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Home » Recipes » Instant Pot

Arugula Goat Cheese Beet Salad

Published: Jun 23, 2017 | Updated: Nov 22, 2024 | Author: Neena Panicker

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Instant Pot Beet Salad with Arugula Pinterest - salad on plate topped with walnuts and goat cheese - Paint the Kitchen Red


This beautiful and tasty arugula goat cheese beet salad recipe made with beets, goat cheese, and candied walnuts has a delightful balsamic vinaigrette dressing and is perfect as a side salad or a standalone lunch salad. [Instant Pot and stovetop instructions included for cooking the beets.]

Arugula Goat Cheese Beet Salad on white plate with beets and walnuts on black background

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the disclosure.

Table of Contents


  1. Introduction
  2. Tips
  3. FAQS
  4. Ingredients
  5. Instant Pot Step by Step Instructions
  6. Stovetop Directions
  7. Recipe Card – Printable
  8. Related Recipes and Guides

Introduction

The combination of ingredients in this salad with beets is common on restaurant menus – peppery arugula leaves, creamy goat cheese, earthy beets, walnuts, and balsamic salad dressing – and the flavors come together perfectly.

One reason people avoid cooking beets is that they can take a long time to cook.  There are different ways to cook beets: you can roast beets in the oven, boil beets in water on a stove-top or you can steam beets.

The best and quickest and easiest way to cook beets is to steam beets in the Instant Pot pressure cooker.  Instant Pot beets cook in 20 minutes including time to come to pressure. Cooking beets on the stovetop takes almost twice as long.

This is my favorite salad! The arugula salad with goat cheese recipe can be served as a side salad to a main course such as Indian Style Shepherd’s Pie, Instant Pot Coq au Vin or Instant Pot Peri Peri Chicken. You could also make it a soup and salad night with Indian curry soup, or creamy chicken soup.

Tips for the best Arugula Goat Cheese Salad


Beets

  • You don’t need to stick to red beets; try golden beets.
  • Pick beets with the greens still attached and with smooth skin.
  • If you don’t use all the Instant Pot beets, you can store the pressure-cooked beets in the fridge for a couple of days.
  • Cooking the beets in the pressure cooker is the quickest way to make beets, but you can use roasted beets or boil the beets on the stovetop.

Substitutions

  • You can make this salad pecans instead of walnuts.
  • You can use feta cheese instead of goat cheese.
  • Use maple syrup or honey for the sugar.
  • Use blue cheese instead of goat cheese for a stronger flavor.

Staining

  • Watch out for beet juice – it gets on everything (I speak from experience!) Make sure you use a cutting board or plate to place your beets on, or you might end up staining your countertop.  
  • If you have trouble getting the stain out of your hands, use lemon juice or try this trick using baking soda.

Beet greens

  • Don’t throw away the beet greens and stems.  They can be cooked the same way you would cook Swiss chard or other greens: put them in a soup or saute them in olive oil.  

FAQS


What to do if beets are still hard?

It could be the size of the beets. Larger beets and older beets are harder to cook. Just pressure cook them for another couple of minutes. Hard water can also affect cooking time.

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Ingredients

Instant Pot Beet Salad Candied Walnut Ingredients - brown sugar, ghee or butter, walnuts
  • Brown sugar
  • Chopped nuts
  • Ghee or butter
Instant Pot Beet Salad Dressing Ingredients - olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, black pepper, sugar, salt, garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Dijon mustard
  • Black pepper
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Garlic
Instant Pot Beet Salad ingredients - whole beets with leaves on wood table
  • Beets

More details in the recipe card at the bottom of this post

How to Make Arugula Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese (Step by Step Instructions)

  1. Make dressing
  2. Make candied nuts
  3. Place steamer basket in Instant Pot
  4. Place beets in basket
  5. Pressure cook and release pressure
  6. Cool beets
  7. Peel and slice the beets
  8. Assemble the salad

Make the dressing

Instant Pot Beet Salad Dressing ingredients in turquoise bowl
  • To make the balsamic dressing, combine balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper, and sugar using a whisk; set aside.

