Pear and Prosciutto Rocket Salad is a delightfully sweet and savory dish full of flavor and texture. Crispy prosciutto, sliced pears, walnuts, shallots, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and peppery arugula tossed in a maple balsamic vinaigrette. Make it in 20 minutes and serve with a toasted baguette or with your favorite main course.
This prosciutto and pear arugula salad is always a hit! It's has so many complimentary flavors, ranging from sweet to savory to pungent. While we listed our favorite gluten-free ingredients for this salad, the cheese, nuts, and dressing can all be swapped out with your favorite substitutes.
Make this salad all year round with your favorite main course, like Veggie Pesto Pasta with Zucchini and Asparagus, Buttery Fish with Crispy Skin, or Dutch Oven Whole Chicken with Meyer Lemon. It's easy to make for a weeknight dinner or scale for parties and holidays.
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About this Salad
- Taste - This salad is a medley of sweet, salty, and pungent flavors. It has all the best flavors: crispy prosciutto, cheese, fruit, nuts, shallots, and peppery arugula in a maple balsamic dressing.
- Texture - Soft, crunchy, chewy all in one salad thanks to the fresh arugula and all of the toppings.
- Effort - All you need to do is prep the prosciutto, dressing, and assemble the salad. The prosciutto and dressing can be made the day before.
- Time - Just 20 minutes to prep the prosciutto and vinaigrette, and assemble the salad.
Ingredients
Crispy Prosciutto
- Prosciutto - Prosciutto is a delicate, sweet, and savory meat. We use crispy prosciutto in this recipe for its great crunch.
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Balsamic vinegar - Balsamic vinegar is Italian concentrated vinegar. It has a syrupy texture and a dark, bold flavor.
- Maple syrup - Maple syrup adds sweetness to the dressing.
- Dijon mustard - Dijon mustard provides tanginess.
- Freshly ground black pepper - Black pepper adds a little spice.
- Lemon juice - Lemon juice brightens the dressing.
- Olive oil - Extra virgin olive oil is the base of the vinaigrette.
Rocket Pear Salad
- Arugula - Arugula is a peppery green with a nice crunch.
- Pear - Thinly sliced pears are crispy, sweet, and crunchy. Choose your favorite pear, including comice, barlett, green or red anjou, Asian, etc.
- Shallot - Shallot has the flavor of a mild onion without the bite.
- Walnuts - Walnuts add a nutty flavor and heartiness to the salad.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano - Parmigiano-reggiano or shaved parmesan cheese adds sharpness to the salad.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Lettuce - Use butter lettuce, red lettuce, kale, spinach salad, or a mixed greens salad instead of arugula.
- Nuts - Replace walnuts candied walnuts, pecans, candied pecans, pine nuts, or your favorite nut.
- Apple - Replace sliced pears with apples if you prefer the taste of apples to pears.
- Dressing - This salad will also be delicious drizzled with a simple balsamic vinegar or honey mustard dressing.
- Regular prosciutto - Use regular prosciutto instead of crispy prosciutto if you prefer the softer texture.
- Red onion - Use red onion instead of diced shallot for a sharper onion flavor.
- Cheese - Swap the Parmigiano-Reggiano for gouda, goat cheese, manchego, and more.
Variations
- Burrata - Burrata is a soft, flavorful, and creamy Italian cheese.
- Tomatoes - Add tomatoes for a robust flavor explosion.
- Vegetarian - Omit the prosciutto to make this pizza vegetarian.
- Goat cheese - Crumbled goat cheese has a sharp and earthy flavor.
- Blue cheese - Add blue cheese for a salty and spicy cheese.
- Dried Cherries or Cranberries - Dried cranberries or cherries will add a bright tart flavor to the salad.
- Mild - Omit the shallot for a milder tasting salad.
- Fruit - Add sliced figs, peaches, apples, or berries for more fruit flavor.
Instructions
Crispy Prosciutto
- Preheat oven - Heat oven to 375°F.
- Arrange prosciutto - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay prosciutto flat with space between each piece. Make sure the slices are not touching each other and do not crowd the baking sheet or the prosciutto will not properly crisp.
- Cook prosciutto - Place on the middle rack of the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the prosciutto slices. Keep a close eye on the prosciutto once in the oven to make sure they do not burn.
- Cool prosciutto - Remove from the oven and transfer the prosciutto to a wire rack to cool. The prosciutto will become crispier as it cools.
