This simple salad features tangy, nutty, and sweet flavors from toasted almonds, goat's cheese, shaved fennel, and sliced pear. Ready in under 20 minutes and tossed in a tangy lemon vinaigrette, this salad is great for spring!
Most fennel salad recipes use fennel as the base, but I wanted to highlight fennel's ability to take classic green salads to the next level instead of using it as the key flavor component.
Bright lemon flavor, sweet sliced pear, and crumbly goat cheese are paired with a simple lemon vinaigrette for a balance of sweet, zesty, and acidic. The vinaigrette is adapted from my go-to shallot lemon vinaigrette.
Looking for more ways to use fennel? Check out my Fennel Potato Soup or Fennel Sausage Pasta.
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Recipe summary
- Shaved fennel: This fennel salad uses about ½ a bulb of fennel. The fennel is shaved into thin pieces using a vegetable peeler.
- Flavors: Fennel adds a slight crunch and sweet, mild anise flavor.
- Time: Ready in just about 15 minutes!
- Makes: This recipe yields 4 individual salads. For a visually appealing presentation, I suggest assembling the salads individually. However, if you prefer, you can combine all the ingredients in a large salad bowl for a family-style serving.
Ingredients
- Fennel: This salad uses ½ a bulb of fennel, as well as a few sprigs of fennel frond for garnish.
- Salad greens: We're using one container of salad greens (typically 5-6 ounces), such as baby spring mix. Feel free to use all arugula, romaine, or spinach.
- Goat cheese: This adds creaminess and great contrast to the crisp fennel. While quite different, I tested this recipe with slices of pecorino cheese as well and found it to be a good option.
- Almonds: Sliced almonds are toasted in butter. This enhances their richness and nutiness and takes the salad to the next level.
- Lemon vinaigrette: Made using olive oil, fresh lemon juice, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard for emulsification, honey, salt and pepper. Super simple but delicious. Lemon zest is also used on the salad as a garnish.
- Pear: I use Bartlett pears, which are very sweet and juicy. Feel free to use different varieties of pears.
How to shred fennel
Use a potato peeler (also called a vegetable peeler) to shred fennel bulb into thin pieces. Depending on the angle used, you can shred the fennel into wide pieces or thin strips. I go for somewhere in-between, as seen above.
I recommend choosing the wideness of the strips based on how much you like fennel.
Thinner strips will meld more uniformly into the salad, while wide strips stands out and highlight fennel as a key flavor component.
Storage notes
- Fennel salad is best served immediately because after being dressed the lettuce greens will wilt over time. If making in advance, wait to assemble everything until just before serving.
- The lemon vinaigrette keeps well in the fridge for up to a week.
More easy salad recipes
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Fennel Pear Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 teaspoon butter
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- pinch of salt plus more to taste
- ½ bulb fennel
- 5 ounces baby spring mix
- 1 large pear
- lemon juice and zest from one lemon
- 4 ounces plain goat's cheese
For the vinaigrette
- 2 medium lemons juiced and zested
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey adjust to taste
- pinch of salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add the almonds and a pinch of salt. Toast, stirring occasionally, until golden, just a few minutes. Transfer the almonds to a small bowl.
- Remove any wilted or damaged outer layers from the fennel. Use a vegetable peeler to peel thin strips of fennel. Peel about ½ of one fennel bulb.
- Make the vinaigrette in a small jar. Whisk together ¼ cup lemon juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, a pinch of salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Whisk or shake until emulsified.
- Assemble the salad in individual portions or as one large salad. Distribute the greens between 4 servings. Drizzle with half of the vinaigrette, tossing with tongs to coat the greens.
- Thinly slice the pears and squeeze with lemon juice to prevent browning. Divide the slices between each salad.
- Add the crumbled goat's cheese, sliced fennel, and toasted almonds. Garnish with fennel fronds, lemon zest, and a crack of freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette just before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Goat cheese: This adds creaminess and great contrast to the crisp fennel. While quite different, I tested this recipe with slices of pecorino cheese as well and found it to be a good option.
- Lemons: One large lemon typically has 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice, while one small lemon has about 2 tablespoons. I bought 2 large lemons for this recipe.
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