Warm crispy Fried Goat Cheese Salad with apples, walnuts, and a creamy apple vinaigrette!

Fried Goat Cheese Salad Recipe on plates

Fried Goat Cheese Salad

You can never have enough tantalizing salad recipes.

To shake things up, today’s Fried Goat Cheese Salad offers a little decadence along with the greens!

In a perfect world, my husband and kids would be jumping up and down for Salad Night. Can you imagine what that would look like?

“I want the last helping of salad.”

“No! You got the most salad last night, I get the extra salad tonight!”

“Now kids, there’s enough salad to go around.”

Sigh… A girl can dream.

Making Fried Goat Cheese Salad | ASpicyPerspective.com

In reality, I sometimes have to trick them into eating their greens by topping them with rich, crunchy ingredients.

We’ve all had salads with cheese. What generally comes to mind are those enormous chain-restaurant salads topped with piles of neon-orange processed cheese shred.

We’re going in a different direction with this Fried Goat Cheese Salad recipe.

Goat cheese, possibly my all-time favorite thing to eat, is taken to another level of goodness by breading and pan-frying it to top the salad.

Lightly pan-fried goat cheese served warm, over cool crisp granny smith apples and fresh herbs is a thing of beauty. The crispy goat cheese even fills the need for a slab of protein with the salad, in my opinion.

How to Make Fried Goat Cheese Salad | ASpicyPerspective.com

Creamy apple vinaigrette elevates the tart apple flavor with pureed granny smiths and effervescent champagne vinegar. Add some toasted walnuts, and you have near perfection.

The secret to frying cheese is to slice and freeze it first.

That way, as the breading is crisping up in the hot oil, the cheese is thawing and warming. Not oozing out!

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Fried Goat Cheese Salad Ingredients

For the Apple Vinaigrette:

For the Fried Goat Cheese:

For the Salad:

  • Soft goat cheese (chevre)
  • Herb salad mix
  • Granny Smith apples julienned
  • Toasted walnuts
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How to Make Fried Goat Cheese Salad

  1. Do ahead: Slice the goat cheese log into ten to twelve ½ inch rounds. Wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for at least 1 ½ hours.
  2. In a blender, puree the first 7 ingredients of the vinaigrette until smooth. Then slowly add ½ cup oil to the dressing until emulsified.
  3. Prepare 3 pie pans: one holding buttermilk whisked with egg, one with flour mixed with white pepper, and a third pan with panko.
  4. Place a small skillet over medium heat. Add enough oil to thoroughly coat the bottom of the skillet, about ¼ inch deep. While the oil is heating, prepare the salad plates by piling salad greens on 4-6 plates, topped with julienne apples and toasted walnuts. (Chilling the plates ahead of time is a nice touch!)
  5. When the oil is hot, quickly dip the frozen cheese rounds into the egg mixture, then flour, egg mixture again, then panko. That’s right, 4 dips in all.
  6. Place them into the skillet around the outer edges first, and fill the center last. Pan-fry the cheese for 1 ½ to 2 minutes per side until it reaches a golden brown color. Flip with a small spatula. Remove the fried cheese and place it on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Repeat with extra cheese if needed.
  7. Drizzle each plate with granny smith vinaigrette and place 2-3 fried cheese rounds on top of each salad. Serve while the cheese is warm!
Best Fried Goat Cheese Salad | ASpicyPerspective.com

You’ve got to try this Fried Goat Cheese Salad. It’s so delicious it will entice even your pickiest salad eaters.

Cheese is milk’s leap towards immortality. -Clifton Fadiman

Fried Goat Cheese Salad | ASpicyPerspective.com
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Fried Goat Cheese Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 minutes
Total Time: 19 minutes
Warm crisp Fried Goat Cheese Salad with apples, walnuts and greens. This perky salad recipe is easy to make, but looks and tastes elegant.
Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the Apple Vinaigrette:

  • 1/2 large Granny Smith apple, peeled
  • 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoon honey
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil + extra for frying

For the Fried Goat Cheese:

For the Salad:

  • 10.5 ounces soft goat cheese (1 log)
  • 5 ounces herb salad mix
  • 1 1/2 Granny Smith apples julienned
  • 3/4 cup toasted walnuts

Instructions

  • Do ahead: Slice the goat cheese log into ten to twelve ½ inch rounds. Wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for at least 1 ½ hours.
  • In a blender, puree the first 7 ingredients of the vinaigrette until smooth. Then slowly add ½ cup oil to the dressing until emulsified.
  • Prepare 3 pie pans: one holding buttermilk whisked with egg, one with flour mixed with white pepper, and a third pan with panko.
  • Place a small skillet over medium heat. Add enough oil to thoroughly coat the bottom of the skillet, about ¼ inch deep. While the oil is heating, prepare the salad plates by piling salad greens on 4-6 plates, topped with julienne apples and toasted walnuts. (Chilling the plates ahead of time is a nice touch!)
  • When the oil is hot, quickly dip the frozen cheese rounds into the egg mixture, then flour, egg mixture again, then panko. That’s right, 4 dips in all.
  • Place them into the skillet around the outer edges first, and fill the center last. Pan-fry the cheese for 1 ½ to 2 minutes per side until it reaches a golden brown color. Flip with a small spatula. Remove the fried cheese and place it on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Repeat with extra cheese if needed.
  • Drizzle each plate with granny smith vinaigrette and place 2-3 fried cheese rounds on top of each salad. Serve while the cheese is warm!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup, Calories: 741kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 22g, Fat: 59g, Saturated Fat: 35g, Cholesterol: 76mg, Sodium: 842mg, Potassium: 331mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 1290IU, Vitamin C: 12.7mg, Calcium: 178mg, Iron: 3.5mg
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Author: Sommer Collier
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