Crispy Prosciutto Salad

Quick Summary

Crispy Prosciutto Salad- arugula topped with crispy prosciutto, juicy pears, creamy burrata cheese, red onion, pecans, and tossed in a simple balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

crispy prosciutto salad with pears, burrata, red onion, and walnuts in a bowl with balsamic vinaigrette and gold serving spoons.

I love making salads that have lots of different textures and flavors. I don’t do boring salads. A few of my favorites include: Berry Kale Salad, Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, Beet Salad, and Strawberry Spinach Salad.

This Crispy Prosciutto Salad is always a crowd pleaser, whenever I make it for the holidays or dinner parties, everyone asks for the recipe. It’s beautiful and the textures and flavors are impressive!

The star of the salad is the crispy prosciutto. Prosciutto is rich, salty, and slightly sweet. It’s more delicate than bacon and doesn’t have a smoky flavor. Cooking the paper-thin meat makes it crispy, making it the perfect salad topping. It adds the perfect amount of crunch to the salad.

The arugula salad also gets topped with the crispy prosciutto, creamy burrata cheese, juicy pears, crunchy walnuts (or pecans), and red onion slices. Toss in a simple balsamic vinaigrette dressing and you have an amazing restaurant style salad that is easy to make at home!

arugula in a bowl, pears, prosciutto on plate, balsamic vinaigrette in a jar, burrata cheese, red onion, and chopped walnuts in a bowl.

Salad Ingredients

Prosciutto– In Italian, prosciutto simply translates to “ham.” It is a raw, cured ham that is pink, salty, and cut into really thin slices. You can find prosciutto at most grocery stores, look in the deli section.
Arugula– arugula is the perfect green for this salad, but you can use mixed greens or spinach.
Pears– use your favorite variety of pear. You can also use peaches, apples, cantaloupe, or even berries.
Cheese– you can use creamy burrata cheese or fresh mozzarella.
Nuts- you can use pecans or walnuts. If you want to sweeten things up, you can even use candied pecans or candied walnuts.
Red Onion– thinly sliced.
Balsamic Vinaigrette– I love using my homemade balsamic dressing, it’s the best!

crispy prosciutto on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

How to Make Crispy Prosciutto Salad

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the prosciutto slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake until the slices start to shrivel and turn golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Check early because the prosciutto can burn quickly since it is so thin. Let cool completely, it will crisp up as it cools.
To make the salad, place the greens in a large bowl. Top with crispy prosciutto, you can break the bigger pieces up a little bit.
Top with pear slices.
Take the burrata or fresh mozzarella and tear it up into chunks and arrange on top of the salad. Sprinkle the salad with nuts and red onion slices.
Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette, toss, and serve!
This salad is best the day it is made. You can make the dressing in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to one week.

crispy prosciutto salad on plate with pears, burrata, red onions, walnuts, balsamic vinaigrette, and a fork.

Serving Suggestions

This salad can be served with any meal or enjoyed for a simple lunch.

If you need some ideas of main dishes that go well with this salad, here are a few ideas.

More Salad Recipes

Find all of our Salad Recipes HERE!

Salads

Crispy Prosciutto Salad- arugula topped with crispy prosciutto, juicy pears, creamy burrata cheese, red onion, pecans, and tossed in a simple balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

2 oz prosciutto, 6-8 slices
8-10 cups baby arugula
3 pears, thinly sliced (can use peaches or apples)
6 ounces burrata or fresh mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
Balsamic Vinaigrette

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the prosciutto slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake until the slices start to shrivel and turn golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Check early because the prosciutto can burn quickly since it is so thin. Let cool completely, it will crisp up as it cools.
To make the salad, place the greens in a large bowl. Top with crispy prosciutto (you can break the bigger pieces up a little bit) and pear slices.
Take the fresh mozzarella or burrata and tear it up into chunks and arrange on top of the salad. Sprinkle the salad with nuts and red onion slices.
Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette, toss, and serve immediately.

This salad is best the day it is made. You can make the dressing in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to one week.

Calories: 227kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 26mg, Sodium: 71mg, Potassium: 261mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 862IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 208mg, Iron: 1mg