Spinach Salad with Beets and Walnuts Recipe

Sweet roasted beets, crunchy walnuts, and bright baby spinach make a simple but well-balanced salad.

Updated August 19, 2024

Closeup of spinach salad with beets and walnuts, served in a bumpy-rimmed bowl. — Serious Eats / Carrie Vasios Mullins

Why It Works

The lactic tang of goat cheese pairs well with earthy, sweet beets.
Toasted walnuts add textural contrast and provide a complimentary nuttiness to the geosmin-rich beets.

It would be nice if every Valentine's Day the universe handed us each a bouquet of red roses and a key to the Honeymoon Suite at the Ritz. Unfortunately, reality tends to fall a few diamond solitaires short of the ideal. After all, Valentine's Day is on a weeknight and some of us have taken our love to the next level, forming families that can't always be put on hold.

This doesn't have to be a bad thing. Use the time with your kids as an excuse to indulge in the pink and red kitschy wonder of Valentine's Day.

Although this salad may seem a little more on the grown-up side, I've found plenty of kids who like the natural sweetness of beets. Crumbled goat cheese makes it even more accessible, and toasted walnuts add a contrasting, nutty crunch. This rich, pretty salad doesn't need more than a light dressing of olive oil and vinegar to tie it all together.

This recipe originally appeared as part of the column "Serious Entertaining."

February 2012

Recipe Details