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Pear Blue Cheese Salad with Glazed Honey Walnuts.
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5 from 7 votes

Pear & Blue Cheese Salad with Honey Glazed Walnuts

This Pear & Blue Cheese Salad with Glazed Honey Walnuts is an elegant side salad to any meal, and perfect for the holidays!  It's loaded with that sweet and savory fruit-nut-cheese combination, with sharp blue cheese balancing tart pomegranate seeds, sweet pear slices and absolutely delicious glazed honey walnuts!
Prep Time13 minutes
Cook Time2 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Calories: 285kcal
Author: Meryl Downing

Ingredients

For the Salad

  • 1 cup walnuts whole, raw
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 grinds fresh black pepper
  • 4 ounces salad greens, spinach, or spring mix
  • ½ cup blue cheese crumbled (or substitute feta or goat cheese)
  • ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1 pear sliced just before serving

For the Dressing

  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 grinds fresh black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey (or maple syrup)
  • 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  • Toast walnuts in a dry pan over medium high heat for 2 minutes (set a timer!), stirring frequently. Don't walk away, nuts burn quickly! Turn off the heat and toss with honey, salt and pepper in the hot pan. The honey will sizzle and liquify so toss and stir to coat the nuts completely. Set aside to cool slightly. 
  • Add all ingredients for the dressing to a jar with a lid and shake well to combine.
  • Assemble your salad on a large platter with the greens, blue cheese, pomegranate seeds and sliced pears. Top it with the walnuts and dressing. Salad can be tossed with tongs before serving.

Notes

  • Don't burn the nuts!  Toast raw nuts for just 2 minutes before adding the honey. 
  • If you are using nuts that are already roasted and salted, just warm them for 30 seconds in a pan and then add the honey.  The honey needs the warmth of the pan to liquify into a glaze and adhere to the nuts. 
  • Slice the pears just before serving so they don't brown.
  • Ingredient amounts don't need to be exact and can be adjusted up or down to serve any amount of people.
  • Dressing can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge, it keeps for up to a month.

Nutrition

Calories: 285kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 335mg | Potassium: 227mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 321IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 1mg