Fresh Cherry Salad with Arugula
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Fall in love with this fresh cherry salad: it’s light, fresh, and full of contrasting flavors and textures. Sweet cherries, peppery arugula, spicy candied pecans, and either goat cheese or avocado are tossed in an easy-to-make fresh cherry vinaigrette. It’s a celebration of all things summer!
This fresh cherry salad is one of the recipes I look forward to making every summer. Sweet, juicy cherries pair beautifully with peppery arugula, creating a salad that feels vibrant, refreshing, and perfectly suited to warm-weather meals.
What makes this salad so good is the contrast of flavors and textures. Fresh cherries bring sweetness, arugula adds a peppery bite, and candied pecans contribute a buttery crunch that’s hard to resist. A little goat cheese, feta, or creamy avocado rounds everything out and ties the whole salad together.
It’s the kind of salad that feels special enough for entertaining but easy enough for a weeknight dinner. Whether you serve it alongside grilled meats or enjoy it as a light meal on its own, it’s a delicious way to make the most of cherry season.
For another fruity, summery salad, make this grilled peach salad!
Let’s talk about this salad dressing for a minute.
In case there weren’t enough cherries in the salad already, I have made us the best cherry balsamic vinaigrette ever. Drizzle this prettiest pink, full-of-fresh-cherry vinaigrette over everything, then toss everything together. You’ll want to make a double batch to keep it around for your salads all week! It’s so simple to make. Just put all the dressing ingredients in your blender until smooth – it’s that easy!
How do I remove the cherry pits? You can either use a cherry pitter or cut them open, avocado-style, after you remove the stems.
Fresh Cherry Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Candied Pepper Pecans
- 1 cup pecans
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon butter
Fresh Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup fresh pitted cherries (packed)
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil (or another neutral-flavored oil)
- 1 ½ tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or sub apple cider vinegar)
- A pinch of sea salt
Arugula and Fresh Cherry Salad
- 10 ounces baby arugula
- 2 cups pitted cherries (cut in half)
- 2 ounces goat cheese
Instructions
- Toast the pecans in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Once they begin to brown and smell fragrant, add the maple syrup and black pepper to the pan and stir until the pan is mostly dry. Remove the pan from the heat, add the butter and mix it through the pecans. (The butter prevents them from being too sticky.) Transfer the pecans to a piece of parchment paper in a single layer and let them cool.1 cup pecans, ¼ cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon butter
- Place the fresh cherry vinaigrette ingredients into your blender and blend on high until smooth. Feel free to double or triple the recipe to have extra!⅓ cup fresh pitted cherries, 3 tablespoons avocado oil, 1 ½ tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, A pinch of sea salt
- Add the baby arugula, fresh cherries, goat cheese or avocado, and the candied pecans to a large salad bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over the top and toss to coat.10 ounces baby arugula, 2 cups pitted cherries, 2 ounces goat cheese
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Fabulous recipe! I used feta in place of goat cheese and accidentally made it with only 5 oz of arugula. 2 friends asked for the recipe!
That sounds amazing! Feta is a perfect swap, and I bet the extra dressing with a little less arugula made it even more flavorful. Love that your friends want the recipe too!
OMG this is to die for. Don’t know which I loved more, the dressing or the peppered maple pecans. I substituted mozzarella “pearls” for goat cheese just because that’s what I had in the house.
Hooray! I’m so happy that you love the recipe!
This is even better if you add some cubed leftover bbq chicken.
Oh heck ya! That’s a great idea!