Autumn Chopped Pear Salad

Made with tiny pieces of sweet pear, crisp romaine lettuce, crunchy pecans, sweet and chewy dried cranberries and hearty bacon all tossed and coated with a poppy seed balsamic vinegar dressing. A fall favorite green salad recipe you’ll love!

There are so many different types of salads out there that you can make. There's healthy salads, cobb salad, waldorf salad, fruit salads, and even a 7 layers salad. And I specifically mention those types of salads because this pear salad reminds me a little bit of all those I mentioned above. Y'all, get prepared because this is one of the best pear salad recipes you'll ever eat.

This salad makes a wonderful accompaniment to any main dish, like my One Pan Garlic Baked Chicken with Mozzarella, and it's also great for serving a crowd. Perfect for potlucks or that perfect Thanksgiving salad, this is a salad anyone can make. Some simple chopping and mixing and you're all set.

But, this is not your typical chopped salad recipe. This is a fall salad made with a combination different salad dressings that has a delicious blend of sweet and savory flavors and textures that brings out the flavor in every ingredient. Oh, and it calls for bacon! Bacon makes everything taste amazing! Try using this sous vide bacon...it's a game changer flavor wise! Get ready to take your typical chef salad to the next level!

🛒 Ingredients You'll Need

In this pair salad I use romaine lettuce as my base, but you can use any type of lettuce you want. Sometimes I finely chop butter lettuce, iceberg lettuce, or green leaf lettuce in with the romaine. Regardless what type of lettuce you use,  make sure you chop it into small bite-size pieces.

When it comes to the pears, I leave the peelings on and dice them into bite-sized pieces. The nutrition is in the peels! For the bacon, I fry up thick cut bacon, but feel free to use turkey bacon.

Don't skip the pecans because they add crunch and are full of fall flavor! You're going to chop the pecans into bite-sized pieces. Feel free to roast the pecans or add them raw. And I love using Havarti cheese in this tossed salad. This creamy based cheese easily crumbles and adds the most wonderful texture and flavor.

📖 Homemade Dressing

This poppy seed dressing is easy to make because you're literally going to mix it balsamic vinegar dressing. Yep...that's it! Simply take a ½ cup of bottled poppy seed dressing and mix it with a ½ cup of bottled balsamic dressing. Simple. Easy.

SO YUMMY!!!

📋 Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions

We'll start this pear salad by cooking the bacon. Place the strips of bacon in a skillet and cook on medium-low heat until crispy in texture. Once the bacon is done cooking, chop it with a knife on a cutting board into bite-size pieces.

Next, chop the pears and make sure they are chopped into bite-sized pieces. Expert Tip: Leave the peeling on. That's where a lot of the nutrition (and flavor!) lives.

From there, chop the lettuce and make sure you have small bite-size pieces. Once chopped, wash the lettuce and drain all the water. No one likes a soggy salad.

In a large bowl, add the chopped lettuce, pecans, pears, bacon, crumbled Havarti cheese, and dried cranberries.

Now it's time for the salad dressing. Take ½ cup of your favorite bottled poppy seed dressing and ½ cup of your favorite balsamic dressing and place in a bowl with a lid. Shake well and drizzle the poppy seed dressing over the salad. Toss the salad and serve.

Mix it all up and then dig in!

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• This pear salad is best fresh. You can save any leftovers you might have but this salad tends to get soggy by the next day.
• Since you're just mixing the bottled poppy seed and balsamic dressing together, this homemade salad dressing will last as long as the good by date on the bottle.
• If you want to make a healthier version of this recipe, use a lite balsamic and poppy seed dressing. You can also use turkey bacon instead of pork bacon.
• To lower the fat content use feta cheese or skip the cheese entirely.  And, lower the fat by using only a ½ cup of pecans.
• To lower the sugar level, use dried cranberries that contain less sugar.
• Add some fresh grilled chicken breast to turn this one into a grilled chicken salad!

I love every ingredient in this wonderful autumn chopped pear salad. But you can also considered this a winter salad based on all the hearty ingredients it contains. Regardless of the season you make this salad, you're going to love every bite.

Did you make this recipe? Make sure to tag me @recipesworthrepeating on Instagram and hashtag it #recipesworthrepeating so I can see all your wonderful recipe creations!

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Update Notes: This post was originally published in May 2012, but was re-published with updated step-by-step instructions, pictures, and tips in November 2020.