Fall Apple and Pear Salad — 🍎🍐🥗 Complete with crisp apples, tender juicy pears, pomegranate seeds, nuts, crumbled feta, and a tangy homemade honey maple balsamic vinaigrette! Whether you’re looking for a quick lunch idea, dinner side, or a holiday side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas, this FAST and EASY salad is sure to get rave reviews!
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Easy Fall Salad with Apples & Pears
This is the first pear salad recipe I’ve made and it won’t be the last! I just love the sweet and juicy flavor that comes from a perfectly ripe and tender pear.
They’re the perfect complement to the crisp and crunchy apples in this easy salad. ‘Tis the season for apples galore and you can use your favorites.
To take this salad from so-so to oh-yes, I also included pomegranate arils, walnuts, and plenty of crumbled feta cheese. It’s amazing how just a little bit of cheese can really add to and round out any salad or side dish recipe.
The homemade balsamic vinaigrette is a whisk-together little number that’s ready in one minute flat. With the combination of honey and maple syrup for a touch of sweetness to counter the balsamic, it’s just the ticket!
Whether you’re in need of a weekday work lunch, a weeknight dinner side idea to celebrate the flavors of fall, or you’re looking for a holiday side dish that’s fresh, light, and easy – this pear apple pomegranate salad has all the bases covered.
Bonus: As written, the salad is naturally gluten-free and vegetarian (or vegan with a couple tweaks)! Having a holiday side dish recipe that’s GF and vegetarian is a huge win for both the chef and guests in attendance at your Thanksgiving dinner or meal.
Salad Ingredients
For the fall green salad with apples and pears, you’ll want to have on hand the following easy-to-find and very common ingredients:
- Salad greens – I used a spring mix; use what you have
- Apples
- Pears
- Pomegranate arils – look for pre-cleaned pomegranate arils in the produce section of your local grocery store; it will save you so much time!
- Feta – or goat cheese; use vegan variety if desired
- Nuts – I prefer walnuts, pecans, or slivered almonds
For the homemade vinaigrette, you’ll need:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Honey – may omit to keep vegan
- Maple syrup
- Salt – If your vinaigrette tastes at all flat, boring, or like it’s just missing something, it probably is missing adequate salt
- Black pepper
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make am Apple and Pear Salad
You can really prepare this easy fall salad how you’d like and what’s best for you. This is what I do:
- Add the salad greens to a large salad bowl or platter.
- Thinly slice the apples, pears, and fan the slices out over the greens.
- Sprinkle with the pom arils, cheese, and nuts.
- Whisk together all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl or shake them all together in a small jar with a lid.
- Evenly drizzle the dressing over the salad, toss as desired, and serve!
Ingredient Substitutions to Try
Other than soups, there’s nothing more flexible than the ingredients and options for what to put in a salad!
- Cheese – I used crumbled feta (you can use fat free to save calories and fat if that’s important), but goat cheese would be amazing too. Parmesan or blue cheese are also options if that’s your speed.
- Pomegranate arils – If you’re not into pomegranate seeds in salad, opt for dried cranberries instead.
- Nuts – I used chopped walnuts for crunch, but pecans or slivered almonds are also good options. Also if you’d like to make a batch of Candied Pecans and use those, go for it.
- Balsamic vinegar – It will be a totally different flavor, but apple cider vinegar will work as the dressing for this recipe.
- Honey + Maple Syrup – Both add necessary sweetness to the vinaigrette but if for some reason you only want to use one or the other, and not both, that’s fine.
Recipe FAQs
I do not peel them because part of the visual apple for the salad comes from seeing those bright red slivers of apple skin peeking out. Additionally, if you try to peel a sufficiently ripe pear, they can be quite soft and a bit tricky to slice neatly but keeping the skin on makes it easier and neater. However, peel if you wish.
I like to use a “spring mix”. Ironically that this is more of a fall themed salad, but they’re nice “easy-going” greens that aren’t too bitter or tough, nor boring. Normally you’ll find a bit of spinach, arugula, radicchio, and more. A bit of kale is also nice. I wouldn’t use iceberg lettuce or solely spinach either, but do as you wish.
I used Gala and Fuji. Honeycrisp are also great for a sweet-tart apple. If you want it more on the tart side, Granny Smith apples are nice. Mix-and-match based on what you like and have on hand.
I use Bartlett pears which are one of the most common types of pears. Anjou pears are also easy to find and great. If you’re using ‘fancy pears’ like Bosc or Asian pears, they’re also fine but I suggest peeling them. The skin is too tough for my liking.
You sure can. Make sure to check out the above section for common substitutions. But if you want to add roasted Brussels sprouts, cooked and crumbled bacon, a bit of Dijon mustard in the vinaigrette, it’s all good!
