Roasted Golden Beet Salad

Slow-cooker Roasted Golden Beet Salad

roasted beets from blue sky farm, pawtuxet village farmers market
“Never underestimate,” he tells me, “the value of panache.”

I picked up these beautiful golden beets from Blue Sky Farm at the Pawtuxet Village Farmer’s Market,ย and decided toย make roasted beet salad.

Since it’s hot out (it’s summer! yea!!!) I roast the beets in the crockpot, because turning on the oven would heat up the kitchen.
Golden beets are a tad sweeter, not quite as “earthy” tasting as red. Either will work well in this recipe.

This easy-to-make Roasted Beet Salad serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch beautiful young, tender beets ( 1-1/2″ – 2-1/2″ diameter, preferably from your local farmers market)
  • 2 cups salad greens (I like arugula; mesclun mix, butter lettuce, or romaine are good also)
  • 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
  • 1/4 cup shredded or crumbled cheese (I used Trader Joe’s Goat Gouda; or try crumbled fresh chรจvre, or parmesan or asiago, or aged white cheddar)

for the dressing--in a 1-cup glass jar, combine

  • 1/3 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • a sprinkle of all-purpose seasoning salt & black pepper
    1. Cover and shake vigorously.
    2. Taste it. If it’s too tart for you, add a tad more honey and shake again.
    3. Makes more than you need–refrigerate the rest and use it tomorrow on a green bean salad (or any green or mixed salad, even a pasta salad –it’s good stuff!)

To make the salad:ย 

  1. Trim the greens from eachย beets, leaving a one-inch stem. Leaving the root end intact, wash/gently scrub the beets.
  2. Cut aluminum foil into squares large enough to wrap each individual beet (6-8″” squares). Place a beet in the center of the square, bring the corners together and twist to seal. Wrap all the beets this way, then throw them into the slow cooker, cover and cook on HIGH for 3 – 4 hours. (You couldย also roast them, wrapped, in a 350 F. oven for approximately 1 hour. They’re done when a knife slips easily through the largest one).
  3. When they’re cool enough to handle, the skins will slip right off (with your help, of course, knick the skin with a knife and peel it off). Slice the beets into any shape that pleases you (round slices, cubed, quartered, halved and sliced–whatever you think is pretty).
  4. Toss greens with just enough dressing to coat and divide between 4 salad plates. Toss the beets in the same manner, and arrange atop the greens. Sprinkle with cheese and walnuts and a grind of black pepper if that’s your thing.

Voila — you’re a gourmet!ย 

Roasted Golden Beet Salad
Pretty as a picture!

Side note: When I got home from the market, I sautรฉed the beet greensย in olive oil and fresh garlic, tossed in a few shrimp and had that for lunch. That evening, I served the beet salad with southern fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Oh, yeah–ย bliss.
What are you having for dinner?ย 

42 thoughts on “Slow-cooker Roasted Golden Beet Salad”

  1. What a delicious-sounding salad! I’m very fond of beets, and one great advantage to using golden or chioggia beets instead of the classic red ones is that you don’t have the issue of that deep red juice staining your hands and everything else it contacts.
    I really like your idea of using the slow-cooker instead of the oven to cut down on heat in the kitchen. Despite the fact the polar vortex is swooping down upon us in a day or two, we have the fans and air conditioner running here today to combat the high humidity.

    1. We’ve got that high humidity right now. 96%. Ugh! Neither of us handles heat very well, so we have all kinds of tricks to make it possible to cook our favorite foods, without turning on the oven.
      I love beets so much, I’ll put up with the red-stain. ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. I am going to make naan pizzas with fresh veggies for supper. This salad looks great. I just love beets! Your dressing looks good. Most are too oily for me but this looks like it has a nice bite of vinegar softened by the honey.

    1. I hadn’t gone out searching for them, but when I saw them in the market, with those lovely greens attached, I simply had to try them. I’m hooked. If they have any this Saturday, I’m grabbing another bunch. I LOVE Beets, too! ๐Ÿ˜€

  3. This sounds delicious, Tracy! The crumbled cheese and your recipe for a mustard vinaigrette, sounds like a perfect blend with golden beets. I would enjoy the walnuts, too! Smiles, Robin

    1. Since the recipe serves 4, and we’re only 2, I got to eat it 3 times. I neglected to tell Ken there were any leftovers, and hoarded them for myself! The third time, I couldn’t wait for lunch and ate it for breakfast. It was THAT good!

    1. I had never come across them either, B. I had made this salad in the past with red beets, and it was delicious. But the golden beets made it outstandingly scrumptious. (And pretty food always tastes better!)

  4. It’s only a few weeks ago that I decided to try beets for the first time as an adult. I tried a roasted beets salad, which was great. I will try this one tonight. I like the idea of individually wrapped beets. Sounds like cleaning up after will be easier ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. It definitely makes for easier clean up!
      I hated beets when I was a kid — those cubed things from a can. Blech! I still can’t eat them. But fresh beets, in borsht or roasted…. they’re in the top 5 of my favorite vegetables.

    1. He thinks so–because I really do cook to please him. But, I think I’m luckier, because he takes care of at least half of the kitchen duty, including shopping and clean up.
      Enjoy your chicken! Enjoy your summer! ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. I don’t think I’ve ever had golden beets?! What a great farmers market find Tracy! This recipe sounds like a simple and refreshing summer salad. Sometimes I forget how easy it is to whip up your own vinaigrette dressing. I bet the dijon mustard and honey create a wonder sweet and savory combination!

    1. It’s SO easy to whip up a dressing. It’s been at least 15 years since I’ve bought any dressing.
      And yes, it was a great find! I’m going back next week, hoping to find more of the same!

  6. Are those radishes in the bag, or are they golden beets? I’ve been a fan of beets since I started growing them in my own child’s garden in Kansas, but I have never tasted golden beets! I’ll have to get some and try this recipe; all your recipes turn out so well, and this one sounds delicious, Tracy.

    1. Those are radishes on the left, and golden beets on the right. The last radishes of the year, so I had to snatch them up.
      And if you do manage to find any golden beets (I’ve been looking for them for years; this was the first time I ever found any…), I guarantee you’ll love this salad. I’m practically addicted to it now. ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. In all my life it never dawned on me to roast beets. You can be sure that I will do it before week’s end, though. Now, whether I let them hang around long enough to put in a salad is another thing ๐Ÿ™‚ At the very least a few will be victim to “cook’s privilege.”

    1. You’re in for a taste-bud opening experience, Maurice. Roasted beets are just more intensified, amazing, melt-in-your-mouth beet-y goodness.
      I ate one before I made the salad. I intended just to sample a slice, but I ate the whole beet. Cook’s privilege.

  8. Ah Tracy – you know how I feel about cooking – but layering up a salad is something I’m totally happy with. This weekend I did egg and bacon salad for lunch which was so successful that I’m thinking of creating a whole range of JP meals in one bowl. Suits me too – less washing up!
    Hard boiled eggs, crispy bacon crumbled over a mixture of salad leaves, avocado, tomatoes and warm new potatoes with Italian dressing. Scrummy with French bread and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc! ๐Ÿ™‚

        1. Tracy, just had to let you know that I made your ;scrummy’ salad dressing and will now use nothing else, we all love it and to know how healthy it is without all those awful thickeners and guar gum etc. is wonderful. Thank you so much for making this household very happy my friend ๐Ÿ™‚ <3

  9. Tracy … I don’t think I’ve ever had golden beets, but I do love red beets. Your recipe looks good. As I’m always looking for a good salad, this has wonderful potential for those meatless days. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    1. If you can’t find the golden, the red are wonderful in this recipe. And yes, the cheese and walnuts supply the protein. Not quite enough for me (I have to eat in a particular “zone” to keep my blood sugar levels stable, which means a good amount of protein. So I make a fruit-yogurt-honey concoction for dessert).

  10. Karin Van den Bergh

    That looks delicious. Thank you for sharing Tracy. I would never think of eating beats in summer time but this sounds yummie. But how can you roast in the crock pot? It seems you’re not adding any liquids??

  11. What a great ideaโ€ฆI never would have thought to use a slow cooker instead of the oven for the beets and your salad sounds great.

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