This pear salad with walnuts is a lovely fall salad! It would be a great addition to your holiday table, or your dinner table in general, this time of year. With all the rich meals and holiday treats being passed around, it’s easy to forget the greens.
This salad recipe features leafy greens, ripe pear, freshly toasted walnuts, blue cheese (or goat cheese), and dates tossed in a simple homemade vinaigrette. It’s a fun alternative to my favorite green salad with apples.
Pear Salad Recipe Notes
This green salad is from a cookbook called The Gourmet Kitchen by Jennifer Farley of Savory Simple, which offers a variety of gourmet recipes featuring fresh ingredients.
You know me; I couldn’t help but tinker with this recipe. Jennifer’s original recipe was inspired by bacon-wrapped, blue cheese-stuffed dates, which I loved before I swore off the bacon. I still really enjoyed it without the two slices of freshly cooked, crumbled bacon.
I also tweaked the amounts of walnuts and blue cheese (a little more walnuts, a little less cheese). If you don’t enjoy blue cheese, use goat cheese instead.
More Green Salads to Enjoy
Here are more salads to carry you through all the seasons:
Please let me know how your pear salad turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Pear Salad with Walnuts
This fresh green salad with pears, walnuts, dates and blue cheese is a fresh option for your holiday table! It’s a great side salad for fall dinners, too. Recipe yields 4 side salads.
- To make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk to combine. Taste, and adjust if necessary—I added some more mustard and another pinch of salt.
- To make the salad: First, toast the walnuts in a medium skillet over medium heat until fragrant, stirring often, about 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
- In a medium serving bowl, combine the greens, dates, pears and toasted walnuts. When you’re ready to serve, drizzle in some dressing (you won’t need all of it) and toss until the greens are lightly coated, adding more if necessary. Serve in individual bowls with blue cheese sprinkled on top.
Notes
Recipe adapted from The Gourmet Kitchen by Jennifer Farley.
*Pear notes: This was my first experience with Bosc pears, which you’ll probably see again in another recipe. I learned that they’re more firm than most varieties, but you know they’re ripe when they yield to gentle pressure at the neck.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the cheese. If you’re vegan, use maple syrup instead of honey.
Make it nut free: Substitute sunflower seeds for the walnuts.
Change it up: If you don’t like blue cheese, goat cheese would be nice instead. I think this salad would also be great with slices of Golden Delicious apples, instead of the pears.
Nutrition
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