Make candied nuts

Instant Pot Beet Salad collage - walnuts in frying pan, saute, cool
  • Combine butter or ghee, walnuts and brown sugar in a small frying pan.
  • Saute until sugar has melted and nuts are toasted.
  • Cool on a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Place steamer basket in Instant Pot

Instant Pot Beet Salad Instructions collage - beets on counter, water in inner pot, steamer basket in inner pot
  • Rinse the beets and trim the stems of the beets, leaving about 1 inch, (and leave the roots intact.)
  • Fill inner pot with 1 cup water.
  • Place steamer basket in the inner pot.

Place beets in basket

Beets in steamer basket in Instant Pot
  • Place beets in the steamer basket.

Pressure cook and release pressure

Instant Pot pressure cook instructions collage: close lid, program, float valve up, float valve down
  1. Close the lid.
  2. Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
  3. The display will go from On to 15:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
  4. Do a quick release of pressure. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.

Cool beets

Instant Pot beets instructions collage - cooked beets in inner pot, beets in steamer basket, beets in bowl
  • When cool enough to handle, remove steamer basket from inner pot.
  • Cool Instant Pot beets completely.

Peel and slice the beets

Instant Pot Beet Salad collage - cut ends off, peel beet, cut beet into cubes
  • Cut off both ends of each beet.
  • Peel with a vegetable peeler or remove skin with your hands.
  • Cube Instant Pot beets into ½ inch pieces.

Assemble the beet and goat cheese salad

Instant Pot Beet Salad with arugula, goat cheese and walnuts on a white plate

Assemble individual salads:

  • Start with a layer of arugula or other greens
  • Sprinkle goat cheese, candied nuts
  • Add beet pieces
  • Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing

How to Make Beet Salad with Arugula using Stovetop Beets


Make the recipe as directed except boil the beets in a large pot and drain.

  • Fill a large pot with water.
  • Add the beets to the water.
  • Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
  • Cook beets until tender, about 45 minutes to one hour.
  • Carefully drain the beets and allow to cool

See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.

Instant Pot Beet Salad on white plate with beets and walnuts on black background

Arugula Beet Salad with Candied Walnuts and Goat Cheese

This beautiful and tasty Arugula Salad with beets, toasted candied walnuts, goat cheese and arugula has a delightful balsamic vinaigrette dressing and is perfect as a side salad or as a standalone lunch salad. Cooking the beets in the Instant Pot is the most convenient and easy way to cook beets.
5 from 7 votes
PRINT PIN RATE
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 salads
Calories: 319
Author: Paint the Kitchen Red
Prevent Screen from Going Dark

Equipment

  • Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
  • Small Bowl
  • Whisk
  • Small nonstick frying pan
  • Parchment paper
  • Steamer Basket
  • Vegetable peeler

Ingredients
  

Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

  • 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
  • ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar

Candied Walnuts

  • 1 tablespoon ghee or butter
  • 1 cup walnuts chopped
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Beets

  • 6 medium beets

Salad

  • 6 cups arugula 
  • 2 oz  goat cheese crumbled
  • Candied walnuts
  • Beets
  • Balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing

Instructions
 

Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

  • Combine balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, black pepper and sugar in a small bowl.
  • Stir with a whisk and set aside.

Candied Walnuts

  • Combine butter or ghee, walnuts and brown sugar in a small frying pan.
  • Saute until sugar has melted and walnuts are toasted.
  • Cool on a silicone mat or parchment paper and set aside.

