Beet and Goat Cheese Napoleons
This beautiful appetizer is great to make for special occasions, and layers sweet roasted beets and herbed goat cheese.
How GORGEOUS are these? These beet and goat cheese napoleons look like little colorful cakes!
I first saw these done in an issue of Saveur magazine and I practically fell over when I saw the photo. There’s something really festive about these beet and goat cheese stacks.
While they are a little bit of time to put together, it’s completely worth it for a special dinner or during the holidays.
If you’re looking for a simpler preparation of beets, I love these Roasted Beets with lemon, thyme, and pistachios.
To get started, we need some beets:
Wrap them up in foil and roast them for an hour until they’re soft. That’s when you peel them and slice them up. How beautiful are the insides of beets?!
Use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles from the beet slices, then gather up some herbs for the goat cheese. Here I have parsley, sage, and watercress, but use what you’ve got (as long as it isn’t something like cilantro…do herbs like thyme or mint if you want to experiment).
Work the herbs into the softened goat cheese:
Then start putting scoops of goat cheese on the beet slices and stacking them up:
Give it a little smush with your fingers to press out the goat cheese evenly:
Then take a straight edge like a knife to remove the excess goat cheese from the sides. Garnish with the pistachios and watercress, and you’re ready to serve:
Enjoy!
Beet and Goat Cheese Napoleons
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beets golden and/or red
- 11 oz package goat cheese softened (at room temperature)
- 4 sage leaves minced
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- salt and cracked pepper
- 3/4 tsp honey
- watercress for garnish
- chopped pistachios for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Wrap the beets individually in aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour, until a knife is easily inserted into the beet. Let them cool, and peel the skin off. Use a mandolin to slice the beets about 1/4 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out beet slice circles.
- Mix the sage and parsley with the goat cheese. Add the honey and season with freshly cracked pepper and salt to taste. Put dollops of goat cheese in between layers of sliced beet, until you get five slices of beet per napoleon. Serve with the chopped pistachios on top and watercress on the plate. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
46 Comments on “Beet and Goat Cheese Napoleons”
why not cilantro ?
My girlfriend brought these for a Valentines Day dinner and used a heart shaped cookie cutter. It was the highlight of the dinner! Beautiful and delicious.
I love the heart shaped cookie cutter idea. So cute for Valentine’s Day. Thanks for sharing!
Was served this with my salad at an event the other night. Went back to the kitchen and asked for another salad instead of my entree.
Another enticing meal choice. Your variety, novelty and well photographed selections make your website a favorite and usually the first to search when preparing food. Thanks again for your generosity in sharing your finds, presenting them in an easy-to-follow manner, and giving us incentive to veer from the same-old, same-old meals. You’re the best!
Thank you Patti! I’m so glad you’re enjoying all the recipe ideas!
I’ll be making these for my next dinner party! Great recipe and stunning photos. So pleased I found your blog. 🙂
Hope they are a hit Jacquee! Enjoy =)
I love beets. I love goat cheese. I love THESE! So stunning.
Thanks Lindsay! You got me hooked on fried goat cheese in salads (from your raw brussel sprouts salad with goat cheese post). Goat cheese is the best =)
Okay I think I’m going to be dreaming about these tonight! Haha This is quite exquisite!!
LOL! Sweet dreams then =) Glad you love these so much!
This looks incredible, I just bought some beets today, so this is a must try.
This is SUCH a beautiful, delicious dish!! Can’t wait to try it!
Ha! It was me in FPD sseveral days ago and well oh well you are in there as well. Very good job, this definitely deserve to be featured.
Wow. Breathtakingly beautiful!!!
Thank you Christine!
If I make these the night before do you think the beet juice will color the goat cheese pink after it sits a while?
Hi Jena, the beet juice will migrate a bit through the goat cheese if you store them overnight. It’s not totally pink but it’s noticeable (at least on the edges). They still taste great, but the look of it is different.
One word: yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum! And you’re right, looks gorgeous! Although I am a little disappointed I didn’t see any pastry as in the real Napoleon.
Amazing presentation Joanne! It looks like a food magazine cover
These are indeed gorgeous, and quite delicious I suspect! I adore beets and this is such a fantastic way to enjoy them, love it!
These are absolutely gorgeous! I wish I liked beets because I’d be making them in a second! My have to substitute another root veggie. Great job on the pictures!