Arugula Pear Salad

Arugula Pear Salad with blue cheese, sweet and spicy walnuts and sweet and sharp mustard dressing. Every fork-full of this Pear Salad is delicious holiday flavors in mouth - only post holidays and much healthier. You can make walnuts and dressing ahead of time. Assemble salad with fresh sliced pears before serving. (read notes for details) 

Have you tried my Shrimp Caesar Salad recipe? A lean protein-packed salad with spiced grilled shrimp, this salad is often on rotation in our lunch menu. You will love the flavors! 

Let's make Arugula Pear Salad today!

Arugula Pear Salad

Inspiration behind today's recipe is craving for warm holiday flavors and commitment to eat healthier this new year. This salad fulfills both promise:

1. It is a healthier green salad Loaded with arugula and with fresh fruits - pear and pomegranate seeds.
2. The warm spiced walnuts and blue cheese are rich flavors that transport this green salad to holiday flavors lanes.

The creamy texture of blue cheese pair well with sweet and sharp mustard dressing. It compliments the peppery flavor of arugula. 

What Do You Need To Make Arugula Pear Salad?

I used two kinds of pears for this salad: Bosc and Barlette. You can use any kind of pears but make sure pears are ripe and sweet. 

Here is what you need to make Arugula Pear Salad:

1. Arugula - fresh baby arugula
2. Pear 
3. Walnuts
4. Pomegranate seeds
5. Mustard Dressing (recipe included)
6. Blue Cheese

I use fresh baby arugula for all kind of arugula salads. It is sold pre-washed and is very easy to work with. I also love the mild flavor of baby arugula as compared to mature arugula. You can also use baby spinach instead of arugula for this salad.

Try my recipe for Candied Pecans which will be as delicious as spiced walnuts in this recipe.

To make the Mustard Dressing for salad, in a food processor or bowl, whisk all ingredients except herbs. Taste and adjust salt. Add find chopped herb. I highly recommend to finish salad with generous sprinkle of fresh cracked black pepper.

Assembling Salad

Add arugula in a large salad bowl or platter. Top with cored and sliced pears, cooled spiced walnuts, crumbled blue cheese and pomegranate seeds. If eating right away, drizzle dressing on the top. Or serve dressing on the table.

Honestly, making a delicious salad such as this Arugula Pear Salad helps me fit this easily to my diet preferences. For example;

1. Skip walnuts and salad is Nuts Free.
2. Skip cheese and salad is Dairy Free.
3. Swap half of the arugula with sweeter or crunchy greens such as spinach and romaine.

Vegan Arugula Pear Salad

To make Vegan Arugula Pear salad, substitute the blue cheese with half quantity of nutritional yeast.

Check more in Salads Category, or try search. You can also write to me to create a salad that you can't find on the blog. I'm always on board to test and try new salad recipes. Happy munching!