Pear Salad

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This delicious Pear Salad is the ultimate winter green salad recipe with pears, apples, dried cranberries, and more, topped with a wonderful homemade poppy seed dressing. Perfect as an easy side dish or even a light lunch.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple pear salad, green salad recipes, winter salad

Servings: servings

Ingredients

For the Poppy Seed Dressing

6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons half-and-half
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the Salad

5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (2 ounces)
1/2 cup roasted cashews , coarsely chopped
1 green pear , cored and sliced
1 honey crisp apple , cored and cubed small
3 tablespoons dried cranberries

Instructions

Make the dressing: In small bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined and smooth. Taste and adjust to your liking, if necessary.
Assemble the salad: In a large serving bowl, toss together all of the salad ingredients.
Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.
Divide onto individual plates or in bowls, making sure each serving gets a little of all the goodies, and enjoy!

Notes

Pick your pear. Choose from Asian, Bosc, or Bartlett pears - they're all delicious. Make sure they're ripe, but not mushy.

Add the dressing just before serving. The dressing should be drizzled over the salad just as it's being served. Otherwise, it will make the greens soggy. If you won't be eating all of the salad at once, only add the dressing to the portions being served.

Make the dressing ahead of time. The poppy seed dressing will keep refrigerated for up to a week in a tightly fitted container. I like to store it in a mason jar with a lid, that way I can easily shake it up again before serving.

Add a protein. Grilled chicken breast would easily turn this salad into a meal.

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