Pear Arugula Salad Recipe with Toasted Walnuts

This Pear Arugula Salad is truly a classic Italian salad. The complementary flavors of peppery arugula, sweet juicy pears, creamy walnuts and salty Parmesan cheese create a refreshing and delicious salad perfect for any occasion. You’ll love this side salad even if you don’t like arugula.

When you think of Italian cuisine, what comes to mind?

For many, Italian cuisine is about simplicity and flavorful recipes that use quality ingredients.

One example is this Caprese salad with cherry tomatoes.

This simple arugula salad is another perfect example – it’s light, refreshing, and full of flavor.

The combination of fresh, pungent greens tossed with a simple dressing of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice makes a delicious combination. The top of the salad is garnished with sweet pears, toasted walnuts and shavings of Parmesan cheese, making it the perfect side dish and a delicious winter salad.

It is also the perfect salad for holiday entertaining.

Let’s take a moment to discover a few of these salad ingredients and highlight some of their qualities.

Jump to:

• What is arugula?
• Best pears for salad
• What to do with walnuts
• Let’s prep our pear arugula salad
• How to make a simple arugula salad
• Substitutions and variations
• Tips
• FAQ
• Arugula salad recipes we love
• Recipe inspiration
• Recipe

What is arugula?

Did you know that arugula is a herb?

It’s true.

Even though it is often characterized as the lettuce with personality, bitter arugula is a member of the mustard family, Brassicaceae, which includes broccoli, cabbage, and kale.

These peppery greens, also called the garden rocket, roquette, rucola or rugula (to name a few), are an annual green leafy herb with lobular, elongated leaves.

It is extremely easy to grow and can be harvested within forty days of sowing the seeds. Remember that the bitterness is more pronounced as the plant matures, so it is better to harvest baby arugula when the leaves are young.

Arugula has a peppery, lemony flavor that is a perfect addition to salads, pizza, pasta, and sandwiches.

What are the nutritional benefits of arugula?

One cup of arugula has only 5 calories and is a great source of Vitamins A, K and the B-vitamin, folic acid.

Best pears for salad

The versatility of pears makes them the perfect ingredient in both sweet and savory dishes. They are available year-round and usually hit the farmer’s markets in late summer and early fall.

Certain pears are great for cooking, while others are best when eaten raw. Some varieties can be consumed cooked or raw. Because of this variability, pears can be baked, broiled, poached or even grilled.

Pears are a type of fruit that ripens best off the tree. This means that they should be firm and slightly underripe when you purchase them and then allowed to ripen at home on your countertop.

Once they are ripe, you can store them in the fridge. Look for pears free from bruises or blemishes and have a nice, even color. Here is a great little video to test for pear ripeness.

Although almost any pear variety works well in this recipe, bartlett pears are a great option because they’re sweet and juicy. Bosc pears are also good for salads because they have a nice, firm texture and a slightly tart flavor. If you’re looking for something unique, try using Anjou or Asian pears in your recipe.

What to do with walnuts

Fresh walnuts have a bittersweet flavor and are equally delicious in sweet recipes like oat bran cookies or savory dishes like St Joseph’s pasta. They also make nutritious snacks on their own.

They can be purchased shelled (available whole, chopped, ground) or unshelled. Walnuts are harvested in the fall when the hulls split open and the walnuts naturally fall to the ground.

How do you choose and store walnuts?

When purchasing walnuts without the shell, avoid discolored or shriveled nutmeats. For walnuts in their shell, ensure they have shiny, brown shells, avoiding any that are shriveled or have mold on them.

Store shelled walnuts in an airtight container in the fridge if using within a month, otherwise, place them in the freezer. If you purchase unshelled walnuts, store them in a cool, dark place like a pantry where they will easily keep for up to one month.

What are the nutritional benefits of walnuts?

