Pear Salad

This Pear Salad with fresh baby spinach and homemade honey balsamic dressing is healthy and super yummy! It’s perfect for the fall season or any time of the year!

Autumn has officially arrived which means pears are now in season! I love pears, so sweet and juicy, they are my favorite fruit! This pear salad has the perfect combination of fall flavors but it’s great all year round. This salad is also very healthy, it’s packed full of both flavor and nutrients. Beautiful ripe pears, fresh baby spinach, walnuts, dried cranberries, and goat cheese, then drizzled with some homemade honey balsamic vinaigrette…Yum!

This truly is my favorite salad. I have been making this salad for many years and it is so simple that I almost didn’t post it. Then I thought, it is just too good not to. A pear spinach salad can be served for lunch, as an appetizer, or as a healthy side dish. You can easily double, triple, or quadruple this recipe and serve it at a party. This salad is also great served alongside pasta dishes. If you would like to make this a more filling dinner salad to serve as the main course, you can easily toss in some chicken or top it with crab cakes. If you have some extra pears, try these Baked Pears with Honey Walnut Goat Cheese.

Note: The printable recipe is located at the end of this post. Please visit The Scoop for my latest posts or you can search or browse my Recipe Index to find more yummy recipes.

Pear Salad Ingredients

pears – I used ripe Anjou pears sliced thin. Bartlet and Bosc pears are great too.
fresh baby spinach – You can also use a spring mix.
walnuts – I used raw unsalted chopped walnuts. Pecans also pair well with this salad.
dried cranberries
goat cheese – crumbled.

Optional:

Maple Bourbon Pecans – This is one of my favorite toppings!

Honey Balsamic Dressing Ingredients

balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
minced garlic
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
honey

How to make a Pear Salad with Honey Balsamic

Making this salad is so simple! First, make a bed of spinach on your plate or in a bowl. Add the sliced pears, then sprinkle with the crumbled goat cheese, dried cranberries, and chopped walnuts. Finally, drizzle the honey balsamic vinaigrette, or the dressing of your choice, over the salad. Toss to combine. See instructions for the honey balsamic vinaigrette below.

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

In a bowl, whisk the balsamic vinegar, honey, minced garlic, salt, and pepper until the salt is dissolved. Then whisk in the olive oil until well blended. This recipe will yield at least 2 servings. You can easily make a larger batch and refrigerate the extra dressing in an airtight container. This Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing can also be made in a food processor by adding all ingredients and pulsing to combine.

You can easily double, triple, or quadruple this recipe for a larger crowd or cut it in half if you are just making it for yourself.

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