Crunchy toast, fragrant grilled goat cheese, bacon crumbs and crispy lettuce – “Chèvre Chaud” (literally “Warm Goat”😄) is THE most popular salad in French restaurants with good reason.

It is also ridiculously easy to make at home. There are only five ingredients and a simple dressing that you can customize according to your own taste. For example, I adore a bit of a sweet and savory undertone in this salad but for my Monsieur it’s a big no-no. You just make it the way you like.

It is also a good recipe for getting more raw and plant based options in your weekly menu. Even my very-much-meat-appreciating Monsieur is absolutely ok with having just a salad for dinner if it’s this one.

Grilled Goat Cheese Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 head of lettuce
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 log (200g/7oz) of goat cheese
• 12 slices of baguette
• 100 g bacon matchsticks – very finely sliced bacon bits

For the dressing:

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional)

Instructions

Shred the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Chop or slice really thinly the red onion so that it gives a punchy taste but doesn’t overwhelm everything.

Brown the bacon matchsticks on stovetop until crispy. Spread on a paper towel to get most of the grease out. Put aside for later.

Place the baguette slices on a parchment covered baking sheet.

Cut the goat cheese log into the same number of slices as your baguette (here 12) and place one piece of cheese on top of each slice of bread.

Place the baking pan in the 200C(395F) oven on grill position. Grill for about 5 minutes until golden and beautiful. Watch closely because the grilling goes fairly quickly and it would be sad to burn all this goodness.

Make the dressing. Put all dressing ingredients in a small lidded jar. Close it well and give it a good shake. There you have it! You’ve got a great homemade salad dressing in about one minute.

Toss the salad leaves, the red onion and the dressing in a bowl. Divide between two plates. Place 6 baguette slices with grilled goat cheese on each plate and sprinkle everything with crispy bacon. Put on some French chansons and enjoy!

Vegetarian option:

Caramelize some onions to swap out the bacon but keep the delicious, fried and crispy texture.

You may also like:

Caesar Salad

Cucumber-Avocado Salad

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