Spinach Salad with Pears, Cranberries and Candied Pecans
Spinach Salad with Pears, Cranberries, and Candied Pecans is a refreshing autumnal salad that’s a perfect addition to your fall menu!
The typical Thanksgiving table is loaded with carb-heavy dishes. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, salads drenched in sweetened whipped cream, dinner rolls, pies, and more! Fall Salad Recipes can be the perfect healthier addition, especially one with fabulous autumn flavors!
Why You Must Make
- This Spinach Salad with Pears, Cranberries, and Candied Pecans is tossed with a maple vinaigrette.
- A green salad is a perfect way to balance out the carb loading that is typical of many fall meals (like Thanksgiving!).
- This salad dressing with a touch of maple syrup is incredibly delicious and memorable!
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Olive Oil, Kosher Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Brown Sugar, Butter
- Balsamic Vinegar – I like to purchase an 18-year-old balsamic. It’s sweet and syrupy and will make a world of difference in your salad dressing.
- Whole Grain Mustard – I use Grey Poupon.
- Maple Syrup – Use real maple syrup, not artificially flavored.
- Pecan Halves – If they aren’t the freshest, you can gently heat them in a dry nonstick pan to bring out their essential oils (more flavor!)
- Red Onion – See tip below.
- Dried Cranberries (Craisins) – Mine were a little old so I briefly rehydrated them by adding them to a bowl filled with some hot water from my teapot. Dried cherries would also be delicious in this salad.
- Baby Spinach – The leaves and stems are more tender than regular spinach. Snip off any thicker stems if desired.
- Firm Pears – Bosc or Bartlett. Quarter, core, and cut into thin slices. Do this as close to serving time as possible to minimize browning. See tip below.
How to Make
Recipe Tips
- This salad dressing with a touch of maple syrup is a new favorite. It’s incredibly tasty. Feel free to shake up the variety of nuts. Use walnuts or hazelnuts if you prefer.
- PRO-Tip: When making the salad dressing, slowly whisk the oil into the other ingredients. Whisking continuously will emulsify the dressing, which means it will keep the oil from separating from the rest of the ingredients.
- Toss in some blue cheese if you want a heartier salad. It pairs well with pears.
- PRO-Tip: To take some of the bite out of the onions, soak them in ice water while you prep the rest of the salad. Drain and pat dry before adding to the salad.
- PRO-Tip: The pears will oxidize (turn brown) once they’re sliced. It’s best to cut them right before serving. Drizzling with an acidic mixture like the salad dressing will help slow down oxidation if you need to prep ahead of time.
- You can glaze the pecans early in the day so that step will be out of the way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Besides pears, try adding in some apples, cooked squash or sweet potato cubes to your salads. Roasting cauliflower, fennel, and other vegetables will bring out their sweetness making them salad worthy. Try greens like arugula and baby kale. Grains like rice, farro, and quinoa can be used instead of lettuce as the base of an autumn salad.
A maple vinaigrette is always a hit. The sweetness of maple syrup balances out the acidity of the vinegar. Or try reducing some apple cider until syrupy for additional sweetness.
You May Also Like:
- Brussels Sprouts Salad with Green Apples and Cranberries from Rachel Cooks
- Spinach, Strawberry, Pomegranate, Feta Salad
- Spinach Pear Salad with Cranberries and Blue Cheese
- Apple Cherry Walnut Salad
- Potato and Green Bean Salad
- More of the Best Salad Recipes
Spinach Salad Recipe with Pears, Cranberries and Candied Pecans
A tasty spinach salad with an autumnal flair!
Ingredients
Salad dressing:
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Candied pecans:
- ⅔ cup pecans
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Salad:
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
- ⅓ cup sweetened dried cranberries
- 8 cups baby spinach
- 2 firm pears Bosc or Bartlett, unpeeled, quartered, cored and cut into thin slices
Instructions
- To make salad dressing, combine the vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper.
- Drizzle in olive oil while whisking constantly. Set aside.
- To candy the nuts, melt butter in a saucepan. Toss in pecans and mix till coated. Add brown sugar and cook, stirring, till caramelized. Place on parchment to cool.
- To assemble the salad, toss spinach, onions, and pears with dressing (rewhisk as needed).
- Top salad with cranberries and pecans.
Notes
Inspired by The New Thanksgiving Table by Diane Morgan.
You may soften your cranberries in a bit of salad dressing before adding to salad, if desired.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 bowlAmount Per Serving: Calories: 286Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 329mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 3gSugar: 15gProtein: 2g
42 Comments on “Spinach Salad with Pears, Cranberries and Candied Pecans”
This salad is such a great meal! The flavors all compliment each other so well and the candied pecans are like the cherry on top!
