Pear Salad with Walnuts and Honey-Mustard Dressing

This simple autumn pear salad combines mixed greens, juicy pears, creamy blue cheese, and toasted walnuts with honey-mustard dressing. A go-to side for holidays, entertaining, or everyday.

 

Restaurant-Quality Pear Salad at Home

I'm a salad lover through and through, and many of you follow me for fresh, seasonal, restaurant-quality salads - so I'm always creating new ideas that work year-round. This pear salad checks every box: crisp pears, toasted walnuts, creamy blue cheese, and juicy pomegranate, all tossed in a Champagne honey-mustard vinaigrette. Use any greens you like - mixed, arugula, or spinach - because it's super flexible and super easy, the kind of everyday healthy salad you can throw together fast. It also makes a great addition to your holiday menu for Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you're building your holiday spread, don't miss these 3 reader favorites: Apple Spinach Salad, Fall-Colors Cinnamon-Maple Roasted Butternut Squash Brussels Sprouts Salad, and my Christmas Salad that goes viral every year. And for even more ideas, check out my 30 Best Thanksgiving Salads.

The Ingredients, Substitutions, & Variations

• Mixed greens: I like a mix of arugula and baby spinach for both peppery and mild flavors. You can substitute with baby kale, spring mix, or shaved endive.
• Pears: I like to use Bosc or Anjou pears - they should be ripe yet firm. You can su with Asian pear or use apples.
• Figs: Fresh figs add seasonal sweetness and jammy texture. Out of season, I use dried figs (slice them thin and soak in warm water for 5 minutes) or swap with grapes, persimmons, or fresh or dried cherries. You can also sub with dried (soaked) cranberries.
• Blue cheese: Creamy blue or gorgonzola is a classic pairing with pear salad; switch to goat cheese or feta for a milder version. If you want a milder flavor, use goat cheese or feta.
• Walnuts: Classic with pears and blue cheese. I toast them for extra crunch. Sub: pecans, hazelnuts, or pistachios. You can even use candied nuts.
• Pomegranate arils: They add that burst of holiday color and sweet tang and look like ruby jewels; substitute with dried cranberries or red currants. 
• Champagne vinegar: It's a lighter and delicate kind of vinegar, and actually perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But you can always use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead. You can even use freshly squeezed lemon juice instead.
• Honey or maple syrup: Either works-it just depends on what you prefer.
• Shallot: You can substitute with very thin red onion, or chives if you want a softer onion flavor.
• Fresh thyme: I use that to add some earthy flavor and decorate the salad. You can substitute with torn mint, fresh basil, or rosemary (very finely chopped). Or, simply skip it. It's not a key ingredient here.
• Note: This photo conveniently shows all the ingredients you need:

How to Make Pear Salad (Step-By-Step Photos)

• Make salad dressing: Whisk olive oil, Champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar), Dijon mustard, honey or maple syrup, salt, and pepper until emulsified. (Or shake in a jar for 20-30 seconds for a thicker, clingy vinaigrette.)

• Toast the walnuts: Warm a dry skillet over medium heat and toast walnuts 3-4 minutes until fragrant; cool, then roughly chop. (Stir often; pull them as soon as they smell nutty-nuts burn fast. Alway toast extra just in case and store airtight.)

• Assemble the salad: For a high-end presentation I recommend you layer the salad and don't toss it as this can disturb the fanned pears.
• Let me walk you through and show you in photos how to layer the salad to make a nice, holiday-worthy presentation: Add mixed greens to a large serving bowl (or into several smaller individual salad bowls), then scatter on sliced shallots and quartered figs. Fan in the pear slices, crumble over blue cheese, and add toasted walnuts, pomegranate arils, and thyme. (Slice pears just before serving or toss with a little lemon to prevent browning. If shallots are sharp, soak 5 minutes in cold water and pat dry.) See these 4 photos for reference:

Tips for Success

• Choose firm but ripe pears, Bosc and Anjou hold their shape beautifully once sliced, whereas very soft varieties like Comice can collapse and bruise when tossed.
• How to prevent pears from browning: If preparing in advance you can thinly slice the pears then toss them in a little lemon juice which will prevent them from browning.
• Use either Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar: As this is a salad perfect for serving at a festive time of year (like Thanksgiving and Christmas) I used a champagne vinegar, but white wine vinegar works perfectly well too. You can even use freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice instead.
• For a high-end presentation I recommend you layer the salad and don't toss it as this can disturb the fanned pears. Add the pears on top of the greens, then crumble cheese by hand, scatter walnuts and pomegranate arils over the top.
• Toasting the walnuts wakes up the oils, giving the salad deep, warm, buttery flavor. Don't skip this step.

Serving Ideas for Pear Salad

• Classic Thanksgiving Pairings: Serve alongside turkey or roast duck, gravy, Italian sausage stuffing, and my healthier green beans for a complete feast.
• Holiday Vegetarian Mains: Serve this pear salad alongside my popular vegetarian main courses like butternut squash spinach lasagna or butternut squash black bean enchilada casserole. For more ideas, see my Meatless Thanksgiving Menu.
• Soup + Salad Lunch: Pair with my creamy butternut squash sausage orzo soup or with chicken tortellini soup. For more ideas, see more of my soup recipes.
• Side Salad for Roast: This pear salad pairs beautifully with braised short ribs, my pork tenderloin, alongside my pan-seared steak (with the best marinade ever), apple cider braised pork shoulder, roast chicken, or glazed ham.

Storage & Make-Ahead Tips

• Storage: Keep pear salad components separate up to 2 days: greens in a sealed container with a paper towel, vinaigrette in a jar, nuts in a dry container, fruit prepped (pears tossed with lemon).
• Make-ahead: You can toast/chop walnuts up to 3 days ahead. Whisk dressing up to 5 days in advance. Seed pomegranate up to 3 days in advance or purchased seeded pomegranate arils. Slice shallot 1 day ahead. Slice pears up to 6 hours ahead and toss with 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

More Fall Salads

• Apple Spinach Salad with Pecans and Maple-Lime Dressing
• Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Spinach, Pumpkin Seeds, and Apples
• Creamy Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples and Pears
• Butternut Squash Pasta Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Pecans, and Cranberries
• Arugula Salad with Pears, Apples, and Dried Cranberries
• Cranberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese
• Beet & Spinach Salad with Mandarins and Honey-Mustard Lemon Dressing