This beet persimmon salad is short on ingredients but full of flavor. From earthy beets to sweet, fragrant persimmon, all topped off with a delicious creamy goat cheese dressing. Colorful, tasty and great for lunch or as a side.

side view of bowl of beet persimmon salad with persimmon behind bowl.

This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

I don't know about you, but I find myself craving some lighter, healthier foods to balance out the heavier and more indulgent ones, and that's particularly true this time of year. Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoy cookies and other sweets, but I find I can't have too much of them. Commercial frostings, for example, give me a headache as they are so often incredibly heavy on the sugar.

Sometimes some favorite veggie sides like braised red cabbage, Greek green beans (fasolakia) or spanakorizo (spinach rice) that we might have anyway help. But I also sometimes reach for a big old salad at lunch, like this delicious bowlful.

overhead partial view of a bowl of beet persimmon salad topped with goat cheese dressing.

A colorful winter beet salad

I know, salads can feel out of place as it gets colder. But there are actually some salads that feel just as at home during the colder months - it's all about the ingredients.

Salads are at their best when they are seasonal, though some ingredients, of course, can work in a variety of seasons. Beets (aka beetroot) are an ingredient that can work in a range of seasons to me, but is particularly good in autumn and winter salads.

If you've looked around here before you might have seen I have a bit of a thing for beet in salads as they really can work so well - be sure to also try my beet apple salad (and try the maple vinaigrette on other salads, too), roasted beet and butternut squash salad and raw beet quinoa salad.

Ingredients for beet persimmon salad

This salad is incredibly easy to prepare with only four ingredients in the salad and five in the dressing. Though the ingredients are few but mighty, as each adds that something to the end dish:

Roasted beets - these add texture, flavor and color to the salad. Roasting is a lovely way to cook beets as it brings out their sweetness and reduces any iron-y flavor you may get. It's also hands off as you just wrap and let the oven do the work.
Fuyu persimmons - these are the smaller, flatter of the varieties you commonly find that are much better for salads as you eat them when gently soft. They're great sliced up for a beautiful splash of color and sweet aromatic flavor.
Mixed greens or arugula (rocket) - you can use whatever greens you have to hand, but I love the slight peppery flavor of arugula so always like to have that in the mix.
Hazelnuts - hazelnuts and beet pair really well and toasting them really brings out all their wonderful nutty flavor. They add a lovely crunch to the salad.

bowl of greens, a persimmon, some beets, dishes with hazelnuts, goat cheese, oil, milk and vinegar.

I appreciate roasting the beets means a little more work than say buying ready-cooked ones, but it's well worth the effort. And you can make it easier by roasting them a day or two ahead of time and keep them refrigerated. Just add them in the oven when you are cooking something else. When you're ready to make the salad, you just slice a few things, toast the hazelnuts and whisk together the dressing and that's it.

If you can't get hazelnuts then you could substitute them with almonds, pecans or walnuts. The nuts are best toasted, though this can be skipped if you're in a rush. If you'd like to add to the salad, I like sometimes adding some shaved fennel for extra crunch and flavor. Some pomegranate seeds would also add some more festive color and bursts of flavor. Though really, it works well keeping it simple.

A rich and creamy dressing

I have to say, I am slightly obsessed with this goat cheese dressing which is really easy to make as well. Goat cheese and beet are already a great pairing, but adding the cheese to the dressing means everything is wrapped in that lovely flavor. It feels that bit more luscious. You may find you want to use it with far more than this salad, too! The dressing needs only a few ingredients:

Goat cheese - this gives a wonderful creaminess and slightly tart flavor to the dressing. Use a creamy goat cheese without a rind for this and crumble it up. As an alternative, you could use a mild feta, though goat cheese works particularly well.
Olive oil - I recommend virgin or extra virgin for the best flavor, though this dressing is more about the goat cheese so less important here.
Wine vinegar - you only need a little so it doesn't overpower the other ingredients, but just a splash balances the sweet and creaminess. You could also use apple cider vinegar, if you prefer.
Honey - honey pairs perfectly with goat cheese to give a little sweet to balance the other more tart and savory flavors.
Milk - the goat cheese makes the dressing pretty thick so a little milk helps to thin it out without changing the flavor, keeping it nicely balanced.

