Celebrate seasonal figs with this simple fig and prosciutto salad recipe with goat cheese and an easy sherry vinaigrette! You'll love the combination of sweet, jammy figs and salty prosciutto in this salad. Perfect for entertaining or a simple summer side.

Fig and Prosciutto Salad Recipe for Entertaining

If my mom's fig tree is correct, then it's fig season!!! Can I get a woot woot for that?

Please excuse the ridiculous display of enthusiasm. I get a little overly excited for seasonal fruits and veggies, especially those that are only available for a limited time. Because a peach, fig or heirloom tomato in winter is just a crime against humanity.

Despite growing up with two large fig trees in my front yard, I didn't eat them until recently. They fell victim to my snotty teenage attitude towards any "weird" foods. An odd looking fruit growing in your front yard definitely fell into that category. Looking back, I am SO sad that I missed out on summers spent snacking on fresh figs in my front yard. Seriously, there are many things I wish I could go back in time and smack some sense into teenage Rachael for, and this would be one of them.

How to Enjoy Fresh Figs

If you've never tried figs, they're kind of a unique fruit. They're not very juicy, but tender with a sticky, almost jammy interior speckled with crunchy little seeds, which I love, despite their tendency to get stuck in my teeth.

(Sidebar: My dentist once told me I have "the type of teeth that food loves to get stuck in." Dentist friends, is this a real thing? Also, never tell your patients this. I now have an intense phobia every time I eat since learning about my freakisly shaped teeth.)

When making this fig and prosciutto salad, look for figs that are soft, but not mushy, with dry, unbroken skin. They should smell fresh, not funky or fermented. There are many varieties of figs. This fig and prosciutto salad uses black mission figs, which are extra sweet and and jammy with a beautiful appearance. Any type of fig would be perfectly fine to use in this recipe, especially brown turkey figs, which are less sweet, and calimyrna figs, which have a vibrant green exterior and pink interior, and nutty flavor.

If you have extra figs from making this salad, here’s some ideas for using them:

Roasted peaches and figs with mascarpone and almonds for dessert
Swap fresh figs for dried in this caramelized onion and fig flatbread
Serve over Greek yogurt drizzled with honey
My other favorite fig salad - this balsamic roasted peach and fig salad with blue cheese and bacon
Make fig toast by topping crusty toasted brioche with ricotta cheese, sliced figs and honey
Freeze and use for smoothies
Add sliced figs to a grilled cheese sandwich for a bit of sweetness

Fig and Prosciutto Salad Recipe Ingredients

When making a simple recipe like this fig and prosciutto salad, you’ll want to splurge on quality ingredients! Of course, super fresh, ripe figs make the dish. But I would also make sure you get a really creamy and flavorful goat cheese, like Laura Chenel, Ile de France or Cyprus Grove. I would also look out for prosciutto di parma, which has a designation of origin. While no prosciutto is bad prosciutto (is there anything yummier than salted, cured pork?), you can really taste the difference with prosciutto di parma, made from pigs that have been fed parmesan so you can taste the nuttiness in the parm.

How to Enjoy this Fig and Prosciutto Salad Recipe

This salad is a simple way to enjoy super ripe, seasonal figs. Tossed with peppery arugula, creamy goat cheese and salty prosciutto, the sweet flavor of the figs shines through. If you like, you could also fry the prosciutto until crispy for more texture.

Highly recommend eating this salad outside with a crisp glass of chilled white wine! It’s also great for entertaining. In the summer when figs are in season, I make this fig and prosciutto salad recipe on the regular as a simple side dish. You could also pair it with crusty bread for a light lunch.

Fig and Prosciutto Salad Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

Mixed greens
10 fresh figs, halved
4 ounces thinly sliced proscuitto, cut into strips
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 ounces crumbled goat cheese

Instructions

Toss together arugula, figs, and proscuitto in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, honey and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Toss the salad with dressing. Sprinkle with goat cheese. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper.

If you like this fig and prosciutto salad recipe, you might also like these fig recipes: