I love to make this golden beets recipe for a fresh fall lunch. Feta, pistachios, and a spiced lemon dressing fill it with exciting textures and flavors.
When I see golden beets at the farmers market, I can never resist bringing them home. I love roasting them until they’re tender and juicy, with a translucent, sunshine-yellow color that makes them so exciting and appealing.
Thanks to their sweet, earthy flavor, the roasted golden beets are delicious on their own, but I like them even more when they’re tossed into a simple golden beet salad. I balance out their sweetness with salty feta cheese, add toasted pistachios for crunch, and drizzle them with a spiced lemon dressing for pop. Toss in a couple handfuls of arugula, and you’ll have made my ideal fall lunch. It’s colorful, fresh, satisfying, and packed with contrasting textures and flavors. The next time you get your hands on a bunch of golden beets, I hope you’ll try it.
Roasted Golden Beets Recipe Ingredients
You only need a few basic ingredients to make this golden beets recipe:
- Golden beets, of course! Slice off the beet greens and save them for another use (I like to sauté them and serve them as a side dish.)
- Arugula – I love its peppery flavor with the sweet beets.
- Feta cheese – It adds salty, tangy flavor.
- Pistachios – For crunch!
- And my lemon vinaigrette – For this recipe, I spice up the dressing with cumin and coriander and sweeten it with a little extra honey. It adds bright, aromatic flavor to the simple salad.
Top it off with microgreens, and enjoy!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Golden Beets Recipe Variations
- Make it a meal. I often enjoy this recipe for lunch with a slice of crusty bread, but there are also other ways to make it a meal. Mix in some cooked farro, quinoa, or lentils, or pair it with a cup of butternut squash soup (or any of these 33 Best Soup Recipes!).
- Use another type of beets. If you can’t find golden beets, red beets or pink Chioggia beets would work nicely here too. I find that yellow beets tend to have a sweeter, milder flavor than other varieties, so if you do use red beets, keep in mind that this dish will be earthier and “beet-ier.”
- Try a different cheese. Beets + goat cheese are a classic combination! If you don’t have feta on hand, soft goat cheese would be a perfect sub.
- Switch the nut. Try toasted walnuts or pepitas instead of the pistachios.
- Add fresh herbs. Top the salad with parsley, cilantro, or fresh mint.
- Or use another dressing. My tahini dressing or apple cider vinegar dressing would be fantastic on these roasted golden beets.
Let me know what variations you try!
More Favorite Beet Recipes
If you love this recipe, try one of these beet recipes next:
- Roasted Beets with Citrus
- Avocado Salad
- Kale Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Vegan Sushi
- Or any of these 15 Fresh Beet Recipes!
Roasted Golden Beets
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 medium golden beets
- Lemon Vinaigrette
- ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cups arugula
- ¼ cup crumbled feta
- 2 tablespoons chopped toasted pistachios
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Microgreens, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place each beet on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle generously with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Wrap the beets in the foil and roast on a baking sheet for 40 to 90 minutes, or until soft and fork-tender. The cooking time will depend on the size and freshness of the beets. Remove the beets from the oven, remove the foil, and set aside to cool. When the beets are cool to the touch, peel off the skins. I like to hold them under running water and slide the skins off with my hands.
- Slice the beets into halves, quarters, or bite-sized pieces, and place them in the fridge until ready to use.
- Make the lemon vinaigrette dressing according to this recipe, omitting the thyme, and adding the coriander, honey, and cumin.
- Arrange the beets, arugula, feta and pistachios on a platter. Drizzle with some of the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Top with microgreens, if desired, and serve.
Many times I pass by the golden beets at the grocery and think they look so pretty but was apprehensive about cooking them. When doing the week’s meal plan for a busy week I added this on a night I was picking up a rotisserie chicken and wanted a healthy side. The only variation I made was to use up some honey goat cheese that had been opened but not finished. (Also my mind is just so used to the beet+goat cheese combo.) This recipe was FANTASTIC!!! Both my kids aged 9 & 11 proclaimed it to be “really good!”. That was quite a surprise to me because my 11yo doesn’t eat any salad of any kind (and he’s tried many). I knew that he would eat arugula so that’s why I took the gamble. My 9yo often complains any recipe with lemon is “too lemony”, but she said “You didn’t put too much lemon in this time!” Ha!
I loved how easy this was to throw together. This would be a great salad to bring to a gathering to impress people. I am definitely saving this!
Hi Erin, I’m so glad you loved them!
These were fantastic! So sweet and savory. Thanks for posting. I put all ingredients in a pan over low heat instead of roasting, they were still so tasty.
Hi Kelly, I’m so glad you loved the golden beets!
Delicious, amazing dish !! I peeled the beets before roasting and they became amazing. Also we added buckwheat to make this a full meal. We specifically loved the lemon vinaigrette! I know this is a dish that will become a regular at our home :))) Thanks for your wonderful website !
I’m so glad you loved it!
Used your instructions (minus the salt) to roast golden beets. While the skins did not slide off, they were easy enough to peel. Added the beets to a spinach salad and then ate the rest as is. Delicious! Thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Beet skins can be stubborn sometimes.
If you omit the greens, can you freeze this dish and then add the greens when you defrost?
This is absolutely delicious, made it exactly as written with your Lemon Vinaigrette and both are keepers in this household. First time trying golden beets too, peeling them was definitely a challenge but the flavor is worth the effort 🙂 Many thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I like to peel them under running water – I find sometimes they just slide right off (and sometimes they don’t).
I have never in my life seen a golden beet before, but the color is fantastic! I learned something new today! Very fond of beetroots so I guess I have to try!