Beet Chips With Goat Cheese, Walnuts, And Balsamic Glaze

Here’s a simple beet appetizer for all our last-minute entertainers. Crispy beet chips are topped with creamy goat cheese, walnuts, and arugula, then drizzled with balsamic glaze. It’s easy to make, uses just five ingredients, and is ready in 10 minutes!

Beet and Goat Cheese Appetizer on a serving plate - 1

We love easy last-minute appetizer recipes like this for nights when we find ourselves unexpectedly hosting a hungry crowd. This bite-size beet and goat cheese appetizer is full of flavor and looks pretty, too.

To save on time we use bagged beet chips, but you can make your own, too (see our how-to below). We make it and then serve it right away so the chips stay crunchy.

Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this beet appetizer with goat cheese:

Beet chips – we usually buy two bags of beet chips to make sure that we find enough larger and nice-looking chips for this recipe.
Goat cheese – for its creamy, tangy taste.
Walnuts – for a wonderful nutty crunch.
Arugula – slightly peppery and earthy, and adds a vibrant pop of green.
Balsamic glaze – a little sweet-sour drizzle balances everything out.

looking down on this easy beet appetizer recipe - 2

a close up of beet chips topped with goat cheese - 3

How to make this beet appetizer

It’s easy to make this beet appetizer in a few simple steps:

Go through your bags of beet chips to find the best-looking ones (about 24) and then arrange them on a plate.
Top each beet with some goat cheese.
Sprinkle a few walnut pieces on top, followed by a piece of arugula, and then drizzle a little balsamic glaze on top and serve these tasty bites right away. That’s it!

Take it to the next level with homemade beet chips

If you have a bit of time, making your own beet chips is easy to do ! Here’s how:

Wash a few small beets thoroughly, then slice them as thinly as possible, yielding about 6 slices per beet. Toss them with oil and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 7-10 minutes. Watch them carefully so that they don’t burn. Reduce the heat to 220 degrees and continue baking until they are almost crispy, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Remove them from the oven, toss with salt, and let them cool to room temperature.

Variations to try

This beet appetizer recipe is versatile so you can put your own spin on it. Here are some ideas to switch up the flavors and textures:

Use a different soft cheese like cream cheese, ricotta, burrata, or even feta crumbles.
Switch up the nuts; pecans or almonds make a good substitute.
Try candied nuts or seeds for an extra-sweet crunch.
Use a runny honey in place of the balsamic glaze.
Swap the arugula for fresh herbs like chives, parsley, mint, or basil.