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This pear and blue cheese salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette is a wonderful combination of sweet and salty flavors! Peppery arugula is topped with sweet juicy pears, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, salty blue cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. It’s a delicious salad that goes great with steak, chicken, or pork.
Love sweet and salty salads? Try this autumn apple and pear salad.
If you love sweet and salty flavor pairings then you’ll love the sweet pears and salty blue cheese in this pear walnut blue cheese salad. I first tried the pear and blue cheese combo together when I made this simple prosciutto wrapped pears with blue cheese appetizer.
I was hooked and knew I wanted to make a salad using them together. Toasted walnuts are an added bonus for a delicious crunchy component and the balsamic salad dressing ties all the flavors together.
This salad is ideal to make in the fall and winter months when pears are in peak season. It’s an excellent salad to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas too. I generally serve the salad as a side dish, but feel free to add sliced chicken or steak to it and enjoy it as a main dish salad.
The ingredients
- Arugula – Peppery, and a little spicy, and slightly bitter in flavor.
- Pears – For the best flavor, make sure your pears are ripe. I like to use Anjou pears for this salad.
- Blue cheese – Salty with a little bit of funky taste. Buy a wedge vs. pre-crumbled for the best taste and texture.
- Walnuts – Full of omega-3 fatty acids. Adds great crunch to the salad.
- Dried cranberries – Adds a chewy, sweet, tart element to the salad.
- Balsamic vinegar – Look for a good quality balsamic vinegar for the best tasting vinaigrette.
- Dijon mustard – Adds tang and acts as an emulsifier for the vinaigrette.
- Maple syrup – The sweetener for the balsamic vinaigrette.
- Olive oil
How to make pear and blue cheese salad
Combine the ingredients for the balsamic vinaigrette in a jar with a lid or a bowl. Shake or whisk the salad dressing until well combined. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until they’re fragrant. Remove them from the heat and let them cool before adding them to the salad.
Add the arugula to a large bowl. Top it with the toasted walnuts and dried cranberries.
Crumble the blue cheese onto the salad and top with two ripe, but firm Anjou pear. Core the pears and thinly slice them. Peeling the pears is optional. At this point you can either pour on the balsamic dressing or serve it on the side.
What to serve with pear blue cheese salad
Substitutions and variations
- If arugula is too peppery for your liking, substitute with mixed greens. Baby kale is another good alternative.
- Crumbled bacon is a delicious additional topping to add to the salad.
- Walnuts can be substituted with pecans. Candied pecans are also great if you want another sweet element.
- Dried cherries work well in place of dried cranberries.
- If you want this to be a main dish salad, top it with slices of grilled chicken or steak. Steak and blue cheese are an excellent combination. Try this steak crostini with blue cheese sauce to see for yourself!
- If blue cheese is too funky of a flavor for you, substitute with crumbled goat cheese or feta.
- For a vegan option, substitute blue cheese with a plant based blue cheese alternative
Pear Walnut Blue Cheese Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 5 ounces arugula
- 2 Anju pears sliced
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a jar with a lid and shake until well combined.
- In a large salad bowl add the arugula. Top it with the toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, crumbled blue cheese, and sliced pears.
- Pour the balsamic vinaigrette all over the salad or serve it on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Pear Salad with Blue Cheese FAQs
I used Anjou pears for the salad. I love their sweetness and they are a slightly firmer pear. You could also use Bosc, Comice, or Bartlett pears. Whatever variety you choose, make sure it is ripe.
That depends on what you like. Blue cheese comes in mild to sharp extra funky flavors. The texture can also vary from creamy to more firm and crumbly.
A few varieties I enjoy are Cambozola, which is a gorgonzola cheese. It’s mild in flavor and creamier. Roquefort for a bold flavor as well as Saint Agur and Stilton for an extra sharp blue cheese flavor. 
Yes. In North America the peppery green is referred to as arugula. In Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, it’s called rocket.
This salad is best eaten the day it’s made. If you don’t add the dressing it will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
More salad recipes
- Grilled Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Goat Cheese
- Greek Orzo Salad
- Chicken BLT Salad
- Mediterranean Lentil Salad
- Blueberry Peach Feta Salad
- Honey Lime Shrimp Salad
If you make these Pear and Blue Cheese Salad, please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you and do my best to respond to your comments. And if you’re on Instagram tag @reciperunner so I can see your beautiful creations!
This is a beautiful salad. I made it 5 times during December because I had some gorgeous Christmas pears to use. (Brand unmentioned). The blue cheese adds a nice bite while that little bit of maple syrup calms the vinegar and oil. I will use this every year.
Lora G.
I’m so happy to hear you love the salad and will be making it again Lora!
Great recipe, thank you, delicious!
Thanks for making the salad Pat, glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious!
Thanks for trying the salad Janet!