Arugula Fig Salad Recipe (2024)

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by Marcie //August 28, 2023

Celebrate fig season with this sweet and savory Arugula Fig Salad recipe! It’s tossed with crisp apple, creamy goat cheese, toasted walnuts and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette for a salad that’s guaranteed to impress!

This Arugula Fig Salad Recipe is the perfect crossover between summer and fall. It incorporates summer arugula and fresh figs, and it also celebrates the beginning of apple season.

The combination of peppery arugula, sweet figs, crisp apple, creamy goat cheese, crunchy walnuts, and tangy balsamic dressing pair so beautifully together, making this one of my favorite summer salads.

Aside from my fig jam recipe, this salad is my favorite way to use fresh figs. It’s incredibly easy to prepare, and it’s guaranteed to impress.

See my 27 Fresh Fig Recipes for more exciting ways to use figs!

Why you’ll love this recipe:

• This fig salad recipe is an irresistible blend of sweet and savory flavors and a variety of textures. It’s guaranteed to impress!
• It’s easy enough for busy weeknights and impressive enough for dinner parties and gatherings.
• It comes together in minutes and the walnuts and dressing may be prepped in advance.
• It can be easily customized based on what you have on hand.

Recipe ingredients

This fig and goat cheese salad includes just a few ingredients that can be customized according to your tastes or ingredients that you have on hand.

Ingredient notes:

• Arugula. Peppery arugula pairs beautifully with the sweetness of the fresh figs and tangy goat cheese, so I highly recommend using it. You can certainly substitute it with your favorite dark leafy greens such as massaged kale, spinach or spring greens.
• Figs. If fresh figs aren’t available, dried figs are a great substitute.
• Apple. Crisp, sweet apple adds great texture and flavor to this salad. If you don’t have any on hand you can substitute it with blueberries, raspberries, peaches, pears or your favorite fruit.
• Goat cheese. The tangy flavor of the goat cheese pair so well with the arugula and figs, but if you’re not a fan, sub with feta cheese, blue cheese or omit entirely to make this recipe dairy-free.
• Walnuts. Sub the walnuts with pecans, almonds or your favorite nuts or seeds.
• Dressing. My sweet, tangy balsamic vinaigrette dressing is my favorite dressing for this salad. You can substitute it with apple cider vinegar dressing or your favorite store bought dressing.

How to make fig salad with goat cheese

This salad comes together so quickly, and the toasted walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette dressing may be prepped up to a few days in advance.

Pro tip: For best results, toss the salad with the dressing just before serving and serve immediately. Fig salad is best served the day that it’s made.

See the recipe card below for full instructions.

1. Toast the walnuts and prep your ingredients.
2. Place the arugula, figs, apple, goat cheese and walnuts in a large bowl and toss with the desired amount of dressing.

FAQs

Serving suggestions

Fig salad can be served up a number of delicious ways as outlined below.

• Fig and goat cheese salad makes a healthy meal prep lunch. Store without dressing or nuts for up to 3 days in the fridge, then add the nuts and dressing and enjoy.
• It’s great for busy weeknights served with air fryer chicken breast or air fryer pork chops.
• It’s a great side dish for your next barbecue served with grilled tomahawk steak, grilled chicken thighs or grilled turkey burgers.
• Serve for dinner parties alongside beef short ribs, pork loin roast or roasted chicken.
• Serve as a vegetarian main dish with mushroom risotto, air fryer baked potato or air fryer broccoli.

Recipe notes

• Pro tip: For best results, toss the salad with the dressing just before serving and serve immediately. Fig salad is best served the day that it’s made.
• You can customize this to your liking, but the one thing that I wouldn’t change at all is the arugula. The bold, peppery flavor of the arugula is the perfect contrast to sweet fig, juicy apple and tangy goat cheese.
• If figs aren’t in season, you can substitute with dried figs. If apples aren’t in season, substitute them with raspberries or blueberries. And if you’re not into goat cheese, feta cheese is a good replacement.
• The dressing may be made in advance and stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

More fresh fig recipes!

• Baked brie with figs by The View From Great Island
• Fig jam
• Fig pizza
• Whipped goat cheese fig bites
• Best fig recipes

Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram

**This recipe was originally published in August 2018. The photos have been updated to include step by step photos and the text has been modified to include more recipe information.

posted in: Fall, Gluten-Free, Recipes, Salads, Summer, Vegetarian // 15 comments