Spinach Salad with Beets, Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese

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Published on October 5, 2023 by Steve Cylka

Fresh and healthy salad recipe made with baby spinach, spiralled beets, mandarin oranges, candied pecans and crumbled goat cheese with a honey dijon vinaigrette.

Overhead picture of salad on a white plate.

Every one in a while I make a new salad that comes together so well and all the ingredients combine to make something super delicious. That was the case with this spinach salad with beets.

This salad came together at the grocery store. I saw a package of spiralled beets and thought it would work well in a salad. To go with the beets, I picked up some baby spinach. Baby spinach is an excellent leafy green to build a salad upon.

Close up picture with salad that has oranges and pecans.

Ingredient Notes

Baby Spinach – Fresh baby spinach is perfect in salads. You could also use a fresh spring mix as well.
Beets – I had never used raw spiralled beets in a salad, so I was unsure how it would work. It turned out awesome. The beets were so fresh and added a bright crunch to the salad. This will not be the last time I use beets in a salad!
Mandarin Oranges – these go very well topped on a salad and I thought they would compliment the beets. I already have a salad recipe with some found here : Mandarin Orange and Spinach Salad.
Goat cheese – I love cheese in salad as well. Feta and old cheddar are awesome topped on salad, but this time, I decided to crumble some goat cheese on top. It was so good!
Candied pecans – I made these candied pecans to put on top of this salad. It was such a good addition and added a lot of flavour to each bite. Making candied pecans is very easy and I have detailed instructions here: How to make Candied Pecans
Honey Dijon Mustard Salad Dressing – The salad dressing I used was a honey dijon mustard vinaigrette. It was so good and was the perfect dressing to pull everything together! I also thought that poppyseed dressing would go very well also. I have a recipe for this honey dijon dressing found here: Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

One word of warning for these pecans – they are addictive! Wow, they taste so good, I found myself eating them by the handful. Make sure to save some for the salad!

Overhead picture of a fresh salad on a plate.

How To Assemble Spinach Salad

This salad is very easy to make and my recommendation is to assemble it only when you are ready to serve it at mealtime. Get all the ingredients ready and prepped. Also keep everything, except the candied pecans in the fridge. Having the salad chilled gives every bite a crisp fresh bite. So nice!

I like to assemble this salad on individual plates. Some salads I will mix and toss in a large salad bowl and then scoop out the salad to plates. But, assembling the salad on individual plates is better for presentation and will ensure that each plate has the same amount of each ingredient.

Take a salad plate and make a pile of some fresh baby spinach in the centre of the plate. Top with some spiralled beets, pecans, mandarin orange wedges, and some crumbled goat cheese. Then drizzle the honey dijon mustard vinaigrette on top of the spinach salad.

I have served this salad at a dinner party and the guests absolutely loved it. Both the presentation and the taste are top tier and will be sure to wow everyone.

Recipes To Serve With Spinach Salad

This salad is perfect for the summer and ideal to go alongside some grilling. Here are a bunch of grilling recipes that would be a perfect compliment to this salad!