This easy Pear and Pecan Salad is made with bacon, pears, walnuts, dried cherries, and gouda cheese. Top this healthy autumn recipe off with balsamic vinaigrette or your favorite dressing.
I love fruit in my salad. In the summer months, I can't get enough berries in my salad, but with summer coming to a close fresh berries at a reasonable price are getting harder to find. But, from August through October, it's the pears time to shine. This is my new favorite fall salad. I added thick smoky bacon, shallots, walnuts, dried cherries, and gouda cheese to my pear salad to round everything out!
I used premade balsamic vinaigrette for this salad because why make life harder than it should be? If you want to make the homemade dressing, there are many great recipes like this Balsamic Vinaigrette (https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/best-balsamic-vinaigrette/ ) one from Barefeet in the Kitchen.
Let talk pears. There were 3 types of pears when I went to the store last week. I used bosc for this recipe because they were the cheapest and ripest pears at this time. For the best salad with the juiciest pears, use the pears that are the ripest at your grocery store.
This recipe was adapted from from a Better Home and Gardens New Cook Book recipe.
I hope you love this Pear and Pecan Salad recipe! If you make it leave a comment! You can also share a photo on Instagram and tag #meganvskitchen. Enjoy!
Pear and Pecan Salad
Ingredients
- 8 cups mixed greens
- 16 oz thick sliced bacon
- 2 pears cored and thinly sliced, or chopped into chunks
- ½ shallots sliced
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup dried cherries
- 2 ounces gouda cheese
- balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Instructions
- To make the Bacon: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a wire cooling rack on top of a large, rimmed sheet pan. Place bacon on a wire rack in a single layer. Cook for 15-20 minutes until you get the desired amount of crispness.
- To make Salad: Toss all the ingredients, except the dressing, in a large bowl. Divide among plates. Add dressing.
Nutrition
CONSIDER TRYING THESE OTHER SALAD RECIPES:
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!