Arugula Pear Salad
Our Arugula Pear Salad is an elegant option as a first course, but complex enough in flavor and texture to serve as a beautiful entrée salad. Peppery arugula, sweet thinly sliced pears, toasted walnuts, and tangy blue cheese, combine to make the most delightful salad for your holiday table. Drizzled with the most amazing salad dressing, each ingredient complements the others to produce a light and fresh appetizer salad. A great start for a special meal any time of year, this delicious salad takes only minutes to prepare and will impress your guests every time.
It’s the little extra touches that make this salad extraordinary. We made an infused white balsamic vinaigrette to add unique flavor to our salad dressing. Want to learn about a few more tips to make this salad extra special every time? Check out our Blog Comments & Tips below.
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RECIPE
(Check out our Step by Step Instructions below the recipe card.)
Recipe updated as of 3/28/22
ARUGULA PEAR SALAD
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once pan is hot, add a single layer of walnuts to the dry pan (you may need to do this in batches), and stirring often, toast for about 5 minutes until fragrant and toasted (see Note #2). Transfer walnuts onto a sheet of parchment paper (or a plate), and spread in a single layer to cool. Once cool, chop walnuts into large pieces, and set aside.
- To an 8 ounce jar, add white balsamic vinegar, Herbes de Provence, Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. Seal the lid tightly, and shake vigorously until the salad dressing is thoroughly combined and vinegar and oil have emulsified.
- Core and thinly slice pears into about ¼ inch thickness, and set aside. Add 10 ounces baby arugula to a large salad bowl. Shake dressing vigorously again, then drizzle half to three quarters of the salad dressing onto the arugula (see Note #3), and toss well to coat. Divide salad onto each salad plate, arrange pear slices on top of each salad (see Note #4), and sprinkle with toasted walnuts and crumbled blue cheese. Shake dressing again, and drizzle remaining dressing in a circular motion over pears. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Regular white balsamic vinegar works well in this dressing. If you want it extra special, we like using a citrus infused white balsamic vinegar to pair well with the flavors of this salad. We recommend these brands, as they work beautifully with this recipe. Olive A Sudden Cara Cara Orange-Vanilla White Balsamic, or Temecula Olive Oil Company Honey California Balsamico Bianco, or Il Fustino Pompelmo White Balsamic Vinegar. If you don’t have any infused white balsamic vinegar on hand and want to add a citrus note, just add some fresh orange zest to the salad dressing.
- Be attentive and stir often, as walnuts can easily burn and will turn bitter.
- You may not need to use all the salad dressing. Start by drizzling on only half of the salad dressing, toss well, then add a little more if needed. Reserve one quarter of the dressing for the final drizzle over the pears.
- Do not slice pears until just before ready to serve, otherwise, they will oxidize and turn brown. Then move quickly to plate the salad.
- Salad dressing and toasted walnuts can be made ahead of time. Do not cut the pears or assemble the salad until just before serving.
- Yields 6 servings as a first course to a meal, or 3 servings as main course portions.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
282.70Fat (grams)
22.47Sat. Fat (grams)
5.54Carbs (grams)
16.46Fiber (grams)
3.96Net carbs
12.50Sugar (grams)
9.73Protein (grams)
7.37Sodium (milligrams)
306.14Cholesterol (grams)
14.17Nutritional information provided is strictly an estimate and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods.
Step by Step Instructions
PREPARATION
Organize all your tools and ingredients before you begin. Getting all your ingredients in one place at the beginning will shorten your prep time.
STEP 1
Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. While the pan is heating, measure ⅔ cup walnut pieces. Once pan is hot, add a single layer of walnuts to the dry pan (you may need to do this in batches), and stirring often, toast for about 5 minutes until fragrant and toasted (see Note below). Transfer walnuts onto a sheet of parchment paper (or a plate), and spread in a single layer to cool. Once cool, chop walnuts into large pieces, and set aside.
Note: Be attentive and stir often, as walnuts can easily burn and will turn bitter.
STEP 2
To an 8 ounce jar, add 4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (see Note below), ⅛ teaspoon Herbes de Provence, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (classic), ½ teaspoon organic honey, 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper (or white pepper). Seal the lid tightly, and shake vigorously until the salad dressing is thoroughly combined and vinegar and oil have emulsified.
Note: Regular white balsamic vinegar works well in this dressing. If you want it extra special, we like using a citrus infused white balsamic vinegar to pair well with the flavors of this salad. We recommend these brands, as they work beautifully with this recipe. Olive A Sudden Cara Cara Orange-Vanilla White Balsamic, or Temecula Olive Oil Company Honey California Balsamico Bianco, or Il Fustino Pompelmo White Balsamic Vinegar. If you don’t have any infused white balsamic vinegar on hand and want to add a citrus note, just add some fresh orange zest to the salad dressing.
