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Home Fruits and Vegetables

Pear and Feta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

5
/5
10 mins
1 Comment
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By: LalainePosted: 01/28/2023Updated: 01/28/2023
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Pear and Feta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing with juicy pears, feta cheese, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, and a delicious vinaigrette dressing for a refreshing Fall salad. Perfect as a side dish or a meal in itself.

pear salad with dried cranberries, feta cheese and poppy seed dressing on a serving plate
Pear and Feta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Table of Contents hide
  • 1 How to make Poppyseed Dressing
  • 2 In a Jar
  • 3 Quick tips
  • 4 Serving suggestions
  • 5 Storage instructions
  • 6 Pear and Feta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, everyone’s looking for the ultimate side dishes. But although hearty vegetable, potato, or noodle casseroles first come to mind this time of the year, a refreshing medley of greens can also be a great option.

This pear and feta salad with poppy seed dressing is the best holiday salad and deserves a spot on your table. Not only is it bursting with fresh, bright flavors, but it’s also loaded with winter favorites such as pears and dried cranberries.

spring salad mix in a bowl, pear, candied walnuts, feta cheese, dried cranberries

This green salad is quick and easy to pull together; the most work involved is making the poppy seed dressing, which takes a few minutes. It’s such a simple dressing; you’ll be pleasantly amazed at how well it compliments the sweet, tangy, salty, and crunchy goodness of the salad!

You can make candied walnuts from scratch or pick up a bag at your neighborhood supermarket.

mustard, oil, sugar, mason jar, poppy seeds

How to make Poppyseed Dressing

In a Blender

  • In a blender, combine sugar, vinegar, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper and process for about 10 seconds.
  • Set blender on high, and then gradually add vegetable oil in a slow, steady stream.
  • Transfer into a container and stir in poppy seeds.

In a Jar

  • In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine sugar, vinegar, vegetable oil, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper.
  • Cover jar with the lid and shake vigorously until well combined

In a Bowl

  • In a large bowl, combine sugar, vinegar, vegetable oil, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper.
  • Whisk until well-blended.
poppyseed dressing in a mason jar pouring over salad

Quick tips

  • Cut and slice the pears close to serving time. If prepping ahead, drizzle with lemon juice to keep from browning.
  • For optimum freshness, drizzle and toss the salad with the dressing just before serving lest the greens get soggy.
salad with sliced pears, feta cheese, candied walnuts, and cranberries on a serving plate with homemade dressing on the side

Serving suggestions

This pear salad makes a great side dish but can easily serve as a light meal. Top it with any leftover grilled chicken or steak for extra protein!

Storage instructions

Store the salad and dressing in individual airtight containers. The salad will keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days, and the dressing for 3 to 4 days.

For more salad recipes, try my Ultimate Taco Salad or Berry Chicken and Spinach Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing. Enjoy!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @OnionRingsAndThings on Facebook and Instagram!

pear salad with dried cranberries, feta cheese and poppy seed dressing on a serving plate
5 from 1 vote

Pear and Feta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Pear and Feta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing with juicy pears, feta cheese, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, and a delicious vinaigrette dressing for a refreshing Fall salad. Perfect as a side dish or a meal in itself.
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 10 mins
Author: Lalaine
Course: Salad
Print Pin It Email Recipe
4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 package spring salad mix
  • 2 pears, sliced
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup candied walnuts

For the Poppy Seed Dressing

  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

  • Divide spring mix between 4 salad serving plates.
  •  Top with sliced pears, candied walnuts, and dried cranberries.
  • Sprinkle with feta cheese and drizzle with poppy seed salad dressing.

For the Poppy Seed Dressing

  • In a blender, combine vinegar, sugar, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper and process for about 10 seconds. Set blender on high, and then gradually add vegetable oil in a slow, steady stream. Transfer into a container and stir in poppy seeds.
  • Or in a jar, combine vegetable oil, vinegar, sugar, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper into a tightly-sealed jar. Shake vigorously until well combined.
  • Or in a large bowl, combine vegetable oil, vinegar, sugar, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well-blended.

Notes

  • Cut and slice the pears close to serving time. If prepping ahead, drizzle with lemon juice to keep from browning.
  • For optimum freshness, drizzle and toss the salad with the dressing just before serving, lest the greens get soggy.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 319g, Calories: 537kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 37g, Saturated Fat: 25g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 898mg, Potassium: 131mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 40g, Vitamin A: 100IU, Vitamin C: 3.8mg, Calcium: 141mg, Iron: 0.9mg

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

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About Lalaine

Welcome to Onion Rings and Things where you’ll find hundreds of comfort food recipes, crafts, and printables. Browse around and make something fun or tasty today! Read More

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Recipe Rating




  1. Maria says

    Posted on 1/30/21 at 8:56 pm

    5 stars
    Pear and feta are such a great combo, but also pretty rare to come by! This was delicious.

    Reply

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