Roasted root vegetables, toasted walnuts, and crumbled goat cheese, and spring mix greens tossed in a maple balsamic dressing. This salad is so flavorful and delicious.

Why I love this salad so much

This salad is my play on my favorite salad from one of the best breakfast and lunch spots in Grand Rapids. Marie Catribs menu is full of fabulousness. This salad is just one of many amazing dishes from this restaurant. Sadly, Marie’s is no longer. I don’t often get emotional over the closing of a restaurant, but I did when this one closed. It was a place that felt like home when you ate there, not because what they made was the type of food I grew up on but because Marie and her son Fuad made you feel at home. She would leave the open kitchen, walk around to great people, hold babies, and check on people as they ate. That sort of thing means a lot. All the food was made with love and in the best way possible from scratch with whole ingredients. This salad has been on the menu, I dare say, since the beginning. It was called The Chev.

Gather these ingredients

spring mix greens
roasted root vegetables: beets, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, carrots
goat cheese
walnuts
red onion
balsamic vinegar
maple syrup
dijon mustard
olive oil
garlic
salt and black pepper

How to make “The Chev” salad

Roast vegetables: This can be any combination of root veggies. I like squash, beets, sweet potatoes, and red-skinned potatoes, but you can use whatever you like. Toss skinned and cubed vegetables in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them out on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove and turn the vegetables over on the pan halfway through cooking.
Prepare the salad dressing by whisking balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, garlic powder, and salt and pepper together.
Toast walnuts. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and place in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes. You can also toast them in a frying pan on the stovetop, keeping them moving until they smell toasty and fragrant.
Add greens to a large bowl, add vegetables, sliced red onion or scallions, scatter walnuts on top, and crumble goat cheese. Then drizzle with maple balsamic dressing, give it a few cracks of black pepper, and enjoy!

I love salad. However, I don’t love fixing salads. This new eating plan of mine, I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to make the SALADS!! I WANT TO make the COOKIES and eat the COOKIES, but…Chicken butt. Could someone please make a kale power salad that tastes like a double chocolate chip cookie? Please? Pretty please with chocolate chips on top. This salad is the next best thing to a chocolate chip cookie. I could literally eat it everyday. If you have a healthy salad that tastes like chocolate chip cookies, please send it to my inbox?

I would love to hear from you. Let me know what your favorite salad is. Have you ever been to Marie Catribs and had this salad? Please pin it to your salad Pinterest board, follow me on all my socials, and I would really appreciate it if you gave this recipe all the stars below in the recipe card. Thank you so much, XO Sheila