This pear and goat cheese salad is so warm and inviting. It has toasted candied walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette to top it off. I love putting it over a bed of arugula or artisan lettuce!
I've decided that I like goat cheese cold, when its warm it just loses it's flavor to me. I'm not a huge fan of it on pizza or in a dip but on this pear salad, I LOVE IT. One of the great things about this pear salad recipe is that you really can make it as fancy as you want. I've always been a fan of substitutions and using what you have on hand. Especially in these times, I would love to see if you substituted anything! Tag me on social @mealswithmaggie!
How to Make Candied Walnuts
First off, let me begin by saying that you do not have to use walnuts for this recipe. If you have pecans or almonds or even pumpkin seeds in your pantry, any of those will do. Making candied walnuts is pretty simple and takes about 5 minutes.
What you will need:
- Maple Syrup
- Cinnamon
- Nut of choice
- Saute pan
Place cinnamon, maple syrup and walnuts in a bowl. Toss until each walnut is coated. Place the nut mixture into a saute pan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently with a wood spatula until slightly toasted (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and place walnuts somewhere to cool. In about 2 minutes, they should be ready to eat!
Ingredients in Balsamic Dressing
Every good pear and goat cheese salad has a slightly tangy, acidic balsamic dressing to be tossed in. I love making my own salad dressings because I know what's in them and I can adjust the amount of salt/spice how I want it! I usually make homemade salad dressings in a mason jar and store them on my counter. This balsamic dressing is no different.
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Extra Virgin Olive oil (can sub avocado, grapeseed or canola)
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic
- Salt/pepper
- Touch of honey
Place everything in a mason jar, screw the lid on and shake!
Ingredients in Pear and Goat Cheese Salad
- Artisan lettuce: You can use arugula, endive, spinach, butter or mixed greens for this salad. The deeper the green color, the better.
- Goat cheese: If you don't like goat cheese you can use feta, blue cheese, fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola, parmesan or burrata.
- Pear: There were so many pear varieties at the grocery store. I went with a classic D'Anjou pear. Bosc pears, Williams Pear and Red Anjou would all be great. I've seen some recipes that even caramelize or poach the pear before adding it to the salad. So fun!
- Walnuts: Like I said above you can use pecans, almonds or pumpkin seeds. If you don't want to make them candied, I would still suggest toasting them for a quick minute to bring out more of a nutty flavor. Walnuts are a great addition to salad! They are packed with omega 3's and are proven to help lower your risk of heart disease!
- Optional add in's: Beets, honey, cucumber, Brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, avocado (always) sautéed mushrooms pomegranate seeds.
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Pear and Goat Cheese Salad
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This pear and goat cheese salad is so warm and inviting. It has toasted candied walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette to top it off. I love putting it over a bed of arugula or artisan lettuce!
Ingredients
Balsamic Dressing
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (or avocado, grapeseed, canola)
- ¾ tsp dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp honey
- Pinch of salt/cracked black pepper
Candied Walnuts
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Pear and Goat Cheese Salad
- 3-4 pears, sliced
- ½ cup goat cheese, crumbled
- 4-5 cups lettuce (see above recommendations, I like artisan, spinach, arugula and spring greens)
- Optional add in's: Beets, cucumber, avocado, mushrooms, pomegranate seeds.
Instructions
- Make homemade balsamic dressing by adding all the ingredients to a mason jar. Shake well to incorporate. If you have an immersion blender, blend ingredients together until creamy.
- To make the candied walnuts, combine all ingredients together in a small bowl. Stir until each walnut is coated. Place nut mixture on medium-low heat in a saute pan. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently being careful not to burn. Remove from heat after 2 minutes and place aside to cool.
- Layer lettuce, sliced pears and crumbled goat cheese on a serving platter or in a large bowl. Top with cooled candied walnuts and dressing with balsamic dressing prior to serving.
Notes
Ideas to make this salad a meal: Add a maple glazed salmon filet, add a cooked chicken breast, shrimp or flank steak.
See ideas above for additional add-in's.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Assemble
- Cuisine: American
Absolutely loved this salad! It’s one of the best salads I’ve ever eaten! I used honey-roasted nuts that were wasting away in our pantry and finally put them to use. Can’t wait to make this salad again! Thank you for sharing 🙂
SO easy to make and SO delicious! Planning to make this many times over!