This beautiful fig and goats cheese salad with rocket and walnuts is a delicious summer salad. Sweet jammy figs, sharp goats cheese and peppery rocket are dressed in a honey and mustard vinaigrette to make a salad which makes both a delicious side and main meal!
This fig salad is one of those salads that just shouts summer. Fig and goats cheese are such a wonderful pairing – even just slicing a fig in half, spreading on a little goats cheese and sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper and / or drizzling over a little honey is one of my favourite summer snacks!
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This fresh summer salad so easy to make and is a delicious light lunch or side. It is a great recipe to celebrate figs during their short season, and the honey mustard vinaigrette adds a touch of sweetness to compliment the sweet figs, salty goats cheese and peppery rocket. A handful of toasted walnuts adds crunch, and I am a huge fan of walnuts in salad – my pear and walnut salad is on rotation during the cooler months!
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Ingredient notes and substitutions
Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient quantities.
- Fresh figs – the figs I have used in these photos are Brown Turkey figs, however use whichever variety you like. Use fresh in season figs, and ones that are not squishy nor too firm. Don’t use dried figs in this recipe!
- Goats cheese – or substitute feta cheese or even creamy gorgonzola if you like blue cheese.
- Rocket – aka arugula, this peppery leaf goes so well with the sweet figs. Use baby spinach if you prefer.
- Walnuts – or pecans. Toasting the walnuts releases their sweet perfumed flavour.
- Olive Oil – I recommend using extra virgin olive oil.
- Sherry Vinegar – this vinegar has a slight sweetness to it which I love in a salad dressing. Substitute with white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Dijon mustard – dijon mustard not only adds a sharp tangy flavour to the vinaigrette but helps emulsify the dressing too.
- Honey – a little runny honey adds a touch of sweetness, and honey and figs and honey and goats cheese are both classic pairings.
- Basil – fresh basil leaves add a lovely fragrance to the salad, however you can leave them out.
How to make this fig salad
Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for the full recipe.
- Slice the figs – either into wedges, like in the photographs, or in round slices. If using small figs you will just need to slice them in half or quarters.
- Place the rocket (arugula), figs, goats cheese, toasted walnuts and basil on to a serving plate or into a salad bowl.
- Make the honey mustard vinaigrette: either add all the vinaigrette ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine, or place them in a screw top jar and shake to combine.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and serve immediately.
FAQ
Figs go well with a variety of cheese, including gorgonzola, stilton, brie, feta, and goats cheese.
Yes! The skin on figs is perfectly safe to consume. Wash the figs and dry gently. Just cut off the stem. You can peel the skin off if you don’t like the texture.
Yes! If you want a little crunch, a few toasted pumpkin seeds / pepitas would be a great substitute, or leave out altogether.
My recipe tips
- Use in-season figs – their flavour is so different. I was lucky enough to go and pick the figs from the tree for this salad, and their flavour was far superior to any others I had tried.
- Figs don’t store very well, so if you are planning on making this salad, don’t buy the figs days before you plan to make it.
- How to toast walnuts – the easiest way to toast the walnuts is in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until the walnuts fragrant, stirring occasionally and watching them as they can burn easily. This usually takes around 3-5 minutes.
Serving Ideas
This fig and goat cheese salad is delicious on its own, with a slice of crusty bread. If you want to bulk it out you can add some homemade croutons or a few handfuls of cooked quinoa or couscous. It makes a delicious side to grilled chicken, salmon or lamb too.
Make ahead/storage
This salad is best served soon after it is assembled. Any leftover salad will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a day.
Why not try…
You may also like these other delicious salad recipes:
Fig and Goats Cheese Salad
Author: Robyn
Ingredients
- 120g (6 c) rocket arugula
- 6 large figs
- 80g (3 oz) goats cheese
- 50g (½ c) walnuts toasted and roughly chopped – see tip below for how to toast walnuts.
- Small handful basil leaves approx 10-15 leaves, optional
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- ½ teaspoon runny honey
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place the rocket / arugula on to a large serving platter or bowl.
- Chop the figs in to sixths or eighths depending on their size, and scatter over the rocket / arugula.
- Crumble over the goats cheese and roughly chopped walnuts, then sprinkle over the basil leaves.
Make the vinaigrette
- Add the olive oil, sherry vinegar, runny honey, dijon mustard, salt and black pepper to a small bowl or jar and whisk or shake to combine.
- Just before serving, pour the vinaigrette over the salad.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
-
- Fresh figs – the figs I have used in these photos are Brown Turkey figs, however use whichever variety you like. Use fresh in season figs, and ones that are not squishy nor too firm. Don’t use dried figs in this recipe!
-
- Goats cheese – or substitute feta cheese or even creamy gorgonzola if you like blue cheese.
-
- Rocket – aka arugula, this peppery leaf goes so well with the sweet figs. Use baby spinach if you prefer.
-
- Walnuts – or pecans. Toasting the walnuts releases their sweet perfumed flavour.
-
- Olive Oil – I recommend using extra virgin olive oil.
-
- Sherry Vinegar – this vinegar has a slight sweetness to it which I love in a salad dressing. Substitute with white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
-
- Dijon mustard – dijon mustard not only adds a sharp tangy flavour to the vinaigrette but helps emulsify the dressing too.
-
- Honey – a little runny honey adds a touch of sweetness, and honey and figs and honey and goats cheese are both classic pairings.
- Basil – fresh basil leaves add a lovely fragrance to the salad, however you can leave them out.
- Use in-season figs – their flavour is so different. I was lucky enough to go and pick the figs from the tree for this salad, and their flavour was far superior to any others I had tried.
- Figs don’t store very well, so if you are planning on making this salad, don’t buy the figs days before you plan to make it.
-
- How to toast walnuts – the easiest way to toast the walnuts is in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until the walnuts fragrant, stirring occasionally and watching them as they can burn easily. This usually takes around 3-5 minutes.
Nutrition
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