This pear salad with creamy gorgonzola cheese and candied pecans drizzled with a bright and tangy Dijon vinaigrette dressing is the perfect companion to any winter dinner.

Everyone needs a simple green salad in their repertoire. This pear salad with gorgonzola is made with your favorite mellow greens and radicchio’s somewhat bitter-spiced bite and is topped with ever-so-slightly under-ripened pears that add a crispness to match the crunch of easy-to-make sweet candied pecans. It’s all dressed with a simple homemade Dijon mustard dressing and topped with pinches of creamy gorgonzola cheese. It’s the yin and yang flavor combination I crave no matter the season. Similar to my ultimate Italian platter salad, Greek Cobb Salad, and my Nicoise salad, I like to serve this pear salad with gorzonaola on a platter or in a large, shallow serving dish—where there’s no need for tossing and I can avoid all of the good, chunky bites disappearing at the bottom of a bowl.

Why You’ll Love It

• This simple pear salad recipe is the perfect balance of sweet and tart and matches so deliciously with everything
• It’s quick and easy to prepare, and serving it on a platter makes for a nice presentation when entertaining
• You can easily change up the cheese or nuts, or even add protein, like this lemon and rosemary roast chicken (that you can serve shredded on top to make this salad a meal)

Pear Salad Ingredients

Here’s what’s in this pear salad:

• Lettuce—a mix of spring greens, butter lettuce, and radicchio
• Pears—opt for slightly under-ripened ones so they’re firm, not mushy. Any variety or combination of your favorites
• Creamy gorgonzola cheese (or regular blue cheese works too)
• Candied nuts–I love candied pecans from this recipe (or you could use a good store brand that you like)

Dijon vinaigrette ingredients

• Seasoned rice vinegar—this is my go-to vinegar for Dijon vinaigrette, but I change it up sometimes, and apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, white balsamic, or champagne vinegar are all great options
• Shallots—for a little punch (you could use red onion if you prefer)
• Dijon mustard—for a little tang, as well as some thickness
• Extra-virgin olive oil—use a good quality oil if you can (I love cold-pressed, single-origin olive oils)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper—always, for flavor

Find the complete recipe with measurements below

How to Make the Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing

You can make this dressing up to 2 weeks in advance, store it in the refrigerator, then bring it to room temperature before using. It’s also delicious drizzled on cooked vegetables or as a quick marinade for chicken.

• Choose your vessel: Whisk the dressing in a bowl or shake it in a jar with a lid. Both methods work well, but I do find I get a thicker, more emulsified dressing when I slowly whisk the oil into the vinegar.
• Add the Dijon, minced shallots, and vinegar before adding the oil. The acid from both the mustard and vinegar mellows the heat of the shallots but still retains that French bistro vibe.
• Mix the dressing. While whisking, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the ingredients until thickened and full-bodied. Or, make this dressing super easy by adding everything at once to a glass jar, screw tight with a lid, and shake to emulsify. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, adding more of either to taste.

Choose Your Mix

• Select a mix of tender lettuces. I’ve become a stalker of the best tender leaves of fluffy butter lettuces and locally grown baby red leaf lettuces in my grocery store’s produce department. Choose any of your leafy favorites for this pear salad.
• Then add a radicchio crunch. This Italian green adds a lightly bitter bite that balances the sweetness of the salad’s fruit and nut toppings and adds color to the salad. Substitute chopped purple cabbage if radicchio isn’t your thing.

Add the Sweet Crunch of Candied Pecans and Pears

• Make the candied pecans on the stovetop in three simple steps. Cinnamon and nutmeg flavor these quick candied nuts. Add a pinch of cayenne, chili powder, or smoked paprika for more heat.
• Choose firm but not hard pears for the salad. Any variety of pears works for this salad, so long as they aren’t overripe and mushy. For hard pears, set them on the countertop with bananas nearby to ripen within a day or so.

Drizzle with Dressing and Add the Cheese Please

• Creamy gorgonzola or a firmer blue cheese adds to this salad’s tang. Substitute goat cheese or even a diced white cheddar would be tasty.
• Dress the salad just before serving. This helps the delicate lettuces hold up best.

Recipe Additions & Variations

• Use spinach instead of mixed greens
• Swap the pears out for sliced apples or grapes
• Opt for a balsamic vinaigrette instead of Dijon
• Swap the gorgonzola cheese for goat cheese
• For added protein, top your salad with some grilled chicken
• Roasted beets or butternut squash would be tasty additions

Storage Tips

The Dijon vinaigrette will keep stored in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I don’t recommend slicing your pears in advance, as they will oxidize and turn brown and a bit mealy. Homemade candied pecans will keep in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks.

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5 from 1 vote

Pear Salad with Gorgonzola

This simple green salad topped with crunchy pears, creamy gorgonzola cheese, and candied pecans drizzled with a Dijon dressing is the perfect companion to any winter dinner.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword green salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 357kcal

Ingredients

For the Candied Pecans

• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup pecan halves

For the Dijon Vinaigrette

• ⅓ cup rice vinegar seasoned or unseasoned
• 1 tablespoon shallot minced
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad

• 8 cups lettuce mix of spring greens butter lettuce, and radicchio
• 3 pears cored and sliced
• 4 ounces soft Gorgonzola cheese crumbled

Instructions

• First, make the candied pecans. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a skillet over medium heat, stir the sugar, water, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Cook until the sugar begins to melt. Add the nuts and cook, stirring often, until the nuts are toasted and glazed. Spoon the nuts onto the prepared sheet pan to cool, separating with a fork. Sprinkle with a little coarse salt if desired.
• Next, make the dressing in either a small bowl or a jar fitted with a lid. To make in the bowl, add the vinegar, shallots, and Dijon mustard then slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mix while whisking continuously until emulsified. Season with kosher salt and pepper, adding more to taste. Or, add all of the ingredients to the jar, close the lid tightly, and shake well.
• On a large platter or in a shallow bowl, layer the lettuce with the radicchio. Nestle the sliced pears and cooled candied pecans into the lettuce leaves then top with chunks of gorgonzola cheese. Drizzle the dressing over the top just before serving.

Notes

The Dijon vinaigrette can be made and refrigerated up to 2 weeks before. Bring to room temperature before serving.