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    Home » Recipes » Lunch » Lunch Salads

    Rocket Pear Salad with Walnuts and Balsamic Dressing

    Published: May 5, 2022 · Updated: Aug 4, 2022 by Neil 14 Comments

    11 shares
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    Jump to Recipe

    This delicious and easy rocket pear salad with walnuts and balsamic dressing takes just 10 minutes to make and is a great light lunch.

    Rocket pear salad with walnuts and balsamic dressing served on a plate with a fork to the side. Rest of salad in a serving bowl, some walnuts and block of parmesan cheese in the background.

    This rocket and pear salad takes boring salads to the next level!

    Just like my chicken walnut and blue cheese salad it's made with peppery rocket leaves (arugula) giving it an amazing peppery flavour.

    It's a healthy recipe with a tasty juicy pear added.

    The walnuts give it a lovely crunchy texture and the balsamic salad dressing as well as the sweetness of the pear add an amazing sweet and tangy taste.

    It's the perfect combination of flavours to tantalise the taste buds.

    But one of the very best things of all is this is a simple salad that takes just 10 minutes to make and the only cooking involved is the toasting of the walnuts!

    Rocket pear salad served on a plate with rest of the salad in a bowl in the background.

    Although I suggest that this rocket and pear salad is a great light lunch it can be so much more too.

    It's also an excellent healthy rocket salad recipe the perfect side dish for BBQ's and picnics.

    You could also easily add extra ingredients to it to bulk it up so that it could be an easy main course meal too.

    Whatever you choose it to be it's just the perfect combination of flavours for you to enjoy and to add to your list of delicious homemade salads!

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • How To Make Rocket Pear Salad
    • Substitutions
    • Why You'll Love This Rocket Pear Salad
    • FAQ's
    • Other Popular Healthy Salad Recipes You Might Enjoy
    • Rocket Pear Salad With Walnuts And Balsamic Dressing Recipe
    • Nutrition Label
    • Rate The Recipe

    Ingredients

    All of the Rocket pear salad with walnuts and balsamic dressing ingredients.
    • Red Wine Vinegar
    • Balsamic Vinegar
    • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • Freshly Ground Salt and Black Pepper
    • Rocket Leaves (arugula)
    • Pear
    • Walnuts
    • Parmesan Cheese

    See recipe card for quantities.

    How To Make Rocket Pear Salad

    Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below. But here is a quick step by step guide of how to make rocket pear salad with walnuts and balsamic dressing:

    Balsamic dressing made in a jar with the ingredients in the background.

    Step 1

    • Make the balsamic dressing.
    Salad ingredients placed into a large bowl.

    Step 2

    • Place the salad ingredients into a large bowl.
    Balsamic dressing being drizzled over the rocket pear salad.

    Step 3

    • Drizzle balsamic dressing over salad ingredients.
    Salad tossed with balsamic dressing.

    Step 4

    • Toss the salad.
    Birds eye view of two plates of served rocket and pear salad with walnuts and the balsamic dressing.

    Substitutions

    • Red Wine Vinegar
    • Balsamic Vinegar
    • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • Freshly Ground Salt and Black Pepper
    • Rocket Leaves (arugula)- if you can't get rocket you could use watercress or baby spinach.
    • Pear - you could use a green apple like a Granny Smith instead.
    • Walnuts - you could use toasted pine nuts instead.
    • Parmesan Cheese - you could use another hard cheese like goat cheese.

    Why You'll Love This Rocket Pear Salad

    • It takes just 10 minutes to make.
    • It's versatile. It can be a light meal for lunch, a side accompaniment for a dinner party or even a main meal.
    • It's just bursting with fresh flavours.
    • It's made from healthy ingredients.
    • Pears have lots of vitamin c and vitamin k.

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    FAQ's

    How To Store This Salad?

    This salad is best when it's served straight away. Eat it within 24 hours and make sure it's stored in an airtight container.

    Serving As A Side Salad What Does Rocket And Pear Salad Go With?

    Serve this as a side to grilled meats. It goes especially well with a juicy BBQ steak.

    Other Popular Healthy Salad Recipes You Might Enjoy

    📋 Halloumi Beetroot Salad
    Halloumi Beetroot Salad a lunch or dinner option at less than 300 calories and being equally quick and simple to make.
    Check out this recipe
    Halloumi and Beetroot Salad
    Quick Quinoa Salad
    Quick quinoa salad. This healthy and delicious salad is perfect as a packed lunch or time saving dinner. It's so easy to make and packed with flavour!
    Check out this recipe
    A white bowl of quick quinoa salad with a serving spoon in. Two tomatoes and a lemon in the background.
    King Prawn and Rocket Salad
    You'll love this king prawn and rocket salad recipe, which its delicious lime and soy dressing bursting with flavour!
    Check out this recipe
    You'll love this king prawn and rocket salad recipe, which has a delicious lime and soy dressing bursting with flavour. There’s plenty of nutritional goodness here to brighten up any dull lunchtime or dinner. This is one salad you'll not want to put down once you've started it!
    Rocket pear salad with walnuts and balsamic dressing served on a plate with a fork to the side. Rest of salad in a serving bowl, some walnuts and block of parmesan cheese in the background.
    Print Recipe Save Recipe Saved Recipe!
    5 from 7 votes

    Rocket Pear Salad With Walnuts And Balsamic Dressing Recipe

    This delicious and easy rocket pear salad with walnuts and balsamic dressing takes just 10 minutes to make and is a great light lunch.
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time5 mins
    Course: Dinner, Lunch
    Cuisine: International
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 506kcal
    Author: Neil

    The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.

    This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).

    If you do click through then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!

    Equipment

    • Kitchen scale
    • Measuring spoons
    • Chopping board
    • Kitchen knives
    • Saucepans
    • Peeler
    • Large mixing bowl

    Ingredients

    Balsamic Dressing

    • ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
    • 4 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
    • 2 ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • Freshly ground salt and pepper

    Rocket Pear And Walnut salad

    • 60 g rocket
    • 1 large pear cored and cut into bit size chunks
    • 75 g walnuts lightly toasted*
    • 10 g shaved parmesan cheese shaved finely using a vegetable peeler
    Metric - US Customary

    Instructions

    Balsamic Dressing

    • Place all dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well seasoning to taste with the salt and pepper.

    Rocket Pear And Walnut Salad

    • Place the rocket, pear, walnuts, and shaved parmesan cheese into a large bowl.
    • Drizzle over a small amount of the balsamic dressing (about 1 tsp), then toss the salad together. Add more balsamic and toss again if required.
    • Serve straight away.
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Notes

    *Toast the walnut for 5 minutes over a low heat in a wok or frying pan.
    **The recipe makes plenty of balsamic dressing that can be used in other salads.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 420mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 781IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 161mg | Iron: 2mg

    Nutrition Label

    Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.

    Nutrition Facts
    Rocket Pear Salad With Walnuts And Balsamic Dressing
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 506 Calories from Fat 396
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 44g68%
    Saturated Fat 6g38%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 20g
    Monounsaturated Fat 17g
    Cholesterol 3mg1%
    Sodium 98mg4%
    Potassium 420mg12%
    Carbohydrates 25g8%
    Fiber 6g25%
    Sugar 15g17%
    Protein 9g18%
    Vitamin A 781IU16%
    Vitamin C 9mg11%
    Calcium 161mg16%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Rate The Recipe

    If you’ve made this rocket and pear salad recipe, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.

    I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂

    Related

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    Oven Baked Chicken And Brown Rice Casserole »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Michelle

      May 05, 2022 at 7:27 pm

      5 stars
      Love how fresh and tangy this salad is! Perfect for the upcoming summer months!

      Reply
      • Neil

        May 06, 2022 at 5:23 am

        Thanks Michelle. Yes we're hoping to enjoy lots of salads this year. When the sun starts coming out again!

        Reply
    2. Raymund

      May 05, 2022 at 10:19 pm

      5 stars
      One thing I imagine with this salad, they are a good side for a home made pizza. Nice and simple, love it

      Reply
      • Neil

        May 06, 2022 at 5:25 am

        That's a great idea Raymond. I never thought of pairing this with a pizza. I'll do that this weekend. Thanks!

        Reply
    3. Ben | Havocinthekitchen

      May 07, 2022 at 2:26 am

      5 stars
      Beautiful, fresh, and delicious spring salad! I do love the combo of peppery arugula, juicy pears, and nuts. And as you said, there's a plenty of possibilities to make it even more exciting. Sometimes I lightly caramelize nuts in Maple syrup. And Daisy, of course, loves the addition of prosciutto 🙂

      Reply
      • Neil

        May 07, 2022 at 6:37 am

        It's a great salad to change and make your own. As you said Ben there's just so many possibilites!

        Reply
    4. David @ Spiced

      May 09, 2022 at 2:45 pm

      5 stars
      I love how well arugula (rocket) pairs with toasted nuts! In fact, we just had an arugula salad over the weekend with a lemon poppyseed dressing and toasted nuts. It was delicious! I feel like this post is telling me to make another arugula salad!!

      Reply
      • Neil

        May 10, 2022 at 5:23 am

        It's a great salad for the time of year. And I agree that it's made even better with the toasted nuts! Hope you get a chance to make more rocket salads like this David!

        Reply
    5. Linger, Kristy Murray

      May 09, 2022 at 7:06 pm

      5 stars
      Tis the season for salads and I couldn’t be happier. This pear arugula salad of yours is so light and fresh. What a great combination of flavors and texture. I’m definitely going to need this in my repertoire of salad recipes. Thanks so much for sharing.

      Reply
      • Neil

        May 10, 2022 at 5:24 am

        Glad you like it Kirsty! It's definitely the season of salads now. 🙂

        Reply
    6. Charlie DeSando

      May 10, 2022 at 2:07 pm

      5 stars
      Neil, love the pairing of the pears and the arugula

      Reply
      • Neil

        May 10, 2022 at 4:09 pm

        It does go really well together. Thanks Charlie!

        Reply
    7. sherry M

      May 14, 2022 at 5:45 am

      5 stars
      a great combo of flavours here neil. i ove pears and walnuts together.

      Reply
      • Neil

        May 15, 2022 at 2:52 pm

        It's a great combo isn't it? Thanks Sherry!

        Reply

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