Warm Goat Cheese Salad (Salade de Chèvre Chaud)

When we are in Aspen, there is one restaurant we make a beeline for at lunch – the French Alpine Bistro – for their good Salade de Chevre Chaud with a spicy honey drizzle. It's the solid salad – butter lettuce topped with crunchy grilled bread and bubbly hot goat cheese, thinly sliced pears, and champagne vinaigrette.

This salad is modeled after their Salade de Chèvre Chaudso while it is a French dish, it has a uniquely Colorado kick with the addition of a spicy honey that we think takes it over the top!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to Make French Goat Cheese Salad

Salade de Chevre Chaud Ingredients

• Butter lettuce – the solid light, crispy, and easy-to-eat broadleaf salad – it's large, flat leaves also make for a chic presentation.
• Pear – thinly sliced pear brings a lightly sweet, earthy, and crisp flavor to this salad that is subtle without dominating the palate with sugar.
• Honey with chilies – sweet and spicy, honey infused with chilies gives this salad a sticky, spicy kick that is addictive. We like to serve the salad with honey in a small cup on the side so you can dress as you go and have the right amount of honey drizzled over your crunchy, salty bread!
• Sourdough bread – sourdough bread that is tangy, sturdy, and a bit salty is solid – it will be griddled to make a crunchy crouton that we will brown goat cheese on. If you don't have sourdough on hand, opt for a crusty French bread – we don't reccomend breads with strong herbs baked in them as the flavors in this salad are mild and delicate and it will overpower them.
• Olive oil – we will be using olive oil to brush over our bread and grill or griddle it to get it extra crispy and crunchy, the solid base for warmed chèvre!
• Chèvre – opt for a high quality chèvre you love – chèvre won't necessarily melt, but will brown and get warm and lovely when grilled on top of bread.
• Champagne vinaigrette – this light, earthy, slightly tangy dressing is a simple to prepare classic and solid dressing for warm goat cheese salad.
• Fresh cracked pepper – pepper loses it's pungent flavor and heat quickly after grinding, so we recommend using freshly cracked pepper if possible.

Warm Goat Cheese Salad Process

Make Champagne Vinaigrette

A light, fresh champagne vinaigrette with oil, lemon, and shallot is the solid way to kick up the fresh flavors of this salad.

Assemble salad

Add lettuce and thinly sliced pears to a large bowl or platter. Toss in champagne vinaigrette. Add hot honey to the bowl for drizzling.

Slice Bread Croutons

Cut bread into small slices to top the salad.

Make Croutons

Lightly oil bread with olive oil.

Grill Croutons

Grill to lightly toasted on each side, about 3 minutes per side.

Add Cheese

Top toasted croutons with goat cheese and grill until cheese is bubbly hot.

Top Salad & Enjoy!

Top salad with croutons, drizzle in hot honey, sprinkle salt, pepper, and aleppo pepper if desired over the top.

Kitchen notes

Grill croutons to your preference: If you like extra crunchy bread, like we do, go for a darker brown bread on the grill or griddle – if you like a bit more of a chewier bite, grill it less. It is entirely up to you.

Use a grill, indoor grill, pan, or griddle: This recipe is adaptable – use whatever you have available to you – whether it's a grill, stovetop, griddle pan, or indoor grill. We've recently been using an indoor Ninja grill all the time and am addicted to how easy it is to use, clean up, and how it doesn't give off much smoke – but has the flavor of outdoor grills!

Use quality goat cheese: Choose a log of fresh chèvreideally mild and creamy with a tangy finish. French varieties like Crottin de Chavignol are traditional, but any high-quality soft goat cheese will work. Avoid pre-crumbled goat cheese—it won't slice or melt well.

Grill, bake, or broil until soft: Place the chèvre on a parchment-lined tray and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 8–10 minutes, or grill until toasted and cheese is hot; or broil until warmed through and slightly golden. The inside should be creamy, not melted into a puddle.

Serve warm: The contrast of the warm goat cheese and cool, crisp greens is the heart of the dish. Assemble and serve immediately after warming the cheese.

Add a touch of sweetness: Classic versions sometimes include a drizzle of honey on the goat cheese or a few candied nuts in the salad. This enhances the creamy-tangy profile and balances the acidity of the vinaigrette.

Pair with wine: Serve with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre, or light Pinot Noir—something crisp and acidic to complement the richness of the cheese.

A few answers

What if we can't find honey infused with chiles?

If you can't find Mike's hot honey, or another brand of spicy honey you love, mix 1/8 tablespoon aleppo pepper with honey to create your own for this recipe.

Is spicy honey traditional in salade de chèvre chaud?

No – this is a decidedly Colorado twist of a French salad, based off the classic salad at Aspen's French Alpine Bistro, a cozy European cafe that opened in 2011 and has become a favorite ever since!

Can we add meat to this salad?

Lardons of bacon, prosciutto, pancetta, or grilled chicken all work beautifully in this salad if you would like a heartier dish.

Serve it with

This salad is beautiful with Baked Salmon MilaneseDrunken Mussels Pastalight and good Baked Pork Tenderloinor Broiled Ribeye Steaks with Mushrooms.

For more easy salad recipe ideas, check out some of our favorites below:

You can find the rest of our salad recipe archives here.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups butter lettuce, washed
• ½ pear, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons honey with chilies, or use aleppo pepper, below, to make your own
• ¼ teaspoon aleppo pepper, if you can't find hot honey
• 6 slices sourdough bread
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 oz chevre
• 4 tablespoons champagne vinaigrette
• ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Method

1. Preheat griddle pan or grill to medium high.
2. Brush bread with olive oil and griddle one side until lightly browned.
3. Remove bread and spread goat cheese on each slice.
4. Add bread back to griddle or grill and toast until cheese is soft and bread is golden brown.
5. In a small bowl, mix honey and aleppo pepper.
6. Add butter lettuce to bowl with pears.
7. Top with griddled goat cheese bread.
8. Drizzle honey over lettuce, pears, and bread.
9. Dress with champagne vinaigrette.
10. Serve immediately.