First, prepare the walnuts for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Then, lay walnuts down on the baking sheet and drizzle with maple syrup and season with a pinch of salt. Bake at 400ºF for 8 minutes.
Remove the walnuts from the oven and immediately pour them into a glass bowl. Set aside to cool.
Increase the temperature of the oven to 425ºF and spray a 9x9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Place the beets into the baking dish with one of the ends flat side down. Scatter the onions and garlic cloves around the beets and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.
Cover the baking dish with a cover or aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes or until beets are fork tender.
While the beets are baking, prepare the dressing. Place olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, and salt into a jar and shake until all ingredients are combined.
Remove the beets from the oven and carefully remove the skins of the beets using a paper towel. The skins should remove easily if beets are cooked.
Then, add roasted onions and garlic to the dressing and shake the dressing jar one last time until all the ingredients are combined.
Finally, before assembling the salad, chop the candied walnuts into pieces and chop the beets into half moons.
Assemble the salad by adding the spinach, pears, beets, and walnuts to a mixing bowl. Drizzle the dressing (as well as the onions and garlic in the dressing) over the salad ingredients and toss until all the ingredients are coated in dressing.
Finally, crumble the goat cheese over the top of the salad and serve.