Asian Pear Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese
This Asian pear salad is the perfect light and refreshing lunch or dinner dish. It packs several nutritious and delicious ingredients, like asian pear, edamame, and avocado. Tossed in a zippy apple cider vinaigrette, it’s ready to eat in 15 minutes!
As a Registered Dietitian, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I love salad recipes. Serving a salad with a meal is an easy way to add more vegetables to your diet, and salads do not have to be boring! To make salads more interesting, I love to add unexpected ingredients. This asian pear salad recipe has a wonderful variety of textures and flavors – and is one of my favorite ways to use asian pears.
This recipe is vegetarian, gluten free, and nut free. It serves 4-6 people as a side dish.
What are asian pears?
Asian pears are a type of pear fruit that originate from Eastern Asia. You may also see them sold as Japanese pears, Chinese pears, or Korean pears. Asian pears are more round than European pears, and can grow quite large.
Asian pears have a crisp and crunchy texture with a high water content, making them super juicy. They are usually served raw (peeled or unpeeled), and are not typically used to make jams or pies.
Ingredients in Asian pear salad
Everything you need to make this green arugula salad is listed below:
- Asian pear
- Arugula
- Edamame (shelled and cooked)
- Avocado
- Goat Cheese
- Sesame seeds
- Apple cider vinegar
- Olive oil
- Dijon mustard
- Honey
- Shallot
- Salt
Ingredient and dietary restriction substitution suggestions
- Make it vegan: Eliminate the goat cheese from the recipe.
- Substitution for Asian pear: If you cannot find Asian pears, try using Bosc pear or Honeycrisp apple as a replacement.
- Substitution for apple cider vinegar: You can use lemon juice, white wine vinegar, or champagne vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar for a similar dressing.
- Arugula substitution: If you prefer not to use arugula, you can make this salad with spring greens, baby spinach, or baby kale.
Step by step instructions
Slice the asian pear and avocado into thin slices.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients: apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, minced shallot, and salt.
Assemble the salad in a large salad bowl: arugula, sliced asian pear, sliced avocado, edamame, crumbled goat cheese, and sesame seeds.
Toss the salad in the dressing right before serving and enjoy!
Storage: This salad is best eaten the day it is assembled. You can prepare the salad a few hours ahead of eating and store it covered in the fridge, and add the dressing right before eating.
Serving suggestions
Pair this salad with your favorite protein to make it a more filling and balanced meal, such as salmon, tofu, or shrimp.
To make this salad feel heartier and more filling on it’s own, you can add a cooked whole grain such as quinoa or farro. Just be sure to let the grains cool completely before adding to the salad, otherwise the arugula will wilt!
Asian pear nutrition benefits
Asian pears contain several nutrients that can provide health benefits. They are an excellent source of dietary fiber – one asian pear provides 9.9 grams, or 35 percent of your daily needs! In addition to dietary fiber, asian pears are a source of micronutrients, including:
- Potassium
- B Vitamins
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin K
- Copper
- Magnesium
Edamame nutrition benefits
Edamame, or soybeans, are an excellent source of plant-based protein. One cup of cooked edamame provides 18 grams of protein! You also get several other nutrients from edamame, including:
- 8 grams of dietary fiber (29 percent of your daily needs)
- 98 mg calcium (8 percent of your daily needs)
- 3.5 mg iron (19 percent of your daily needs)
- 457.6 mcg folate (114 percent of your daily needs)
- 45.1 mcg Vitamin K (38 percent of your daily needs)
- 99.2 mg magnesium (25 percent of your daily needs)
- 2.13 mg zinc (19 percent of your daily needs)
Soy products like edamame contain compounds called Isoflavones. These compounds have antioxidant qualities that fight inflammation and can help protect against certain diseases, including breast and prostate cancers.
Avocado nutrition benefits
Avocado is one of the best food sources of healthy fats. A majority of the fat in avocado comes from monounsaturated fatty acids. Diets high in monounsaturated fatty acids can improve heart disease risk factors.
In addition, avocados are filled with other nutrients. One avocado contains:
- 10 grams of dietary fiber (36 percent of your daily needs)
- 3 grams of plant-based protein
- 728 mg potassium (15 percent of your daily needs)
- 121.5 mcg folate (30 percent of your daily needs)
- 15 mg Vitamin C (17 percent of your daily needs)
- 3.10 mg Vitamin E (14 percent of your daily needs)
- 31.5 mcg Vitamin K (26 percent of your daily needs)
- 0.28 mg copper (31 percent of your daily needs)
Let me know if you love this recipe by leaving a comment or star rating below, and check out Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy lifestyle inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!
PrintAsian Pear Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Salad
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Asian pear salad is the perfect light and refreshing lunch or dinner dish. It packs several nutritious and delicious ingredients, like asian pear, edamame, and avocado. Tossed in a zippy apple cider vinaigrette, it’s ready to eat in 15 minutes!
Ingredients
Asian Pear Salad
- 1 large ripe Asian pear
- 1 large avocado
- 1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
- 5 oz arugula
- 1/3 cup goat cheese
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Apple Cider Vinaigrette
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp shallot, diced
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Thinly slice the asian pear.
- Peel and thinly slice the avocado.
- Assemble the salad in a large salad bowl: add the arugula, then top with the Asian pear slices, avocado slices, edamame, crumbled goat cheese, and toasted sesame seeds.
- Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl until emulsified.
- Toss the salad in the dressing right before serving.
Notes
Ingredient and dietary restriction substitution suggestions
- Make it vegan: Eliminate the goat cheese from the recipe.
- Substitution for asian pear: If you cannot find asian pears, try using Bosc pear or Honeycrisp apple as a replacement.
- Substitution for apple cider vinegar: You can use lemon juice, white wine vinegar, or champagne vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar for a similar dressing.
- Arugula substitution: If you prefer not to use arugula, you can make this salad with spring greens, baby spinach, or baby kale.
Keywords: asian pear salad, salad with asian pear, korean pear, japanese pear, chinese pear
I grow Asian pears and collect different recipes with them. Never thought of pairing Asian pears with avocado and goat cheese before. Will definitely try it out
★★★★★
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it 🙂 I wish I could grow Asian pears at my home!