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Nothing keeps a meal feeling light, fresh and balanced like a salad, and my Rocket Salad with Pear is a favorite! It's so flavorful, with a blend of delicious fresh ingredients and - even better - it's ready in only minutes!
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Arugula Salad with Pear
Arugula, also known as Rocket, is a salad classic for a reason. This light and flavorful leaf is technically an herb, and you can tell! It's peppery, bright and spicy, with just enough tartness to balance out sweeter additions to the salad.
Of course, it's also pretty bold, but that's where the other ingredients come in! Sweet sliced pear, earthy and crunchy almonds, and slivers of salty Parmesan cheese pair beautifully with the peppery bite of the greens, leaving this arugula and pear salad elegant and balanced. It's the perfect side for any heavier meal!
And to top it all off, it's fast, easy, and budget friendly. Making your own balsamic glaze will save you even more, and lets you make just as much as you need so a whole leftover bottle doesn't go to waste! But, with how good this salad is, you might want to make extra.
Rocket Salad with Pear Ingredients
- Arugula spring salad mix
- Pear
- Parmesan cheese
- Red onion
- Almonds
- Salt and pepper
Balsamic Vinaigrette Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Honey
- Dijon Mustard
- Salt and Pepper
How to Make Rocket and Pear Salad
- Slice the pear and onion, and chop or slice the almonds if required. Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl.
- Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl or lidded mason jar and mix or shake to combine, then drizzle over the salad.
- Serve and enjoy!
Arugula and Pear Salad Tips
There are so many great ways to mix up this salad into your new favorite! Using it as the base, you could change:
- Cheese: Change up the cheese by adding your favorite crumbly blue cheese for an arugula pear blue cheese salad with extra kick! Or, add goat cheese crumbles for an extra creamy salad.
- Fruit: Pear is a favorite for its sweet and delicate flavor, but ripe strawberries are also delicious in this salad. You could also try a nice sweet apple, or dried cranberries in a pinch! Just watch how many, as they have a strong flavor.
- Meat: This is a meat-free recipe, but if you happen to have a few slices of leftover deli meat, they can make a delicious addition to this salad! I find that leftover prosciutto makes for an extra luxurious ingredient.
Recipe for Arugula Salad FAQs
Rocket is just another name for arugula, which is also known as eruca, rucola, colewort and roquette. If you see any of those names at the store, you're getting arugula!
Rocket salad is a salad made with rocket leaves, also known as arugula. This spicy and flavorful herb is often mixed with milder lettuces to make for a salad with a kick! My recipe for crunchy pear salad uses arugula spring mix, which comes with a blend of lettuce and rocket already.
When I'm using pear to sweeten a salad, I tend to slice it into quarters lengthwise, remove the core, then cut each quarter twice more to make very thin slices. You can also cut the slices less thinly but slice them horizontally for thicker, shorter chunks.
Arugula originated in the Mediterranean, which is why you can frequently find this tart leaf gracing Greek dishes and salads. However, it quickly spread across all of Europe for its distinctive flavor!
Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
Balsamic vinaigrette is a classic favorite and tastes amazing on this recipe, but feel free to try adding your favorite dressing instead! Above are my absolute best salad dressing recipes.
Easy Salad Recipes
- Mediterranean Bean Salad
- Peach Salad
- Spinach Salad Recipe
- Fennel Orange Salad
- Try my Side Dishes for Hamburgers and Easter Vegetable Side Dishes!
Did you try this recipe? Let us know in the comments below, and leave a rating! We love to hear from you.
Rocket Salad with Pear
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl
Ingredients
Rocket Salad
- 5 ounces Arugula spring salad mix
- 1 medium Pear
- 3 ounces Parmesan cheese shaved
- ⅔ cup Red onions sliced
- ¼ cup Almonds sliced
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup Olive oil extra virgin
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Honey
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Slice the onion, pear and almonds, then add all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl and mix.5 ounces Arugula spring salad mix, 1 medium Pear, 3 ounces Parmesan cheese, ⅔ cup Red onions, ¼ cup Almonds, ¼ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- Add all of the vinaigrette ingredients to a small bowl or mason jar and mix or shake until well mixed, then drizzle over the salad.¼ cup Olive oil, 2 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons Honey, ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon Pepper, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cheese: Change up the cheese by adding your favorite crumbly blue cheese for an arugula pear blue cheese salad with extra kick! Or, add goat cheese crumbles for an extra creamy salad.
- Fruit: Pear is a favorite for its sweet and delicate flavor, but ripe strawberries are also delicious in this salad. You could also try a nice sweet apple, or dried cranberries in a pinch! Just watch how many, as they have a strong flavor.
- Meat: This is a meat-free recipe, but if you happen to have a few slices of leftover deli meat, they can make a delicious addition to this salad! I find that leftover prosciutto makes for an extra luxurious ingredient.
Nutrition
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