This Crispy Prosciutto, Blueberry and Blue Cheese Salad is a perfect combination of sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy. It comes together quickly and is as beautiful as it is delicious, making it an ideal centerpiece for your next summer dinner party.
This recipe works any time of year but is especially wonderful in the peak of summer when blueberries are ripe and extra sweet. We pair those berries with creamy and funky blue cheese and tender greens. Plus, thin slices of prosciutto are roasted until crispy then torn into bite-size pieces, providing a mouthwatering salty crunch in every bite.
This recipe is part of our blueberry week! We are up to our ears in blueberries so we decided to make a bunch of recipes featuring these sweet berries. First up was our Gluten-Free Blueberry Crisp, a decadent yet vegan-friendly dessert. Come back often to see what other blueberry recipes we're making!
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Ingredients that Matter
This recipe will likely require a trip to the grocery store, but all ingredients should be easy to source at most large stores.
- Prosciutto. This Italian cured ham is a staple on many cheese plates. It is often very thinly sliced and served without cooking (it's a cured meat so it's safe to eat as is). It's incredibly tender and melts in your mouth. While we love it wrapped around sweet melon, on top of a pizza or on crusty bread with a hard cheese there's something extra special about crispy prosciutto. It takes on a bacon-like characteristic, yet is totally its own unique thing.
- Blueberries. Use fresh, firm blueberries for this recipe. If you can find freshly picked blueberries, use them! They will be extra sweet and delicious.
- Blue Cheese. Rounding out the trio of star ingredients, crumbled blue cheese pairs remarkably well with crispy and salty prosciutto along with sweet blueberries. Use your favorite style and brand of blue cheese (we are quite partial to Point Reyes Blue Cheese).
- Lettuce. Use baby and small green leaf lettuce or a mesclun mix. You want tender and mild greens.
- Vinaigrette. A simple vinaigrette of white balsamic vinegar, shallots, Dijon mustard, thyme and oil is the perfect dressing for this salad. The acid and fat are well balanced, letting the berries, ham and cheese take the spotlight.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This salad comes together in about 20 minutes. You'll first need to roast prosciutto until crispy.
Place thin slices of prosciutto on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Most prosciutto in the United States sold prepacked has thin pieces of plastic in between each slice. Lay the plastic-covered prosciutto on the parchment paper then carefully peel off the plastic. This will help the prosciutto to lay flat on the baking sheet.
Roast the prosciutto in a 400F oven until crispy and some of the fatty edges have rendered. This will take about 12 minutes, but start checking on the prosciutto after 10 minutes as you don't want it to burn. It will still be slightly pliable right out of the oven, but let it cool at room temperature for 5 minutes and it'll get crispy. Break it into bite-size pieces.
Finely chop a shallot and peel off the leaves of three thyme sprigs. Then add the shallots, white balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, thyme and salt to a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Slowly drizzle in the oil while continuing to whisk. Use the dressing right away or store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Hint: Be sure to dress the salad just before serving or else the greens may wilt.
Substitutions
This recipe is not vegetarian or vegan-friendly. While you could simply leave off the prosciutto and use a vegetarian cheese, it just wouldn't be the same. This recipe is, however, gluten-free plus there's some easy substitutions you can make:
- Lettuce - You can swap out the lettuce for baby spinach, arugula or even chopped kale.
- Prosciutto - If you can't find prosciutto you can instead use Serrano ham, capicola, salami or another good quality ham.
- Blue Cheese - We recommend using gorgonzola, stilton or Roquefort blue cheeses; or you could instead use crumbled goat cheese.
Variations
You could make our White Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe, which features herbs and honey for this salad. We use white balsamic vinegar for its sweet and tangy flavor, plus it's not as dark as regular balsamic and won't discolor the salad greens, cheese and berries.
Double the amount of prosciutto and you'll have more of an entrée salad.
Equipment
We recommend using a good quality baking sheet when roasting the prosciutto as we don't want the sheet to warp in the oven. We like these commercial-grade Nordic Ware Natural Baker's Half Sheet trays.
Storage
This recipe doesn't make great leftovers as a dressed salad tends to wilt quickly, especially once refrigerated. Instead, try making the dressing ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. And you can even roast the prosciutto ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; simply reheat briefly in the oven to crisp it up again before serving.
We don't recommend freezing any component of this recipe.
Top tip
Start dressing the salad with about ¼ cup of the vinaigrette. You can always add more but a salad with too much dressing can wilt and get soggy quickly.
FAQs
Crispy prosciutto has a delicious salty and savory umami flavor. It's crispy similar to bacon, but since prosciutto is not smoked, it has more of a cured pork flavor rather than a smoky flavor.
Tear crispy prosciutto into bite-size pieces and add to salads, top risotto or snack on it like salty pork chips.
Blueberry Recipes
Looking for other blueberry recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Crispy Prosciutto, Blueberry and Blue Cheese Salad:
Recipe
Crispy Prosciutto, Blueberry and Blue Cheese Salad
- Total Time: 25 min.
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
Description
This Crispy Prosciutto, Blueberry and Blue Cheese Salad is a perfect combination of sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy. It comes together quickly and is as beautiful as it is delicious, making it an ideal centerpiece for your next summer dinner party.
Ingredients
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 1 tsp. thyme leaves (from 3 sprigs)
- 1 pinch table salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
Salad
- 4 thin slices prosciutto (about 1 ½ oz.)
- 1 cup blueberries
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese (about 2 oz.)
- 4 oz. baby leaf lettuce (or mesclun mix)
Instructions
Dressing
- To make the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, shallot, thyme and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Slowly drizzle in the oil while continuing to whisk. Use immediately or store in an airtight container or mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Salad
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place prosciutto in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and roast until the prosciutto is crispy, 12-15 minutes (start checking after 10 minutes to avoid burning). Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature for 5 minutes. Crumble into bite-size pieces.
- Place greens in a large serving bowl and drizzle with ¼ cup of the dressing. Toss well. Top with blueberries, blue cheese and prosciutto. Serve with more dressing on the side.
Notes
- You can make the dressing up to 4 days ahead of time.
- You can also make the prosciutto ahead of time. Store roasted prosciutto in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat briefly in the oven, if desired.
- You can also make our White Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe for this salad.
- Prep Time: 10 min.
- Cook Time: 10 min.
- Category: Salads
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American
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