I love the dressing Liz and the candied pecans. I have to try it.
The salad sounds delicious and looks really pretty! I agree that offering some lighter choices at Thanksgiving is a good idea with all the high carb heavy foods.
This is the salad of the season! I love candied pecans, but I just cannot keep them in the house as I would end up eating all of them in one setting…too addictive :-//
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
I love the combination of flavors in this salad!! I really enjoyed it!
I had a salad very similar to this at a wedding several years ago and I fell in love with it. I tried every vinegar based dressing I could think of but could never find the right flavors for the life of me. Can’t wait to try this out!!! Might even make it before Thanksgiving ????Thank you for the recipe ????
Even if we don’t do Thanksgiving on our side of the pond, I have to do this, Liz. Love the combinations of flavours and textures. Dried cranberries with savoury? Brilliant idea.
This is a lovely holiday salad. The pears are a lovely addition.
Liz this is one gorgeous salad. I love all the additions in it. Not only pretty, but so much flavour involved. So thrilled to work with you on this lady. You know I love any chance for us to do things together.
I’m so excited for this weekend. Bonding time, and some Thelma and Louise antics. See you soon. xx
I make a very similar salad but add goat cheese. Such a great one for Thanksgiving!
I love pear salads. This looks very refreshing and I’m sure it’s good to have something like this on the table at Thanksgiving xx
Awesome salad to go with your salmon. What an amazing giveaway!
Adore spinach, pears and pecans. This is a fantastic and healthy salad for the holidays.
Yum! What a wonderful salad to accompany the parade of dishes on a such important holiday!!!
If honey is used in salad dressings why not maple syrup? Luscious looking spinach salad, Liz. Love all the gourmet garnishes =)
Oh Boy does that look beautiful and tasty!
[btw – two of the fb likes are just blank on the form – don’t know who or what is missing]
A very tasty seasonal salad, Liz. Perfect with salmon.
This spinach salad sounds delicious. I love the candied pecans on top!
I always get headache whenever there’s a potluck party. I’ve to admit it isn’t easy to come up with something that can be left on the table for a long time with the right temperate. Nice dish, Liz! Awesome giveaway! I reckoned those outside USA are not eligible? Can’t seem to find the rules…… Goodluck to all!
I love salads like this and it’s perfect for fall. Pears, candied pecans and a vinaigrette with maple syrup – sounds luscious!
Liz, this looks so fresh and delicious. Love all your combination of flavors, textures and colors!
This salad is gorgeous! I love the idea of a maple vinaigrette. And thanks so much for educating us on this terrific cause.
Lizzy,
I love spinach. Your salad looks delicious. I bet goat cheese would be great in that salad too. Maple syrup in the dressing sound yummy too.
Annamaria
I love pears with salad and spinach is one of my favorite salad greens.
Gorgeous salad, Liz! I adore the combination of ingredients in the dressing, that’s a must-make for me.
This is a gorgeous salad, candied pecans? Delicious job 😀
Cheers
CCU
Wow – love the combination of pears, cranberries and these candied pecans! Simply fabulous!
This is such a perfect fall salad Liz!
Nice salad. It would be a hit here!
What a lovely salad, Liz! I would definitely make this one! Thank you for sharing.
Ooh, classy salad! Definitely a great way to balance the meal. I’m all about the carbs and turkey. 😀
But really, this is awesome! A big bowl of nutrition on a plate. 🙂
I love a simple, elegant salad like this for fall parties! What a wonderful combination of flavors!
Pear and cranberry is one of my favorite combos! This would be a gorgeous addition to any Thanksgiving table (and goodness knows we always need a few more greens in my family.) Thanks for the wonderful reminder to give back around the holidays too!
This looks way fancier than pot luck. I love this salad!
A variation of this salad is usually on our holiday table but I must try your maple dressing, it sounds wonderful!
Wow. I want that salad! And the salmon too 😉
While I adore your baking, this post has my name written all over it! Love the maple syrup in the dressing too, so Canadian! A feast for the eyes as well. Nicely done.
What a great salad Liz, would love this for Thanksgiving for lunch today! Thank you so much for joining us today!
What a beautiful salad!
That’s a great cause Liz and it’s wonderful that you’re spreading the word 🙂
Love the sound of this healthy salad, it’s definitely great to have some lighter and healthier dishes to balance out the meal on the Thanksgiving table 🙂
I always need a green veggie at Thanksgiving. It makes whatever else I eat that day healthy 🙂
A very healthy salad Liz and the dressing sounds very tasty:@)