This savory meets sweet toast with baked goat cheese, pear, and hot honey
The Deets
This is one of my absolute favorite flavor combinations, especially in the fall: baked goat cheese and pear with hot honey candied walnuts. The rich, creamy goat cheese paired with the sweetness of the pear and the crunch of the hot honey-glazed walnuts creates an irresistible balance of savory and sweet. It’s a simple yet elegant dish that works perfectly as an appetizer, a light meal, or even as a decadent snack.
I’ve also made this dish as part of an arugula salad, which is a great option for a wholesome and fresh lunch. The peppery bite of arugula complements the creamy goat cheese and sweet pear beautifully, and you can easily toss everything together for a quick and satisfying meal.
What’s great about this recipe is that it only requires a handful of ingredients, yet delivers so much flavor. You’ll need walnuts, hot honey, goat cheese, pear, olive oil, and a nice, crusty bread. For this version, I served everything over toasted sourdough, which added the perfect crunch to each bite. The real secret to elevating this dish is baking the goat cheese on a sheet pan all on its own. This allows it to get warm, creamy, and slightly golden, which adds a delicious richness. Once the goat cheese is perfectly baked, simply add it to your toasted bread, layer with sliced pear, and sprinkle with the candied walnuts.
Whether you’re serving this as an appetizer for a fall gathering or enjoying it solo, it’s a true delight that feels both indulgent and comforting. Let me know if you give this a try – and if you try the arugula salad version, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Baked goat cheese toast and pear with hot honey candied walnuts
Ingredients
The walnuts
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp regular or hot honey
- 1/4 cup walnuts
The rest
- 6 oz goat cheese
- 1 pear, sliced
- Olive oil (for toasting your bread and for coating the goat cheese)
- Bread of choice (this is a sourdough)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400. Add goat cheese to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Coat in olive oil. Slice pears and add on top. Bake for about 5 min then turn oven to broil and finish for about 2-3 min or until the goat cheese starts to get brown. The goat cheese might start to flatten a bit so you can check on it, but should mostly stay together on the paper.
- Meanwhile, add butter and honey to a skillet until melted. Then add your walnuts. Cook for about 3-5 min on medium to low stirring constantly. Remove and immediately add to parchment paper so they don’t stick together.
- Coat bread in olive oil and add to same skillet. Cook for about 2-3 min per side on medium heat.
- When goat cheese is golden, remove and spread onto bread, then top with the pears. Roughly chop walnuts and add on top. Add some more hot honey if you’d like. Enjoy!
