This is the salad you make for the holiday, the party, the special celebration… or a Tuesday! Seriously, so good, colorful, and loaded with flavor and texture. This Beautiful Pear Arugula Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing is a true celebration of seasonal flavors, combining fresh, juicy pears, vibrant greens, and a rich, tangy-sweet dressing.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

There’s nothing quite like the crisp sweetness of pears paired with the peppery bite of arugula. Perfect as a light lunch or a stunning side dish, this salad is simple, elegant, and bursting with wholesome goodness. Whether you’re impressing guests or treating yourself, it’s a dish you’ll want to savor again and again.

Plus, salad with homemade dressing is the only way to go. And this dressing only takes about 5 minutes to make.

If you like this salad, you’ll love our Spinach Salad with Pesto Dressing.

Arugula Salad Ingredients

Arugula

A leafy green with a peppery bite, arugula is my favorite. It’s delicate and can’t be dressed to soon, but it adds so much flavor to a salad.

Pears

Crisp and juicy, pears are a perfect add to salads. According to Healthline.com, they have several health benefits. They are rich in:

• folate
• vitamin C
• copper
• potassium

There are 2 main varieties of pears: Bosc (brown skin) and Bartlett (green or red skin).

• Bosc: crisp with a lite honey sweetness.
• Bartlett: juiciest and sweetest

For snacking, I typically go for the Bosc, but in this salad, I like the Bartlett. The bright color and rich sweetness are a lovely combo with this maple balsamic dressing and arugula.

Oranges

Oranges give this salad a pop of color and sweet citrus. Any size orange will work, but cutie slices are a perfect size for salads. Cut off the peel and pith of the oranges. As the orange sits, the skin becomes unpleasantly chewy. We don’t want that! The video below shows how to trim off the peel and slice the orange into rounds.

Fennel

Whether you’re a fennel fan or not, it goes so great in this salad! The bulb is crunchy like celery and fronds, the feathery like leaves, look like dill but tastes subtly like licorice.

How to Cut Fennel

One thing to keep in mind about fennel is it has a tough core. Once you remove that you’re good to go.

I searched up Martha Stewart to give me instruction on how to cut fennel. Afterall, if you ever read her magazine, she would tell you the right time to harvest melons or sharpen your ice skates. So, she for sure knows how to cut some fennel.

Here are step by step instructions along with a video in the recipe card to help you cut your fennel.

1. After the fennel is good and washed, cut off the stalks close to the bulb. Cut the fronds off the stocks.
2. Slice off the very bottom of bulb and remove any tough outer layers.
3. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise.
4. Remove the core: on one half take the tip of a knife and run it along where the core meets the rest of the bulb. Make a wedge shape to remove the core. Do the same for the other half.
5. Then slice or dice.

Blue Cheese (or Goat or Feta)

This salad sings with blue cheese. Get the cheap container of pre-crumbled blue cheese for a milder flavor. Or spend a little bit more on a wedge of stilton or roquefort, for a more robust taste.

Blue cheese is thought to be discovered accidentally in caves where cheese was stored over 2800 years ago. According to Wikipedia, miners in Austria around 800 BC consumed beer and blue cheese. Sounds like a great duo on the job!

If you can’t get behind blue cheese of any kind, feta or goat cheese are both delicious stand ins.

Pistachios & Dried Cranberries

What a great combo in and out of the holiday season. Both are bright in color and flavor.

Pistachios: Rich in antioxidants, pistachios are also a good source of healthy fat, fiber, and full of vitamins and minerals. Save yourself some time and buy the shelled ones. Chop the pistachios into small pieces to make them easier to eat and to highlight their vibrant green color.

Cranberries: Tart and ruby red, these little gems add a nice texture. Dried apricots are a great sub for the cranberries. Plus, you still get a gorgeous color pop.

Avocado

Creamy, delicious and nutritious avocados are always a good choice in salads. Slice these up right before serving so they don’t turn brown. Also drizzling them with some of the dressing will help with this too.

Maple Balsamic Dressing Ingredients

Homemade dressings taste SO much better than the store bought. AND so much better for you. Shelf-stable dressings are loaded with preservatives and added ingredients. Why else do you think they can sit on a shelf for a year?

Here are the pantry (or fridge) staples that make up this dressing:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Maple Syrup
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Dijon
• Spices

Pour all the ingredients into a mason jar, screw on the lid and shake. Or measure it all out in a measuring cup and whisk until combined.

Grainy mustard is good in this dressing as well.

How to Make

Salads are the best! No cooking required, just throw all the ingredients in, toss, and enjoy!

Although if you are looking for a nice presentation, here’s what to do:

1. In a large bowl or platter, toss in arugula first.
2. Follow with pear, avocado, then orange slices.
3. Once the chunkier ingredients are in, put in the fennel slices and fronds.
4. Next, sprinkle with cheese, nuts, and cranberries.
5. Finish with a drizzle of dressing.

A few things to keep in mind:

–Arugula is a tender green, don’t dress until ready to eat.

–Pears, avocado, and fennel all oxidize when exposed to air. To help prevent this, do any of the following:

• eat right away after cutting
• toss them in 3 parts water, 1 part lemon juice
• drizzle them with dressing

I rely on the dressing to help prevent the oxidation.

What to Serve With

This Pear Arugula Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing is good with so many main dishes! It’s beautiful with any holiday spread, or for special occasion. Here are a few main dish options:

• Seared Pork Loin Chops
• Grilled Chicken
• Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
• Steak
• Glazed Salmon

This salad is great as an entree too. Just add in some protein like rotisserie chicken or leftovers from the night before.

Thanks for reading along. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you would like more healthy recipes like this one sent right to your inbox, please sign up for my Recipe Drops. They’re always FREE.

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