Arugula Salad with Pears and Goat Cheese
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A simple, tasty pear salad recipe, with arugula, red onion, walnuts and two cheeses —creamy goat and blue cheese. This is a perfect arugula salad for everyday or having friends over.
I’m always searching for simple but elevated salad recipes like this one, and this arugula salad fits that description to a “T”. Because I think a pear salad recipe should not only have crisp sweet pears in it, I went ahead and added two different kinds of cheese (blue and goat).
Also, there’s toasted walnuts and a smattering of thinly sliced red onion. This unbeatable combination of nuts, soft cheese and sweet fruit is a component of my favorite radicchio salad.
Arugula salad dressing
The mix of nutty arugula greens, walnuts, salty cheese and sweet pears needs a dressing that mimics those very flavors.
The dressing that ties this whole beauty together is a light and tangy-sweet vinaigrette, blended with lemon, white wine vinegar (I choose rice vinegar because it has lower acidity) and a dash of honey.
Cheeses to use in the salad
Pears and cheese are a classic combination, and for good reason. Italians love a classic pairing of pears with cheese. Compared to other fruits like apples and peaches, pears have subtle acidity and a distinctive texture.
Those two qualities help the fruit balance beautifully with all kinds of cheese, especially young, soft goat cheese and creamy blue cheese.
- Choose a soft, unripened goat cheese (the kind that comes in a log) and a creamy, cow’s milk blue cheese. Sweet Gorgonzola or Danish-style blue are both good blue cheeses to use.
- Not a fan of goat OR blue cheese? A good Parmesan or sheep’s milk cheese like aged Pecorino would be delicious!
My salad pear recommendations
- Bartlett: This variety is an all-around good choice for salads, snacking and even desserts. Bartlett pears are tinged with yellow when ripe and ready to eat. These pears are juicy, sweet and have a good amount of acidity to balance the sugar.
- D’Anjou (or Anjou): This pear looks a bit like Bartlett, plump and green. It has a pleasantly crisp texture which makes it a perfect pear for salads and also roasting.
- Comice: My absolute favorite pear to eat raw with cheese, and also what I used for this salad. Comice pears are green, blushed beautifully with red spots. They have soft, creamy flesh and are exquisitely sweet and juicy when ripe.
- Bosc: This pear variety is hard to confuse with the others. Bosc pears have a bronze-amber colored skin, and an elegant, tall shape. I find their flavor on the spicy side, but they can have a less than juicy texture.
Arugula Salad with Pears, Goat Cheese and Walnuts
Equipment
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons chopped shallot, about 1
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Salad
- 5 ounces prewashed arugula greens
- â…“ cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 green or red pear, cored and sliced into 1/4" half-moons
- â…“ cup toasted walnuts*
- 2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
- 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup mixed microsprouts, optional
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
To make the dressing:
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or mini food processor until very smooth. Note: The dressing can be prepared up to 3 days in advance. Keep it refrigerated in a sealed container.
To make the salad
- Put the greens in a large bowl or on a platter. Top with the remaining ingredients.
- Drizzle with 2 or 3 tablespoons of the dressing and toss gently to coat. Serve the salad with additional dressing to taste on the side.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Toss the salad just before serving so the greens don’t become soggy.
- If you’re not making the salad right away, sprinkle the slices with lemon juice to help stop them from browning. Brown pears will still taste fine, but they don’t look as pretty on your salad.
- To toast walnuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake 10-12 minutes, until the nuts are light golden brown.
- I like to blend this dressing in a mini food processor because it emulsifies into a creamy texture. If you don’t have one (or a blender) whisk the ingredients in a bowl, adding the oil last in a steady stream while you whisk. Or simply combine the ingredients in a lidded jar and shake vigorously.
- Choose pears that feels firm, but with a slight give at the top near the stem. This means the fruit is at a good stage of ripeness, not too soft (and overripe) or too hard.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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This salad is great and incredibly simple to make. I can eat this every day for the rest of my life. I’m in love.
This looks so delicious I’m going to try it for Christmas dinner.
This is sooooooooo good! This will be in my regular rotation. I’ve made this recipe probably a dozen times in the last couple months, bringing it to various family and work gatherings. Everyone has gone nuts for it and wants the recipe! A couple times I used feta cheese and swapped the pear for apple because it’s all the store had and it was excellent too. Thanks for a homerun recipe 💓💓
Very tasty combination of flavors. Everyone liked it at Thanksgiving. Thank you!
Could I use white balsamic vinegar,
Yes, you can!
So much flavour.
Definitely will make for my next dinner party. Only used Roquefort cheese and wow!
Used Portuguese Rocha pears which were nice and crunchy.
Really good salad . I love it!
So I’m a cook and I made this recipe in bulk for a group of about 55 retired seniors. First let me say I was already excited because I love arugula and goat cheese (I regularly eat in on pizza), and I became extra excited when slicing the pears.
This salad was scrumptious!! the dressing was finger licking good!! Seriously I’m usually not a big salad fan, but I chose to eat a giant bowl of this and savor every bite. Highly recommend!
Wow I’m SO glad to hear that! Thank you Shaina.
Delicious salad! The dressing was really amazing too.
Loved it. Huge hit. Definitely on the repeat list !
Can you please edit the ingredients to say white wine vinegar or rice vinegar? I used white cooking wine….
Thanks Amber – I just updated that to be clearer!
Amazing recipe! Loved this, so tasty. Going to make this often.
This was delicious! Definitely making again.
Perfection! My family loved it. It’s now my favorite go to salad for get togethers. The dressing is wonderful. I used rice vinegar and it came out delicious. The dressing is even tastier the next day refrigerated over night.
Rice vinegar is perfect – so glad you enjoyed!
Hi Karen! Can the dressing be made and stored a few days ahead of serving? This recipe was fantastic.
Yes!
I agree it was so good it wasn’t enough (lol)
This was a great salad. Tasty too. I added a bit of kale to the Arugula as well as a mix to toasted nuts. It was a winner for Mother’s day lunch. The dressing is lip smacking. It was a little thick for me (as I like dressing more oily vs creamy). Would definitely make it again
This recipe was so easy and good. I loved the dressing. My husband is normally not a fan of salads with fruit but he loved it and complained I didn’t make enough. Thank you so much
I made this salad for a fall party and it was a huge hit! Everyone wanted the recipe. I used rice vinegar in the dressing and it was perfect.
So glad!!
this looks so good — fresh, tasty, and healthy! I wish I had some right now. XO