STEP 3
Core 2 large firm & ripened pears (3 small), and thinly slice to about ¼ inch thickness, and set aside. Add 10 ounces baby arugula to a large salad bowl. Shake dressing vigorously again, then drizzle about half of the salad dressing onto the arugula (see Note “a” below), and toss well to coat. Divide salad onto each salad plate, arrange pear slices on top of each salad (see Note “b” below), sprinkle with toasted walnuts, and crumble 4 ounces wedge blue cheese over the top. Shake dressing again, and drizzle remaining dressing in a circular motion over pears. Serve immediately.
Note: a) You may not need to use all the salad dressing. Start by drizzling on only half of the salad dressing, toss well, then add a little more if needed. Reserve one quarter of the dressing for the final drizzle over the pears. b) Do not slice pears until just before ready to serve, otherwise, they will oxidize and turn brown. Then move quickly to plate the salad.
SERVE
Yields six servings as a first course to a meal, or 3 servings as an entrée.
Notes:
Salad dressing and toasted walnuts can be made ahead of time. Do not cut the pears or assemble the salad until just before serving.
Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
VIDEO
How to Make this Delightful Arugula Pear Salad in Minutes!
Blog Comments & Tips
A wonderfully festive salad!
During a dinner party a few months ago, I served this salad to my guests as a first course. Even those that are not a fan of fruit in salad, absolutely loved the combination of peppery arugula, sweet pears, toasted walnuts, and tangy blue cheese. Our Arugula Pear Salad has sweet elements, but it is definitely not a sweet salad. The contrasting flavors and textures in this salad make it a lovely and interesting option as an appetizer.
This salad is so versatile that it can be served as a first course or an entrée salad, for a winter holiday meal or a summer dinner party. Whether you are serving this at your holiday table, or any special meal, we know you won’t be disappointed. It looks elegant and has sophisticated flavors, but is really simple to make.
There are a few simple tips and tricks to making this Arugula Pear Salad just perfect. If you can, spend a little extra on the items that will take this salad up a notch, such as a great quality blue cheese, or an infused white balsamic vinegar. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your choice of balsamic vinegars. As a complement to the pears and the other ingredients in our Arugula Pear Salad, try one of these options:
Olive A Sudden Cara Cara Orange-Vanilla White Balsamic
Temecula Olive Oil Company Honey California Balsamico Bianco
Il Fustino Pompelmo White Balsamic Vinegar
Citrus infused vinegars are light and fresh tasting, and pair well with the blue cheese and pears. The honey infused balsamic offers a lovely warming and somewhat sweeter note to the dressing, and tastes fabulous with all the other ingredients. We tried this dressing with each of these infused vinegars, and they are all delicious in this salad recipe.
If you cannot find an infused white balsamic vinegar, then Trader Joe’s White Modena Vinegar is a great substitute. If you want a soft citrus flavor but don’t have an infused vinegar, just add a little fresh citrus zest to the dressing to perk it up.
This salad is light enough for summertime, but the flavor combination and presentation is special enough for your holiday table. Here are a few simple tips and tricks to making this Arugula Pear Salad just perfect.
Our 5 tips to making a delicious Arugula Pear Salad:
Good quality extra virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinegars.
Using organic pears and baby arugula will make a difference in the flavor.
It’s best to buy a great quality wedge blue cheese, not a tub of already crumbled blue cheese. It makes a difference in the flavor, plus it only takes seconds to rip a chunk off the wedge and crumble it. If you can, buy locally sourced blue cheese, or pimp it up and check out our “Make it Lux” tip in the Pimp Our Recipe section below.
Toast your walnuts. The flavor is more intense, which works well in this salad. Here is a little trick to get the perfect toasted walnut flavor and texture. After toasting and cooling the walnut pieces, separate the skins and discard them, before roughly chopping them. This will get rid of that papery texture and let you taste the purity of the toasted walnuts.
Stick with white balsamic vinegar, which looks beautiful when drizzled over the pears. Dark balsamic vinegars tend to be stronger in flavor and can overpower this salad. In addition, they are visually not as appealing on this salad.
Have any dietary preferences that won’t quite work with our recipe? It’s time to customize and Pimp Our Recipe.
Pimp Our Recipe:
Make it Milder: Don’t like blue cheese? Then ditch the blue cheese, and replace it with the same amount of goat cheese. It will offer a creamy and tangy compliment to the other ingredients.
Make it Dairy Free & Vegan: Omit the cheese all together.
Make it Lux: Instead of using blue cheese, opt for Roquefort cheese. Blue cheese can be made from different types of milk (cow or sheep). Roquefort cheese is made exclusively from sheep’s milk and made in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, which is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. This sheep’s milk cheese will offer a more intense tangy, salty, and creamy contrast to your salad.
Enjoy and let us know what you think by commenting below, rating our recipes, subscribing, following, and liking us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! Don’t forget to subscribe to get updates on new recipes and tips & tricks.
Happy Cooking!
Mich
Footnote: Remember to wait until just before serving to cut the pears and toss the arugula in the dressing. This will prevent oxidation of the pears, and prevent the arugula from wilting.
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