Pear Rocket Salad Recipe

Pear and rocket salad highlights sweet, juicy pears with 5-minute cinnamon-spiced candied nuts and an easy homemade balsamic vinaigrette. It’s a gorgeously simple salad celebrating fall flavors, but it feels special enough for entertaining or for your holiday table.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword Pear Rocket Salad

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Servings servings

Calories 201kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Ingredients

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Candied Walnuts:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons light brown sugar lightly packed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Honey Balsamic Dressing:

1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or any good balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Pear Rocket Salad:

5 ounces baby arugula leaves
2 Bosc pears cored and thinly sliced (or any type of pears you like)
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 ounces gorgonzola cheese crumbled (or goat cheese or feta cheese)
2 scallions green and white parts, thinly sliced

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Cinnamon Brown Sugar Candied Walnuts:

Add the butter to a small skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add all remaining ingredients and stir to coat the nuts. Cook until the walnuts smell nutty and are golden, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spread out the nuts on a parchment paper-lined plate, and let them cool to room temperature.

Make the Honey Balsamic Dressing:

Add all ingredients to a small-medium bowl; whisk to combine.

Assemble and Serve the Salad:

Spread the arugula out onto a platter. Arrange the sliced pear on top. Sprinkle on the cooled candied nuts, golden raisins, crumbled cheese, and sliced scallions.
Serve immediately along with the dressing to drizzle on top.

Video

Notes

Storage and Make Ahead: For best results, assemble this salad right before you want to serve it. However, you can make a couple of the components ahead of time. You can make the candied walnuts up to 5 days in advance; once cool, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. The homemade honey balsamic salad dressing will last for up to 2 weeks in a glass jar in the fridge; give it a good shake before serving. If the oil in the vinaigrette has hardened, let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before shaking.
Protein Ideas: Add a protein source to make this salad a full meal! To bump up the protein in this pear salad, you can add: grilled chicken, poached chicken, roasted chicken, grilled steak, or for a vegan protein source, a can of rinsed and drained cannellini beans.

Nutrition