This easy Arugula Pear Salad & Balsamic Vinaigrette is light, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. Sweet sliced pears paired with peppery arugula, crunchy almonds, thinly sliced onions, and shaved parmesan with a homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette bursts with flavor.
Pear Arugula Salad
Arugula salad with pears is a bright, healthy salad that can be thrown together in twenty minutes. You’ll love the simplicity of this salad with fresh ingredients such as sweet juicy pears, peppery arugula, crunchy almonds, and rich shaved parmesan cheese tossed in a tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Ingredients for Arugula Pear Almond Salad:
Pear – Look for ripe pears for the best flavor.
Shaved Parmesan cheese – For the best flavor, I suggest shaving fresh parmesan cheese from a block instead of buying preshredded.
Red onions – Thinly sliced red onions add a great flavor.
Sliced almonds – The crunch of the onions is a great texture.
Salt/pepper – To taste.
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing Ingredients for Pear Arugula Salad:
Extra virgin olive oil – EVOO has significant health benefits.
Rose balsamic vinegar – You’ll love this flavor if you haven’t tried it before! Light and refreshing!
Honey – Just a little sweetness!
Dijon mustard – The perfect salty pairing to balance out the sweetness.
Salt /pepper – To taste.
How to Make Pear and Arugula Salad
Step 1: Add the arugula to a bowl first, then top with the rest of the ingredients.
Step 2: Combine the ingredients for delicious tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing, whisking until thoroughly combined. Toss with the salad dressing, and enjoy!
What is Arugula?
Arugula is a green leafy vegetable that adds a hint of peppery flavor to salads. Most people add it to other blends and mixes, but it’s delicious to enjoy on its own.
Why is it also Called Rocket Salad?
Arugula is also known as rocket salad for a few reasons. The most simple reason it is referred to as rocket is that it grows quickly.
The more technical explanation is that arugula has been around for hundreds of years. Rooted in Italy, it was first referred to as Ruchetta. As Arugula spread to France, its name adapted to the culture and became referred to as roquette. Arugula continued to spread in popularity and centuries later became known as rocket in English-speaking countries.
Best Pears to use for Arugula Pear Salad:
You can use anjou pears or Asian pears for the addition. Both are sweet and tender but hold their shape well when mixed with other ingredients.
How to Cut Pears for Salads:
After thoroughly washing, cut the pears in half. With a paring knife, cut out the core, or use a melon baller to scrape it out. Next, slice the pears lengthwise into thinly cut slices. You can also halve the pears and quarter them into bigger chunks and pieces.
How do You Keep Pears from Turning Brown in a Salad
Adding a little lemon juice to the sliced pears will help prevent them from turning brown! (It’s also a good flavor enhancer!)
Variations for Arugula Pear Almond Salad
- In place of balsamic vinaigrette, you could substitute with champagne vinegar, white or red wine vinegar, pear vinegar, or rice vinegar.
- Change up the Cheese – Gorgonzola cheese, goat cheese, feta cheese, and blue cheese all pair wonderfully with Arugula Salad with pears.
- Add protein to this pear salad recipe, such as grilled chicken, steak, or shrimp, for a complete meal.
- So many different nut variations add delicious taste and texture, such as pecans or walnuts; you could even roast the nuts first.
- Other delicious add-in ideas – are sunflower, fennel, pumpkin seeds, shallots, pomegranate arils, shallots, cranberries, cherries, or apples.
- Arugula alternatives – Mixed greens, baby kale, or spinach.
- If you want more dressing, you can double up. It is intended to be a light dressing and may require less per serving.
What to serve with Pear Arugula Salad?
As a side dish, it is delicious paired with a hearty soup and crusty bread. It also pairs beautifully with a tender grilled steak hot off the grill.
What is the best way to dress the salad?
The easiest way to dress the salad so that the ingredients don’t get soggy is to make sure to add the dressing last. You can add the other ingredients in any order you’d like, but the salad dressing should be added before serving.
How do I Store Arugula Pear & Parmesan Salad
As long as you don’t add the dressing to the entire salad at once, any leftover salad will keep a day or so in the fridge in an airtight container, but it won’t taste as fresh as it did the first day. I suggest reserving the nuts to sprinkle on individual servings as they will lose their crunch once refrigerated. If you dress the entire salad at once, the salad will wilt and won’t be enjoyable to most.
The vinaigrette can be made ahead of time and be kept in the fridge for 3-5 days.
More Salad Recipes You’ll Love:
- Keto Cucumber Salad
- Keto Taco Salad
- Healthy Cobb Salad with Chicken
- Keto Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Arugula Pear Salad & Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Ingredients for Arugula Pear Salad
- 5 ounces arugula spring salad mix
- 1 medium pear sliced
- 3 ounces parmesan cheese shaved
- ⅔ cup red onions sliced
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Homemade Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons rose balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the arugula spring mix lettuce to your large bowl and top with the remainder of the salad ingredients. You can add them in any order that you'd like.
- Prepare your vinaigrette by putting all the ingredients into a small bowl and whisking until thoroughly combined. Drizzle a spoonful of vinaigrette for each serving.
- For the freshest salad, add the dressing right before serving.