As I mentioned, most salads are best consumed right after you make them. Because both apples and pears are prone to oxidizing, this isn’t a great make-ahead salad.
To prevent some browning, you could possibly squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the fruit. However, that could make things pretty tart and tangy, so be careful!
Although if you want to assemble it an hour or two ahead of time, and keep the bowl or salad platter in the fridge, and tightly wrapped with plastic wrap, you can probably get away with it. I wouldn’t try for more than that though – no one wants brown looking fruit on a special holiday side dish!
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Fall Harvest Salad with Apples and Pears
Ingredients
Salad
- 12 to 16 ounces “spring mix” lettuce or salad greens
- 2 medium to large Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp apples, thinly sliced (I do not peel)
- 2 ripe Bartlett pears, thinly sliced (I do not peel)
- ¾ cup pomegranate arils, dried cranberries may be substituted
- ⅓ cup feta cheese crumbles, fat free okay, or goat cheese may be substituted
- ¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped (chopped pecans or slivered almonds may be substituted)
Vinaigrette
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons honey, or to taste
- 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
Salad
- To a large bowl or salad platter, add the greens.
- After slicing the apples, fan out the slices in little piles over the top of the greens. Do the same with the pears.
- Evenly sprinkle the pomegranate airls, cheese, and nuts over the top; set aside momentarily. Note – Use a vegan cheese product to keep salad vegan.
Vinaigrette
- To a small bowl, add the olive oil, and while whisking, drizzle the balsamic, honey, maple syrup slowly. Tip – If you have a small glass jar with a lid, add all the ingredients (including salt and pepper), seal, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. This is my preferred method rather than a bowl + whisk. Note – If you're making this as a strictly vegan recipe, use maple syrup in place of the honey.
- Add the salt, pepper, and whisk to combine. Taste the vinaigrette and make any necessary flavor adjustments including more honey or maple syrup for sweetness. And/or more salt and pepper. Tip – If the vinaigrette is at all flat or boring, it likely needs more salt. Don't be afraid to add it because you're flavoring a large quantity of fruits and vegetables and so don't be shy about adding salt if it needs it.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad, toss, and serve. Alternatively, you can plate the salad and people can drizzle vinaigrette over their individual portions. Although I find that it works and tasted better if you toss the whole thing together in a big bowl.
- Salad is best served fresh, especially after being dressed. Extra undressed salad + fruit may keep airtight in the fridge for up to 2-3 days potentially. Extra vinaigrette will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Salad greens – I like to use a "spring mix". Ironically that this is more of a fall themed salad, but they're nice "easy-going" greens that aren't too bitter or tough, nor boring. Normally you'll find a bit of spinach, arugula, radicchio, and more. A bit of kale is also nice. I wouldn't use iceberg lettuce or solely spinach either, but do as you wish.
- Apples – I used Gala and Fuji. Honeycrisp are also great for a sweet-tart apple. If you want it more on the tart side, Granny Smith apples are nice. Mix-and-match based on what you like and have on hand.
- Pears – I use Bartlett pears which are one of the most common types of pears. Anjou pears are also easy to find and great. If you're using 'fancy pears' like Bosc or Asian pears, they're also fine but I suggest peeling them. The skin is too tough for my liking.
- Cheese – I used crumbled feta (you can use fat free to save calories and fat if that's important), but goat cheese would be amazing too. If you want to keep this salad as a totally vegan option if you're serving it for Thanksgiving or a Christmas celebration, you can usually find crumbled vegan cheeses with ease these days.
- Pomegranate arils – Did you know the seeds are actually called arils? Yes they are. A huge tip here is to buy a pomegranate that's already been cleaned and the seeds are sold in a clear plastic container in Trader Joe's and most well stocked grocery stores in the produce section. If you're making this for the holidays especially, don't bother cleaning your own pomegranate. It's a messy job with red juice that runs everywhere and stains like crazy. Splurge and buy them for your salad with pomegranate seeds.
- Dried cranberries – If you're not into pomegranate seeds in salad (and some people aren't – they can be bitter and they are very crunchy at times), opt for dried cranberries instead. Lower sugar varieties are fine.
- Nuts – I used chopped walnuts but pecans or slivered almonds are also good options. Also if you'd like to make a batch of Candied Pecans and use those, go for it. Homemade candies nuts of any kind are over-the-top delish, but store bought versions are of course fine. Not a nut person or someone is allergic? Just omit!
- Balsamic vinegar – It will be a totally different flavor, but apple cider vinegar will work as the dressing for pear salad. Fall salad with pomegranate dressing is also an option by looking for a infused olive oils or pomegranate infused vinegars.
- Honey + Maple Syrup – Both add necessary sweetness to the vinaigrette but if for some reason you only want to use one or the other, and not both, that's fine – again due to allergies or wanting to keep the salad vegan. Maple syrup adds more fall flavor than honey.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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