While I had this beet salad for lunch (and polished off a great big bowl of it), it would also make a great appetizer or side dish. It would be a great salad for entertaining as it's so easy but has lots of color and flavor. You could make a larger batch and serve on a platter as part of a buffet, for example.

side view of part of bowl of beet persimmon salad.

Whenever you choose to serve it, this beet persimmon salad is truly delicious. It's got so many textures and flavors despite so few ingredients. The crunch of the salad leaves and nuts, the soft sweet persimmon, the earthy roast beet and the creamy, tangy goat cheese dressing with a slight honey sweetness. It's a wonderful bowl of tasty goodness.

Try these other winter salads:

Winter fattoush salad (a tasty twist on the classic using apple and parsnip alongside the more classic dressing, greens and pita)
Fennel orange salad (a wonderfully simple Italian salad)
Halloumi pomegranate salad (wonderfully colorful and packed with flavor)
Lentil salad with roasted Brussels sprouts and grapes
Plus get more seasonal ideas in the winter recipes archives.

close view of bowl of beet persimmon salad drizzled with goat cheese dressing from overhead.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Beet persimmon salad with goat cheese dressing

This seasonal salad is a simple combination, full of delicious flavors and textures.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: American

Servings: or more (depending on how served)

Calories: 497kcal

Author: Caroline

Save

Ingredients

1 beet beetroot, medium-large, or 2 small
4 handfuls mixed salad leaves approximately
1 persimmon fuyu - the smaller, flatter ones rather than more astringent longer varieties
⅓ cup hazelnuts

For dressing

4 tablespoon goat cheese creamy rather than firm/with rind
2 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoon olive oil suggest virgin or extra virgin
2 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoon wine vinegar

Instructions

Ahead of time

Wash then wrap the beets whole in foil and roast for approximately 45 minutes to an hour, depending on size, at 400F/200C until tender to a knifepoint. Remove from oven and allow to cool. This can be done a day or two ahead and the beets kept in the fridge until needed.

To make salad

Gently toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet/frying pan or under the broiler/grill for a few minutes until you can start to smell them slightly but they are not burning. Watch closely and turn once or twice as they cook. Rub off any remaining skin with a clean towel then set nuts aside.
Place the salad leaves in a bowl or smaller bowls/plates. Cut the persimmon into thin slices and arrange over the salad leaves. Peel and cut the beet into wedges and arrange over the leaves as well. Add the toasted hazelnuts on top.
Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad then serve. Note - you don't want to put the dressing over too far ahead of serving as it can separate and look a little like it has curdled (although it tastes just fine) and takes on the beet color.

Video

Notes

You can use whatever salad leaves you prefer such as a spring mix, or here I had arugula (rocket) and spinach. Arugula adds a lovely peppery flavor which I highly recommend as at least part of the mix. I'd probably not recommend iceberg as it doesn't have all that much flavor, but a butter lettuce would work well if just using one. I sometimes also add in a little shaved fennel for an extra pop of flavor and crunch.

This probably gives you a bit more dressing than you need, but it is really tasty so you may want to add extra. Or if you are making for more people, you might want eg three times as much of the other ingredients, but only twice the dressing.

If you don't have hazelnuts, toasted slivered almonds would work well as an alternative.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Please consider !

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.

This post was first shared in November 2017 and has been updated, primarily with new photos and added information.

Try these other festive salads:

Cranberry Walnut Potato Salad by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Roasted Vegetable & Goat Cheese Salad by My Life Cookbook
Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon Dressing by Life Tastes Good
Sweet Potato French Bean Lentil Salad by Food Lust People Love
Winter Slaw with Pecans and Maple Dressing by Sprinkles and Sprouts

Beet persimmon salad with goat cheese dressing

A colorful winter beet salad

Ingredients for beet persimmon salad

A rich and creamy dressing

Try these other winter salads:

Beet persimmon salad with goat cheese dressing

Ingredients

For dressing

Instructions

Ahead of time

To make salad

Video

Notes

Nutrition

Remember to pin for later!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

A colorful winter beet salad

Ingredients for beet persimmon salad

A rich and creamy dressing

Try these other winter salads:

Beet persimmon salad with goat cheese dressing

Ingredients

For dressing

Instructions

Ahead of time

To make salad

Video

Notes

Nutrition

Remember to pin for later!

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply