This Pear Gorgonzola Salad is a restaurant quality salad that is super quick and easy to make at home. It’s beautiful for holiday dinners, but easy enough for week nights!
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If we can’t go to the restaurants, we have to recreate the restaurant experience at home. This Pear Gorgonzola salad does just that. This is the kind of salad I live for. It’s a stunning salad with wonderful contrasting flavors and textures. And it’s just so easy to make this. Your family is going to be impressed!
Ingredients Needed
-
- Salad greens – I love the spring mix, but baby spinach or any other lettuce you prefer, works great.
- Quinoa – this is a great source of fiber, protein, vitamin B, and minerals. There are many kinds (white, red, black and tricolored) and you can choose any you like. Here are my instructions for how to cook quinoa if you need help with that!
- Pear – Pears are super nutritional and are a great source of fiber, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory flavonoids, and potentially anti-cancer phytonutrients. Although the salad calls for 1 pear, I prefer 2 in mine for added juiciness! Plus, it never hurts to get some added fiber.
- Apple – they are a great source of fiber, antioxidants and Vitamin C. I prefer the honeycrisp variety for their firmness and sweet tartness, but choose your favorite apple for this salad.
- Gorgonzola cheese – this is a very mild blue cheese. Gives a delightful mild flavor that adds depth to your salad. BUT, you can adapt and use your favorite cheese. Feta or goat cheese are other soft cheeses that would work well, or shaved parmesan would be nice. OR make it a vegan green salad instead of a vegetarian green salad and leave the cheese off completely.
- Walnuts – a great source of Omega – 3 fatty acids and antioxidants. You can use your own choice of nuts or leave the nuts out altogether if you choose.
- Pumpkin Seeds – great source of Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s, fiber and other vitamins. These are easy to roast in the oven or on the stove. Just watch carefully so they don’t burn.
- Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette – I give very easy instructions for whipping up a homemade dressing with fresh raspberries, walnuts, vinegar, honey, mustard, and olive oil. You can also use a high-quality store-bought dressing. I love a good raspberry vinaigrette, but this salad is also good with a Balsamic vinaigrette, or a Poppy Seed dressing.
FAQs about Pear Gorgonzola Salad
What is the texture and taste of this salad?
This salad is sweet (apples and pears), nutty (quinoa, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts) and the gorgonzola gives it a decadent flavor with it’s creamy, salty, slight sharp flavor. Pair this with the raspberry vinaigrette and it is divine
Can this salad be made ahead of time?
This salad is best eaten fresh so the apples and pears don’t brown. You can, however, assemble everything except the fruit and slice and add the fruit right before eating. Store the dressing separately, as well, and dress the salad just before ready to eat or serve.
What other nuts go with pears?
If you have a walnut allergy, don’t have any on hand, or don’t like them, pecans and almonds also go well with this recipe.
Is this a gluten-free recipe?
Yes, this Pear Gorgonzola Salad is gluten free.
I can’t wait to hear what you all think of this recipe when you try it! Please leave me a comment with a star rating. Your feedback means so much to me and helps other readers, too.
This recipe would be perfect to serve with a healthy soup recipe. I suggest this easy Greek Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo.
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Love pears? Try this Simple Baked Pears with Maple Syrup for dessert and this Baked Oatmeal with Pears for breakfast! Flavorful salads are totally my jam! Try this Lentil Salad Recipe, too!
Pear Gorgonzola Salad
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Delicious salad greens tossed with quinoa give a nice nutty flavor along with pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Pear and apple are paired with Gorgonzola cheese for a deep, complex flavor. Toss it all with a raspberry vinaigrette and you have the perfect salad.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 6 cups spring mix salad greens
- ½ cup quinoa, cooked
- 1 large pear, sliced
- 1 large apple (2 small), sliced
- ½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
- ½ cup toasted walnuts
- ½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
For the Dressing
- 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
- 1/3 cups toasted walnut pieces
- 1/4 cup raspberry or red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the greens, quinoa, pear, apple, cheese and nuts.
- In a blender container, add the raspberries, walnut pieces, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper. Blend until almost totally smooth. With the blender running, add the oil until it is combined.
- Drizzle with half of the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Reserve the other half of the dressing for another use.
Notes
How to Cook Quinoa <—–click if you need help cooking your quinoa!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: salad recipes
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 348
- Sugar: 11.4 grams
- Fat: 23 grams
- Carbohydrates: 27 grams
- Fiber: 5.4 grams
- Protein: 10 grams
So tasty!