Pear Salad
Servings 6 servings
Calories 180kcal
Ingredients
- 6 large canned pear halves well drained
- 6 Tbsp mayonnaise light or full fat
- 1/2 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts preferably toasted
- 6 maraschino cherries
- 6 whole leaves iceberg lettuce or green leaf lettuce
Instructions
- Toast Pecans: Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan. Toast in a preheated 350°F oven for 6-8 minutes or just until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
- Assemble Pear Salad: Arrange lettuce leaves on serving platter. Top with pear halves. (Drain pear juice or heavy syrup).
- Top each pear half with 1 Tbsp mayonnaise.
- Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese and toasted pecans. Top with a maraschino cherry.
- Chill until serving or serve immediately.
Notes
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- Best Mayo - You can use your favorite brand of mayonnaise for this salad. For us, it's always Duke's mayo.
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- Alternatives to Mayonnaise - You can replace the mayonnaise with cottage cheese, cream cheese, Miracle Whip or sour cream.
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- Cream Cheese - To create a creamy filling of cream cheese, combine softened cream cheese with whipped cream or a frozen whipped topping like Cool Whip for a creamy sweet mixture to dollop on top making it more like a dessert. You can certainly opt to do either of those variations to suit your taste.
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- Pear Salad Recipe Easily Doubles - You can make any amount of pear salad servings that you want or need, this recipe is mind blowingly simple. I highly recommend picking up two cans of pears, if you need several servings. The pear halves aren't always uniform in size and you can pick through using the ones that are the most consistent in size.
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- Mayo - You can use light mayonnaise or full fat mayonnaise in this recipe.
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- Nuts - Toasted pecans aren't classic with pear salad, but they lend texture and flavor to the salad overall. You could use candied pecans or walnuts, if preferred.
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- Pears - I use Bartlett pear halves packed in water for this recipe. You can use pears packed in syrup or any variety of canned pears that you enjoy.
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- Cherries - Maraschino cherries may seem unusual, but along with the other flavors in pear salad, it works. You may choose to omit or replace the maraschino cherry with a cherry tomato.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 153mg | Potassium: 211mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 232IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 1mg