Pear and Goat Cheese Spinach Salad
Pear and Goat Cheese Spinach Salad, tossed with a champagne vinaigrette and topped with crunchy almonds. Great for lunch or dinner!
Over the weekend, Shawn and I were watching the Amazing Race, resting from a long day of gardening. They were doing a challenge where the contestants had to identify 4 different scents that made up a perfume. The whole time Shawn kept saying, “We could do that!”
Then, I could see the wheels turning in Shawn’s head as he formed an idea.
“Wait right here…”
I heard him rifling thru the kitchen. He then told me to close my eyes. He is going to bring out a tray of different spices that I would have to identify just by smell, and I can’t peek.
You guys, it was SO fun!
To really make sure I wasn’t cheating, he got my sleep eye mask and made me wear it as a blindfold. Trying to figure out spices just by smell is not as easy as you think. Dried basil smells a lot like dried parsley. And cumin kind of smells like curry.
After my turn, I wanted to do the same for Shawn. He had taken a lot of the spices, so he got to sample coconut oil, and a jar of bacon grease (you all save your bacon grease in a mason jar too, right?), and his very favorite was truffle salt. Also, I learned that Shawn does not know what nutmeg is.
If you are ever a little bored, do this game.
When I was going thru our spice cabinet to find things for Shawn to identify by smell, I realized how many vinegars I have. I’ve written about it before, but I have a TON of vinegars. Best way to change up salad dressings and meat marinades. When looking thru my spice cabinet, I found a jar of champagne vinegar that had yet to be open. I had to change that right away. What better way than to make a champagne vinaigrette and this pear and goat cheese spinach salad.
This pear and goat cheese spinach salad has trumped my orange almond salad with avocado as my new favorite salad for lunch. I love the velvety spinach leaves mixed with the creamy goat cheese and sweet pears. Toss in some champagne vinaigrette and crunchy almonds, and it’s the perfect vegetarian salad for spring.
Pear and Goat Cheese Spinach Salad
Ingredients
Champagne Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- pinch of salt and pepper
Salad
- 8 oz baby spinach
- 1 pear, sliced (I used an Asian Pear)
- 3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup roasted slivered almonds
Instructions
- In a mason jar or small mixing bowl, make the salad dressing by combining all the ingredients and whisking to combine. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss the spinach with desired amount of dressing. Top with sliced pears, goat cheese and almonds. Serve.
More Salad Recipes:
Orange Almond Salad with Avocado
Ramen Noodle Chinese Chicken Salad (<– my husbands FAVORITE!)
Cucumber Carrot Noodle Thai Salad
More Spinach Salads from my Blogging Friends:
Pear, Gouda and Hazelnuts Spinach Salad by Sweet Peas and Saffron
White Bean Spinach Salad by Sweet and Delish
26 Comments on “Pear and Goat Cheese Spinach Salad”
Haha this does sound like fun! They’ve done something similar on Top Chef with taste and it’s surprising how many get them wrong! (Also – I totally save my bacon grease too;). This salad sounds refreshing and great for a weekday lunch!
You guys are so cute! Clayton would not know ANYTHING! I promise! haha! He might know what pepper smells like but that is about it! :)
We had to do that “game” in culinary school, and you are so right.. it is difficult!! What would not be difficult? Devouring plate after plate of this delicious salad! Pears, goat cheese, almonds and the Champagne Vinaigrette sounds wonderful! Yummmmm! Thanks for sharing :)
P.S. I keep my bacon drippings in a mason jar too! Can’t let that liquid gold go to waste!
You guys sound like you have a lot of fun together. So cute!
This salad is gorgeous! I am such a salad lover! Pinned
Haha, you guys are so funny! My husband would never come up with a game like that! This salad looks amazing Natalie, even for a not-salad-lover like myself ;)
What awesome flavors for a salad, I’m a huge goat cheese fan!! :)
I have quite a few different kinds of vinegar and I never know what to do with them! I think I need to start making more dressings, because this salad looks incredible. So gorgeous and I looove goat cheese!
I love everything about this salad! I need to give it a try immediately. I had to do blind tasting in college for my food prep lab and it was so much fun. I’ll have to have Kyle test my smell recognition sometime soon – it will be completely one-sided as he would be horrible at something like this haha.
I get confused smelling some spices — we had to that in cooking school and it was tough! This salad has all ingredients I love, and I could eat it every single day!
What a fun game! You guys are adorable :). This salad looks so SO yummy! I love the combo of pear and goat cheese. I am always looking for new salads to try. Adding this to my list!
You and Shawn are so cute! What a fun game, I would totally beat my husband because he is lost when it comes to spices or cooking :) This spinach salad looks delicious! I love the combination of pear and goat cheese!
That game does sound fun! I wonder if I would be good at it…I am really sensitive to smells. This salad sounds wonderful! I love the addition of pears!
Natalie, I haven’t watched the Amazing Race in years!!! I didn’t even know that show was still on TV. . shows you how much TV I watch :P the identifying spices game sounds fun!!! It’s amazing how other senses are heightened when we can’t see! I love this salad!!! pear and goat cheese on everything please! :)
This is just my kind of salad! I love the combination of fruit and goat cheese. It’s like my favorite Waldorf salad!
Sounds like a lot of fun. I watched an episode of myth busters and they did something similar. I bet the two of you had ton of fun.
You and Shawn are too funny, Natalie! I love how you always share stories of the fun things you do together. I love the combination of flavors and textures in this salad! Yum!
This salad looks so fresh and healthy Natalie! I would be SO horrible at identifying spices, I bet it was so much fun though. I’d love to see my husband do this, he actually has quite the dog nose, he can smell anything a mile away! All of your salads look great :)
A perfect springtime salad indeed! Everything about this sounds wonderful and I love the sound of champagne vinegar! Pinned!
I love the game that you and Shawn played, sounds like a lot of fun!
Haha! That definitely sounds like a game I’ve gotta play with my siblings the next time we’re all bored! You and Shawn are just too funny. :) Love it!
And umm, this salad?! I seriously cannot stop drooling here! Spinach salads are one of my favorites and I love how you shook it up by throwing pears and goat cheese into the mix! And of course, a boozy dressing is just the icing on the cake! Or the salad….;) Pinned!
That game does sound fun, Natalie! I would totally beat my husband because I know he has no idea what nutmeg is! :) This salad looks fantastic! I love the champagne vinaigrette on here. Sounds so light and refreshing, especially with the goat cheese!