until soft in the center when pierced with a fork. Cool. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into wedges.
- Divide lettuce among 6 salad plates. Arrange sliced beets in a circle on top of lettuce; sprinkle with goat cheese and red onion. Drizzle with some of the dressing, passing the rest on the side.
Notes
Note on anchovy paste: If you mash anchovy fillets, the flavor will be stronger than mashed anchovy from a tube, as the latter has vinegar and spices added, which make the fish flavor milder. So, I would reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon if you substitute freshly mashed.
Variation: Place lettuce on a large serving platter. Arrange sliced beets decoratively on top of lettuce; sprinkle with goat cheese and red onion. Pass dressing on the side.
Make ahead: The dressing can be prepared and the beets roasted up to 3 days ahead, covered and stored in the refrigerator.
- Category: Side salads, healthy, gluten free, easy
