Name: Pear and Parmesan Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 cups Dark Leafy Greens such as Baby Kale and Baby Chard; 1/3 cup shaved Parmesan cheese; 1 large Bosc Pear; 2/3 cup whole Pecans; One small Chioggia Beet (about 1/2 cup sliced); 4 Figs (about one cup sliced); 1/4 cup Avocado oil; 2 tbsp White Balsamic vinegar; 1 tbsp Maple syrup; 2 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard; 1/2 tsp Salt; 1/8 tsp Pepper

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Pear and Parmesan Salad- If you’re feeling bored with the same old salads, I have just the recipe for you! This easy Fall harvest salad is full of market fresh produce with a maple vinaigrette you’ll love. If you’re ready to level up your salad game, then let’s get started!

Fall harvest salad with wooden utensils.

When I worked the harvest season at a local farm, the ingredients you would put in a salad like this were bursting forth all over the fields. Pears, beets, leafy greens, and all the Fall goodness everywhere.

Personally, I have always been really inspired by fresh fruits and veggies. I love cooking with fresh produce and it is my goal to inspire you too! That’s one big thing this blog is about: finding new and interesting uses for fresh produce and making things yourself instead of buying them pre-packaged.

If you’re reading this, I am glad you’re here and I hope you love fresh ingredients and making things from scratch as much as I do. While you’re visiting the site, be sure to check out some other recipes, including soups and main dishes you’ll want to eat with this salad!

Why You Will Love Pear and Parmesan Salad

If you enjoy fresh produce even half as much as I do, then you are going to love this recipe. It’s like an Autumn harvest in salad form!

There is salty, sweet, earthy, and crunchy tied all together with a maple dijon dressing that is SO good!! This salad has a place on my table in the Fall every year, and I hope you love it too.

What I enjoy most about a recipe like this is all the beautiful colors, and the way it compliments so many other dishes you can serve with it.

If you want to cook seasonally, this salad is a great recipe to start with because it includes many ingredients you’ll find that are synonymous with this specific time of year. That’s one really great thing about seasonal cooking. You get to change your ingredients as the year progresses. What a great way to add variety to your meals!

Pear and parmesan salad with beets and pecans in a large bowl.

Ingredients Needed For This Fall Harvest Salad

This list is not every ingredient needed, but there are a few ingredients that I wanted to go more in depth on so those are listed here. For complete notes and instructions head on down to the recipe card!

Dark Leafy Greens- I like baby chard, spinach, and baby kale in this recipe.

Parmesan- If your local market sells it, you can buy Parmesan already shaved. Or, you can buy Parmesan in blocks or wedges using a cheese grater that has multiple sides with a side that will shave the cheese and you can do this yourself.

Pears- Bosc pears are brown as opposed to being green or red, that is how you can tell you have the right variety when shopping for them. I find that this particular variety is the best for this salad.

Pecans- I love using Candied Pecans in this salad! If you decide not to make the candied pecans, whole roasted unsalted pecans are best for this salad. If you can’t find roasted pecans, you should toast them before adding them to the salad. I have instructions for this in the recipe card.

Chioggia Beets- Sometimes called Candystripe beets, this heirloom variety comes from Italy. They are not only beautiful to look at, but they taste great thin sliced raw in this salad. Chioggias are sweeter and milder than the usual red beet.

Figs- You’ll find figs in the early Fall, and I recommend them in this recipe if you can buy them in your area. Any variety of fig is great here!

Maple Syrup- Be sure to use real maple syrup (not the artificial stuff), and whole grain dijon mustard. There really is no substitute! The maple flavor just won’t be the same if you use the fake stuff.

Whole Grain Dijon Mustard- Regular dijon mustard won’t provide the same smoky notes that you get from the whole grain mustard

Ingredients for pear and parmesan salad.

Substitutions For This Salad Recipe

I know that depending on what part of the season you make this, or what ingredients are available where you live, that you may need to make substitutions in this recipe. Or, you might just want to change it up a bit! I have a few suggestions for you:

Pomegranate Arils
Hazelnuts
Apple wedges (be sure to squirt a bit of lemon juice on them to prevent browning)
Dried Cranberries
Golden Beets
Roasted Cubed Sweet Potato

Don’t limit yourself to these suggestions! Let your imagination or what is fresh in your area guide you.

How To Make Pear and Parmesan Salad

Cut up the produce.
Shave the Parmesan (if you have not bought it already shaved).
Toast the pecans (if you don’t have pecans that are already roasted).
Make the Maple Dijon Vinaigrette.
Combine the salad ingredients with the prepared dressing and serve.

I have additional notes on how to prepare the produce for the salad, so be sure to visit the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all the details!

What To Serve With Pear And Parmesan Salad

It makes a nice light lunch all by itself, or paired as a side with potato and leek soup or red kuri squash soup.

This salad is also a nice side to serve with pumpkin risotto!

The vinaigrette has such a great flavor that works on so many salads. It is lovely on this goat cheese salad instead of the citrus vinaigrette that is part of the recipe. I have used this dressing on that salad many times and it is wonderful! I also love it drizzled on roasted carrots.

If you are reading this, thank you for visiting the blog. If you tried this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out! Just leave a rating or comment below.

If you’d like to share this recipe with friends, make it and take a picture and tag me @thecoppertable in a post on Instagram, pin to a Salad or Side Dishes board on Pinterest or share on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else you like!

If you have not signed up for my newsletter and you’d like all the latest updates straight to your inbox, you can do that below. I have all sorts of exclusive content just for newsletter subscribers, and I’d love for you to join. Happy Cooking!

4 Servings

Pear and Parmesan Salad

Prep Time : 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

This Pear and Parmesan salad is sweet, salty, and delicious! The Maple Dijon Dressing is a wonderful addition too. If you're looking for something a little different, you will love this salad!

Ingredients

For the Salad

4 cups Dark Leafy Greens such as Baby Kale and Baby Chard
1/3 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
1 large Bosc Pear
2/3 cup whole Pecans
One small Chioggia Beet (about 1/2 cup sliced)
4 Figs (about one cup sliced)

For the Maple Dijon Dressing

1/4 cup Avocado oil
2 tbsp White Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Maple syrup
2 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper

Instructions

Place all ingredients for the vinaigrette in a deep sided cup, and use an immersion blender to mix.
Slice the pear and shave the parmesan, and place them in a large bowl with the greens and pecans.
To slice the pear, remove the stem and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and any bits of the core of the pear. Then, cut each half into wedges about a half inch thick.
Peel and thinly slice the Chioggia beet.
Remove the stems from the figs and cut them into quarters.
Add the greens to a large bowl, along with the parmesan, pears, pecans, beets, and figs.
Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, toss to coat and serve.

Notes

White wine vinegar may be substituted for the white balsamic vinegar. If you need to use a vinegar other than white balsamic, be sure to use something mild that will not overpower the other flavors (plain white vinegar is a good example of something too strong).
Other slightly bitter greens such as frisee or arugula are nice in place of the dark leafy greens. Spring Mix is also nice in this salad.
This dressing is great on other salads as well, and the recipe is easily doubled. Don't substitute regular Dijon mustard for the whole grain Dijon, the dressing will not have the same flavor.
You can try using spicy candied pecans to punch up this salad a little bit, they are really good!
I recommend eating this salad right away, because the pear will start to brown once it is cut and not look as appealing.
If you want to make any of the components of this recipe in advance, the dressing can be made ahead and stored in a bottle or jar in the refrigerator until you make the salad. The parmesan may also be shaved in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container with a lid. If you plan to use the spicy candied pecans for this salad, they may be made up to a week in advance.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 339Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 515mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 4gSugar: 11gProtein: 5g

All information presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietitian and any nutritional information should only be used as a general guideline. Statements within this site have not been evaluated or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is provided for recipes contained on this site. This information comes from online calculators. Although The Copper Table attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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