As you probably know, most nuts are heart-healthy foods. Walnuts are no exception. They are the only nuts with a high amount of omega-3 fatty acids. A mere ounce will provide you with 4 grams of protein, about 2 grams of fiber, B complex vitamins, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous.

Now that you know more about these wonderful ingredients, are we ready to have some fun?

Let’s prep our pear arugula salad

Since this arugula and pear salad is best assembled before serving, we’ll need to do some prep work beforehand. Let’s begin with the walnuts since we need to toast them.

Walnuts

If using whole walnuts, you’ll need to chop them coarsely to obtain ⅓ cup. Then, scatter the chopped walnuts in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast them in a 350°F (180°C) oven for about 8-10 minutes until they’re fragrant and lightly browned.

Make sure to give them a shake every once in a while. Once they are done, remove them from the oven, transfer them to a plate, and allow them to cool off.

Arugula

Wash and thoroughly dry 6-8 cups of fresh arugula. This is important because wet leaves will make the salad soggy.

A salad spinner comes in handy for this task. Alternatively, you can dry the arugula by placing it on a clean kitchen towel and rolling it up like a burrito, then gently pressing down to absorb any excess moisture.

Refrigerate the arugula in a covered container until you can use it.

Simple vinaigrette

Whisk together 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for now.

Pears

Wash and dry 2 firm pears. Slice the pear lengthwise in half through the stem. Remove the core with a melon baller. A small spoon would work as well. Remove strings that run from the seeds to the stem with a paring knife if necessary. Leave the skins on.

To create half-moons, lay each halved piece of fruit cut side down and slice it into ¼-inch thick pieces. (Feel free to watch the video included in this post for more details.)

Place the thinly sliced pears in a shallow bowl and toss gently with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. This will preserve their color while you’re prepping and assembling the recipe.

How to make a simple arugula salad

In a large bowl, place the arugula and toss with the vinaigrette to evenly coat the leaves.

Transfer to a shallow serving bowl or platter.

Scatter the toasted walnuts and arrange the pear slices on the salad. Finally, garnish with freshly grated Parmesan shavings.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Substitutions and variations

Arugula: If you can’t find arugula, substitute it with another leafy green. Some great alternatives include dandelion greens, baby mixed greens, spinach, kale or Swiss chard. 

Pears: The fruit’s sweetness greatly contrasts with the bitterness of the arugula, so feel free to experiment. Try substituting pears with apples, grapes, strawberries or mandarin oranges.

Nuts: Replace toasted walnuts with chopped toasted almonds, pecans or hazelnuts. For a nut-free salad, try sunflower seeds or pepitas.

Cheese: Use any type of cheese that you like or have on hand. Shaved Asiago or Pecorino would be great choices. Goat cheese or Gorgonzola are also delicious options.

Dressing: A simple dressing made with extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper is classic Italian, but feel free to experiment. If you want a little more flavor, try adding a bit of honey, Dijon mustard or even a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

Tips

• Toasting walnuts (or any nuts) improves their taste and aroma and increases the crunchiness of the nut. So if you are wondering whether or not you should skip this step…. don’t. Your taste buds will thank you!
• This salad is best enjoyed as soon as the arugula is combined with the vinaigrette, as the greens will start to wilt immediately.

FAQ

Arugula salad recipes we love

• Strawberry Arugula Salad 
• Arugula Cherry Tomato Salad 

Recipe inspiration

If you like Italian food, you know this wonderful salad, or a variation, can often be found on the menu in many Italian restaurants. The wonderful thing about this salad is that it can easily be replicated at home; this is exactly what I attempted to achieve. 

It simply is a question of balancing out the flavors and layering the ingredients in a large shallow serving dish.

This side salad is perfect for any occasion, whether a casual get-together or a formal dinner party.

I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do!

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★★★★★ If you have made this arugula salad recipe, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!

Recipe

This post was originally published on May 4, 2018, and republished on October 20, 2022, with updated content, photos and a video. Thanks for sharing.