Instant Pot Beets

  • Rinse the beets and trim the stems of the beets, leaving about 1 inch. (Leave the roots intact.)
  • Fill inner pot with 1 cup water.
  • Place beets in a steamer basket in the inner pot.
  • Pressure cook for 15 minutes on High Pressure.
  • Do a quick release of pressure and open the Instant Pot.   [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
  • Press Cancel to turn of Instant Pot. Open the lid and when cool enough to handle, remove steamer basket from inner pot.
  • Cool Instant Pot beets completely.
  • Cut off both ends of each beet.
  • Peel beets with a vegetable peeler or remove skin by hand.
  • Cube beets into ½ inch pieces.

Stovetop Beets

  • Fill a large pot with water and add the beets to the water.
  • Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
  • Cook beets until tender, about 45 minutes to one hour. Carefully drain the beets and allow to cool.
  • Cut off both ends of each beet. Peel beets with a vegetable peeler or remove skin by hand. Cube beets into ½ inch pieces.

Air Fryer Beets

  • Peel and cut the beets into 1 inch pieces.
  • Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
  • Toss the beets with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  • Air fry the beets for 20 to 25 minutes or until the beets are cooked through, shaking the basket halfway through.

Assemble Individual Salads

  • Start with a layer of arugula.
  • Sprinkle goat cheese and candied walnuts.
  • Add beet pieces.
  • Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing.

Notes

  • Substitute pecans for walnuts if you wish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 319 kcal | Carbohydrates: 15 g | Protein: 7 g | Fat: 27 g | Saturated Fat: 6 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 19 g | Cholesterol: 4 mg | Sodium: 287 mg | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 10 g
Course Sides
Cuisine American
Main Ingredient vegetarian
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I am not a certified nutritionist.  I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers.  If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons,  I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.

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Comments

  1. sissi says

    August 08, 2020 at 9:03 am

    5 stars
    great instructions and super recipe

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      August 10, 2020 at 10:43 am

      Sissi, thank you for trying it out and I’m very happy to hear you liked it.

      Reply
  2. Launa says

    March 03, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent salad‼️ The flavor combination is very well balanced. This is a keeper. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      March 04, 2019 at 5:05 pm

      Thanks, Launa – so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I’ve on beets kick lately and put them in everything!

      Reply
  3. Eric Post says

    December 22, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    Is it possible to cook and cut the beets the night before and assemble the salad the next day?

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      December 22, 2018 at 5:26 pm

      Eric – I do this sometimes. So, yes. Thanks for your question.

      Reply
  4. Lesley says

    December 09, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    5 stars
    Fantastic salad, have made 4 times already!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      December 09, 2018 at 4:34 pm

      Thanks for the comment, Lesley – I’m so happy you liked it!

      Reply
  5. Sam says

    July 20, 2018 at 12:01 pm

    5 stars
    Wow, amazing flavors! And it was really easy to make, thanks to your awesome instructions and beautiful photos! thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      July 20, 2018 at 1:15 pm

      You’re welcome, Sam!

      Reply
  6. Heather says

    May 06, 2018 at 5:57 am

    5 stars
    I made this salad to take to a family event. The whole salad was great: the pepperiness of the arugula contrasts well with the candied walnuts, along with the acidity of the balsamic dressing and the tartness of the goat cheese. But I wanted to comment of the beets. They were amazing! So many people asked how I made them because their consistency was perfect. I never would have thought about using the Instant Pot to cook them had I not found this recipe. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      May 06, 2018 at 7:56 pm

      Heather – you’re so welcome. Comments like yours help out other readers who’re looking at the recipe, so I really appreciate it; thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂

      Reply
  7. Bruce says

    June 24, 2017 at 6:08 am

    5 stars
    A perfect complement to a lazy summer evening meal. Thanks, Bruce

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      June 30, 2017 at 9:38 am

      Bruce, I agree! It’s a very refreshing salad. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

      Reply
5 from 7 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Hi, I'm Neena Panicker, and welcome! I am the creator, photographer, and author of recipes and tips at Paint the Kitchen Red. I live in the glorious west in Salt Lake City, Utah with my family.

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