Pear, Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Salad combines the flavors of juicy pears with sharp blue cheese, toasted walnuts and a tangy walnut oil vinaigrette. This intense flavor combination atop a bed of mixed greens and sprinkled with dried cranberries will be your new go-to salad. It's a perfect meal in itself but also great alongside your main course for dinner. This salad always impresses a crowd and you'll be glad you made it!
I'm a firm believer that any salad with toasted nuts is a good one! You will likely find a toasted nut on all my salad recipes! The toasted walnuts on this salad add the perfect amount of crunch and go so nicely with the pears and blue cheese. Along with the toasted walnuts sprinkled on top of the salad, the dressing contains roasted walnut oil which has amazing flavor and just brings that walnut flavor out even more!
You could easily add grilled chicken to this salad and make it a great lunch or dinner option. You could also serve this in a big bowl as a side to your main dinner course. However, or whenever, you choose to eat this Pear, Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Salad, I think you will be quite pleased with it!
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Ingredients Needed
- Red wine vinegar: If you don't have red wine vinegar or don't have access to it, you could substitute with balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar. You want to be sure you are replacing it with something that has a similar tang because that is part of what makes this salad so delicious!
- Shallot: Sometimes shallots are hard to find and the best substitute would be a yellow onion.
- Walnut oil - I prefer to use this roasted walnut oil. Sometimes roasted walnut oil is hard to find. You could use almond, hazelnut or olive oil in its place.
- Honey
- Lemon
- Salt
- Pepper
- Mixed greens
- Pear: A ripe pear that is gives slightly when pressure is applied is ready to be eaten.
- Walnuts: You can used whole or coarsely chopped walnuts. I think whole walnuts look best, but chopped are sometimes easier to eat in a salad. You can chop the walnuts before or after you toast them.
- Dried cranberries: Dried cherries would be a fantastic substitute here.
- Blue cheese: I prefer to purchase a wedge of quality blue cheese and crumble it myself, but you could also purchase crumbled blue cheese. If you are not a fan of blue cheese, you could substitute feta cheese in it's place for a less strong cheese flavor.
How to Make Pear, Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Salad
Prepare the Vinaigrette
In a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the red wine vinegar, shallot, walnut oil, honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Secure the lid tightly on top and shake vigorously to thoroughly combine the ingredients. Alternatively, you could use a whisk to throughly combine the ingredients.
Build the Salad
In a large serving bowl, start by adding the mixed greens. Next, place the sliced pears on top. Sprinkle with the toasted walnuts, dried cranberries and blue cheese. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve immediately. I prefer to serve prior to tossing it because you can lay all the ingredients out on the salad in a very pretty way. You could alternatively toss the salad before serving it and it will taste just as delicious!
FAQ
- I don't like blue cheese, is there a different cheese I could use instead? Sure! You could use feta cheese instead. Feta is not nearly as pungent and tangy as blue cheese, but has a similar texture.
- Can I use something besides a pear? Yes. You could replace the pear with an apple, nectarine, or peach. Any of those would be great with the other flavors in the salad.
- Walnuts are not my favorite, can I use a different nut? You could use toasted almonds or pecans in their place. The roasted walnut oil in the dressing isn't too strong and won't affect which toasted nut you choose to use.
- I don't plan on eating all of this at once, how can I store this? If you know you won't be consuming this all at once, I would not put the dressing on the salad. Instead, serve the salad dry and dress each portion individually. Store leftover, undressed salad in an airtight container for several days in the refrigerator. If you do dress the entire salad and there are leftovers, you could store in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight and eat the next day. I wouldn't keep it for much longer because it will get mushy pretty quick!
Looking For More Delicious Recipes?
Try these recipes:
- Cheese and Onion Scones
- Skillet Sweet Corn with Bacon
- Oven Baked Zucchini Chips
- Cheesy Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Recipe
Pear, Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Salad
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
- 2 tablespoons walnut oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the Salad
- 4 cups mixed greens
- 2 pears, thinly sliced
- ½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup blue cheese, crumbled
Instructions
For the Vinaigrette
- In a jar with a tight fitting lid, add red wine vinegar, shallot, walnut oil, honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Secure the lid tightly and shake vigorously to combine ingredients.
For the Salad
- In a large bowl, add the mixed greens. Top with the sliced pears, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, and blue cheese. Drizzle with about ½ cup vinaigrette and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.
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