Pear Spinach Salad

A bed of spinach topped with sweet pears, tangy blood oranges, dried cranberries, pecans, and feta cheese drizzled with a homemade citrus vinaigrette.

(4.5 stars from 6 ratings)

Pear Spinach Salad

Monday January 10, 2022

440
SHARES

332

108

-

Blood Orange Cranberries Feta Honey Olive Oil Pear Pecans Salt Spinach Thyme

Pear Spinach Salad

Pear Spinach Salad

A bed of spinach topped with sweet pears, tangy blood oranges, dried cranberries, pecans, and feta cheese drizzled with a homemade citrus vinaigrette.

Monday January 10, 2022

(4.5 stars from 6 ratings)

Blood Orange Cranberries Feta Honey Olive Oil Pear Pecans Salt Spinach Thyme

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Happy New Year! While I don't generally make New Years Resolutions, I do often crave some greens in January (probably from polishing off all those Christmas cookies in December!). All kidding aside, this salad is so tasty, and it definitely hits the spot and brings a healthy dose of vitamins after all that holiday craze.

a close up view of the pear spinach salad on a large platter

Reasons to make this salad:

  • its super simple and quick to make
  • it's healthy in a non-boring way
  • it had my two year old chowing down on spinach leaves (yes, really)
  • it is easy to customize to suit your tastes
  • it has minimal ingredients (including the dressing!)
  • most importantly, it is so tasty!

What are the ingredients and substitutions for pear spinach salad?

There are just a handful of ingredients needed for this beautiful salad

a top down view of all the ingredients needed for pear spinach salad
  • spinach - I prefer baby spinach because it is more tender and has a milder taste
  • pears - sliced thin, and still a bit firm to make sure they don't turn to mush in the salad; I used Bartlett but you can use your favorite kind
  • oranges - I love blood oranges for their taste and appearance but any type of orange would be good
  • pecans - add a bit of crunch to the salad
  • cranberries - every fancy salad has these, right?
  • feta cheese - for a bit of tang in the salad; i like to buy the pre crumbled kind for convenience; softer goats cheese works great as well
  • olive oil - or your favorite salad dressing oil
  • orange juice - fresh squeezed is best
  • honey - to add some sweetness to the salad
  • thyme - a hint of extra flavor for the salad dressing
  • salt - to enhance all the delicious flavors in this salad

How to make this pear spinach salad?

step one: in a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, orange juice, honey, thyme, and salt until completely combined; set aside

step two: on a large platter or in a large bowl, place spinach followed by pears, oranges, cranberries, pecans, and feta

step three: drizzle dressing over the salad either on the serving platter or on individual plates

a top down collage of the steps to make spinach pear salad

Can I make this in advance?

Yes, this salad is great to make ahead of time, just don't add the dressing until right before serving!

Can I use a different type of salad dressing?

Yes, you can use a store-bought dressing if it is easier (but I reccommend the homemade one since it is super tasty and literally takes 2 minutes!). I would suggest a simple balsamic dressing or a lemon poppyseed dressing if you decide to go the store bought route.

a plate of salad is shown with the platter in the background

Can I use a different type of orange?

Yes, you can use whatever orange you want! Regular oranges or even a clementine would work well in place of a blood orange. I wouldn't reccommend using the canned mandarin oranges though because fresh oranges have a bit of a sour taste that is lost in the canned variety which pairs perfectly with this salad.

Other salad recipes you should try:


Pear Spinach Salad


A bed of spinach topped with sweet pears, tangy blood oranges, dried cranberries, pecans, and feta cheese drizzled with a homemade citrus vinaigrette.

(4.5 stars from 6 ratings)

Pear Spinach Salad

440 SHARES

By: Natalie Kollee
Yield: 4 Servings
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 0 Minutes
Total Time: 10 Minutes
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice (one orange)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Salad

  • 5-6 cups baby spinach
  • 2 pears, sliced thin
  • 2 blood oranges, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 cup pecan halves
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles

Directions


salad dressing in a bowl with a fork whisking

1

Make The Dressing

Whisk together olive oil, orange juice, honey, thyme, and salt until completely combined; set aside


salad on a platter

2

Prepare The Salad

Using a large platter, add spinach, followed by sliced pears, oranges, pecans, cranberries, and feta cheese


dressing is drizzled over top of the salad

3

Add Dressing

Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat immediately before serving


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Here's what others said

Margaret Marie Dezenzo
Monday May 15, 2023

Excellent! I make this all the time and just shared with two friends I just shared with a friend your recipe. I really enjoy it. Thank you.

Natalie
Tuesday May 16, 2023

Thank you! Glad you liked it

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dawn(Mary) bruck
Wednesday April 19, 2023

I made this with my cooking group yesterday and there were raves all around. Our local blood oranges didn't look great so I chose Cara Cara oranges in replacement. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

Natalie
Thursday April 20, 2023

Cara cara sounds delicious! I’m so glad you all enjoyed the salad!

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Judith Dias
Tuesday November 8, 2022

This salad was as delicious as the winter salad, although the dressing needed a little work. I added the juice of half a small navel orange and 1/2 tsp Splenda. That did it. The dressing was delicious. I suggest you make the dressing to taste as you go. My husband loved it!

Natalie
Tuesday November 8, 2022

Glad you were able to make the dressing work for you!

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Cynthia Buffinton
Thursday November 3, 2022

Natalie
Friday November 4, 2022

Glad you enjoyed it!

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Mary
Friday October 28, 2022

Well...the salad was yummy. But that dressing...bland and it tasted like...just olive oil. I tried different things. Added more orange juice. Nope. More salt. Nope.Added apple cider vinegar. A tad better but still so bland. So we had the gorgeous salad w ith poppyseed dressing. Yummy!

Natalie
Friday October 28, 2022

Sorry you didn’t enjoy the dressing, but glad you had a backup!

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Eleni L. VACALOPOULOS
Friday October 28, 2022

Look forward to try it , look and sounds delicious!!!!!! Thank you!

Natalie
Friday October 28, 2022

I love pear and citrus in a salad! Hope you love it too!

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Deborah Acheson
Friday October 28, 2022

Thankyou for sharing. I"ll make this week.

Natalie
Friday October 28, 2022

Hope you enjoy!

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Patricia Schuyler
Saturday April 30, 2022

This salad sounds delicious I can't wait to try it

Natalie
Saturday April 30, 2022

It’s so quick and easy!

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Patricia Schuyler
Saturday April 30, 2022

This salad sounds delicious I can't wait to try it

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Rose Calvet
Saturday April 30, 2022

Delicious, don’t care much for pears but in this salad it was refreshing.

Natalie
Saturday April 30, 2022

I’m glad you found a way to enjoy pears!!

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Pamela Wilson
Tuesday January 11, 2022

This salad is hands down my favorite! The pears are a perfect addition and the dressing is divine!

Natalie
Tuesday January 11, 2022

Thank you for letting me know; I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

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Natalie
Tuesday December 10, 2024

Hey there! 😊

Thanks for checking out this Healthy recipe! Did you see that there are 11 comments above waiting for you? Check it out and see what others are saying!

Plus, this post has an average rating of 4.5 stars, out of 5! Don't forget to leave a review after you make it

Read the Comments More Healthy