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arugula salad with pears, walnuts, and goat cheese.

Arugula Pear Salad with Goat Cheese

Carolyn
This arugula pear salad is light and fresh with dried cranberries, goat cheese, and a pear vinaigrette! It's a simple side salad that goes with any main dish.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Pickling time: 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 331 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

For the pickled red onions:

  • 1 red onion peeled and sliced
  • ½ cup water
  • ⅔ cup white vinegar
  • 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

For the pear vinaigrette:

  • 1 pear peeled, cored, & diced (about ¾ cup)
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

For the arugula salad:

  • 5 ounces baby arugula
  • 1 pear cored and thinly sliced
  • ½ cup goat cheese crumbles
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions
 

Quick pickle the onions:

  • Place the sliced red onion in a medium bowl or jar. Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, and kosher salt in a small saucepan over medium heat.
  • Stir the mixture until it gets hot and the sugar/salt dissolves. Pour immediately over the red onion. Let sit for at least 20 minutes while you assemble the salad.
  • Once the red onion mixture cools, cover or seal with a lid and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Make the vinaigrette:

  • In a small food processor, pulse the pear until it's in tiny pieces.
  • Add the maple syrup and two tablespoons of vinegar. Pulse again until smooth. It will look like pear sauce at this point.
  • At the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

Assemble the salads:

  • In a large bowl, add the arugula, goat cheese, pear slices, dried cranberries, and walnuts. Add some pickled onions.
  • Add enough dressing to moisten the salad. You can always add more, but you can't take it out.
  • Toss the salad with salad spoons, then divide into four bowls. Serve immediately.

Notes

Pickled onions: You don't need to use all the pickled onions. I like to keep the extra for salads, tacos, burgers, and more!
Make Ahead: You can make the pear vinaigrette up to 2 days ahead and the pickled onions up to 1 week ahead. Don't assemble the salad until right before you plan to serve it.

Nutrition

Calories: 331kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 4gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gSodium: 103mgPotassium: 368mgFiber: 6gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 868IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 98mgIron: 1mg
Keyword arugula walnut salad, pear arugula salad
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