Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula & Apple

This Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad is simple but a flavor symphony! Apples, pecans and balsamic vinaigrette complete the plate.

I don’t know about you, but we’re always on the hunt for the perfect back pocket salad. You know, the one that’s pretty easy to make anytime? The one that requires little effort but delivers massive flavor? Here’s one featured on our new favorite back pocket concept: the Goat cheese salad with rocket and apples! Crunchy apples, creamy goat cheese and fluffy arugula are the perfect pairing for the sweet and tangy dressing. It is easy and quick to set up, but there is flavor.

Ingredients of this goat cheese salad with arugula

Goat cheese is one of our favorite salad ingredients because it adds a creamy richness to every bite! Here are the elements that come together to make this salad a symphony of flavors:

• goat cheese: Soft goat cheese or goat cheese is best here, although you can also use the packaged crumbles
• Rocket: Make sure you have baby arugula; Regular arugula is way too spicy
• Apple: A crisp red apple is best, although you can use a Granny Smith as well
• shallot: A shallot is a milder version of a red onion and complements the flavor
• pecans: Substitute any nut you like, or see how to intensify the flavor below
• Balsamic Vinaigrette: This creamy balsamic dressing is our favorite, but you can use others (see below)

Best dressing and some alternatives

Our favorite dressing for this goat cheese salad is our creamy balsamic dressing. It has just the right sweet and tart flavor and a creamy, emulsified texture. All you need is balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, and olive oil—and it all comes together in no time! Make a note of it and you’ll have a vinaigrette for all your future salads; these are our favorite dressings in this house!

But do you want to mix? There are a few other dressings that we love that go well with a goat cheese salad. Here’s what we recommend:

Step up the pecans: Roast them or glaze them!

Want to make that salad really pop? When we make this goat cheese and arugula salad on a weekday, we use plain nuts. But for entertainment, there are two ways to really make this salad sparkle:

• Roast the nuts. A quick toast in the oven or in the pan makes all the difference: it really brings out the nutty flavor. Try toasted pecans, toasted walnuts or toasted almonds.
• Glaze the nuts. Even better: make glazed pecans! Toss them in a pan with maple syrup and caramelize them: once dry, they’ll be sweet and crunchy on the outside. Also try glazed nuts.

Variations of this goat cheese salad

There are endless variations of this goat cheese salad with arugula: just swap out different fruits, vegetables or nuts to create variations of all kinds! Here are some options:

• Use different nutssuch as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios
• Make a pear and goat cheese salad with sliced ​​pears
• Make a goat cheese and beetroot salad with roasted turnips (easier with pre-packaged pre-cooked turnips from the store, or roast yourself)
• Use berries insteadsuch as blueberries, blackberries or strawberries
• Replace fruit with vegetableslike carrots (raw or roasted) or roasted sweet potatoes
• Use a variety of leafy greenslike baby greens, spinach, or shredded Brussels sprouts

Your readers always have the best ideas! Let us know how you personalized this salad.

Goat cheese vs cow cheese

Did you know that goat’s cheese is slightly healthier than traditional cow’s cheese like parmesan or mozzarella? Here’s a little breakdown for comparison (source: Prevention):

• More vitamins and minerals than cow cheese. Goat’s milk is richer in essential nutrients than cow’s milk. It contains more vitamins A and B, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium.
• Slightly fewer calories than cow cheese. Goat cheese contains only 75 calories per ounce, fewer than cow cheeses like mozzarella (85 calories), Swiss (108 calories), and cheddar (115 calories).
• May be easier to digest. Goat’s cheese contains less lactose than cow’s milk and has a slightly different protein structure, so people with lactose intolerance can often digest goat’s cheese.

This Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free.