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
- In a bowl, whisk balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and lemon juice until combined. Slowly add in oil and whisk until the dressing is emulsified.
- Store in an airtight container or lidded jar and refrigerate. Shake before serving.
Salad
- Add the arugula to a large mixing bowl and toss in the dressing. Mix in shallot and walnuts, and top with sliced pear, crispy prosciutto and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.
Pro tip: Make the crispy prosciutto and maple vinaigrette a day ahead of time for easy assembly.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, rocket and arugula are the same. Rocket and arugula are also known as garden rocket, roquette, and rucola.
The name rocket is derived from the Italian word ruchetta or rucola. It also may be derived from the French word roquette. Learn more here.
Yes, most of the ingredients in rocket salad are healthy. Arugula and pears are nutrient and fiber rich and walnuts are a healthy source of vitamins and minerals. The vinaigrette is light and low in calories. In order to make this recipe healthier, omit the prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
The lemon juice in the maple vinaigrette will help to prevent the sliced pears from turning brown. You can also squeeze extra lemon juice on the pears to make sure they stay golden.
This comes down to personal preference. But we eat the skin because we don't mind the texture and the peel contains many of the fruit's nutrients.
Cut the pear lengthwise around the core, stem, and seeds. Thinly slice the pear lengthwise.
Equipment
This pear walnut salad requires just a few kitchen essentials, all of which you can use for many other common recipes. To make the crispy prosciutto, you will need a sheet pan or rimmed baking sheet, parchment paper, and a cooling rack.
To make the peppery rocket salad, you will need a knife, cutting board, mixing bowl, salad bowl or platter, and salad servers.
Storage
Store the produce ingredients (arugula, pear, shallot, etc.) separately from the crispy prosciutto and maple dressing in the fridge, and recombine when ready. All ingredients are good for 3 days.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
Top tips
Figure out what you want to make with this prosciutto salad ahead of time. If you need to cook the other dish, you can let it cook while you assemble the salad.
Related Recipes
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Pear and Prosciutto Rocket Salad
Equipment
- 1 knife
Ingredients
Crispy Prosciutto
- 2 oz prosciutto
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
- squeeze of lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Salad
- 4 cups arugula 3 oz
- 1 pear thinly sliced. See notes for options.
- 1 small shallot thinly sliced
- ½ cup toasted or candied walnuts
- ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano shaved
- 1 pinch sea salt to taste
- 1 pinch freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
Crispy Prosciutto
- Preheat oven - Heat oven to 375°F
- Arrange prosciutto - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay prosciutto flat with space between each piece. Make sure the slices are not touching each other and do not crowd the baking sheet or the prosciutto will not properly crisp.2 oz prosciutto
- Cook prosciutto - Place on the middle rack of the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the prosciutto slices. Keep a close eye on the prosciutto once in the oven to make sure they do not burn.
- Cool prosciutto - Remove from the oven and transfer the prosciutto to a wire rack to cool. The prosciutto will become crispier as it cools.
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
- While the prosciutto cooks, make the vinaigrette. In a bowl, whisk balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and lemon juice until combined. Slowly add in oil and whisk until the dressing is emulsified.1½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, squeeze of lemon juice, 2 tablespoon olive oil
- Store in an airtight container or lidded jar and refrigerate. Shake before serving.
Salad
- Add the arugula to a large mixing bowl and toss in the dressing. Mix in shallot and walnuts, and top with sliced pear, crispy prosciutto and sliced Parmigiano-Reggiano. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.4 cups arugula, 1 pear, 1 small shallot, ½ cup toasted or candied walnuts, ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
Video
Notes
- Make a bigger batch of maple balsamic dressing to dress more salads.
- Don't dress until you're ready to serve and eat the salad to prevent the salad from getting soggy.
- Make the prosciutto and dressing ahead of time for quick assembly.
- Drizzle lemon juice on the pears if you do not serve immediately. This prevents oxidation.
- Choose your favorite pear, including comice, barlett, green or red anjou, Asian, etc.
Sue
I made this salad for my bunko group of 7 other ladies. Everyone raved about this salad. It's a keeper. Will be sending the recipe to all of them.
Kathleen Higashiyama
Hi Sue, we're thrilled to hear you enjoyed the salad! Thank you for trying our recipe and sharing it with your friends. Have a wonderful day!