Spinach Pear Salad with Cranberries and Blue Cheese

In the fall and winter, this Spinach Pear Salad with Cranberries and Blue Cheese will make you forget that you’ve been longing for garden tomatoes and summer produce. It’s both delicious and memorable!

This delicious Spinach Salad Recipe is perfect for fall featuring autumn fruit, pears, and cranberries.

Why You Should Make:

• This salad hits all the marks. My ideal green salad must have fresh fruit, dried fruit, cheese, and nuts.
• The irresistible salad dressing doesn’t hurt either!
• For this autumn salad, I went with Bartlett pears, dried cranberries, creamy blue cheese, and toasted almonds. But you can definitely substitute your favorite greens, cheese, etc.
• Fall salads can be just as amazing as the peak-of-the-season summer salads!

Ingredient Notes

• Kitchen Staples – Olive Oil, Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Honey, Ground Mustard
• Baby Spinach – More tender than regular spinach, it can also be used, but you may want to remove the stems.
• Bartlett Pears – Core, quarter, and slice. If you do ahead of time, you’ll need to coat the slices in salad dressing to help minimize oxidation (turning brown)
•  Blue Cheese – cut or broken into small chunks. I like Maytag but any favorite variety will work.
•  Sliced Almonds – toast to bring out their essential oils which will make them more flavorful plus crisp them.
•  Dried Cranberries – Also known as Craisins.
• Red Onion – Use about a quarter of an onion; slice thinly and soak in ice water for 15 minutes to help remove the sharpness
• Sherry Vinegar – Champagne Vinegar is a good alternative.
• Poppy Seeds – If yours have been around for a while, taste and smell in case they’ve gone rancid.

Recipe Tips

By the time my dinner club could agree on a date, it was early December. My Oktoberfest theme was out, so I just went with an autumnal vibe.

• This spinach pear salad would make a lovely light lunch, a terrific addition to a big family meal, and is even elegant enough for special company.
• To emulsify your salad dressing, mix all the ingredients together except the oil. Drizzle the oil in slowly while whisking constantly. This will make a creamy, homogeneous mixture, meaning the oil will not separate.
• If you’re not into pears and blue cheese, try the lovely poppy seed dressing on your favorite spinach salad!
• You can use dried cherries instead of dried cranberries.
• If your dried fruit is too hard, soak it for a minute or two in boiling water. This will rehydrate and plump it up. Let dry on paper towels before using to get rid of any excess moisture.
• I used Bartlett pears but any favorite eating pear can be used.

Frequently Asked Questions

You May Also Like:

• Fall Harvest Salad from A Beautiful Plate
• Fall Salad with Maple Candied Pecans, Bacon, Apples, and Shaved Brussels Sprouts from Bless This Mess
• Citrus Spinach Salad
• Roasted Fall Vegetable Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Winter Salad with Apples, Pecans, Blue Cheese and Dried Cherries
• All My Best Salad Recipes

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The Recipe:

Pear Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Yield 4

In the fall and winter, this Spinach Pear Salad with Cranberries and Blue Cheese will make you forget that you’ve been longing for garden tomatoes and summer produce. It’s both delicious and memorable!

Ingredients

Salad:

• 5 ounces of baby spinach
• 2 Bartlett pears, cored, cut into quarters, then thinly sliced*
• 4 ounces blue cheese, cut or broken into small chunks
• ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
• ¼ cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
• ¼ of a small red onion, sliced thinly and soaked in ice water for 15 minutes

Salad Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• ⅛ teaspoon ground mustard
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Instructions

1. Divide spinach onto 4 plates or salad bowls. Arrange the rest of the ingredients over the spinach.*
2. Soaking the onion in ice water mellows the bite.
3. Make the dressing by whisking together the vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper in a Pyrex measuring cup or mixing bowl. Whisk in the honey.
4. ** Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture emulsifies. Whisk in the poppy seeds.
5. Pour dressing over the salad, making sure to lightly coat the pears to prevent oxidation.

Notes

*To prevent the pears from oxidizing (turning brown), you may want to cut them right before serving. Alternatively, toss the pear slices in some the salad dressing up to an hour before serving to prevent browning.

**Originally, I added the honey and poppy seeds at the same time. That made a mixture that was tough to emulsify. It still worked but took a little more muscle.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 516Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 29gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 624mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 5gSugar: 25gProtein: 9g

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