Pear Salad with Candied Walnuts
Updated Oct 22, 2025
This pear salad uses a homemade vinaigrette and is made with kale and ripe pears, topped with dried cranberries, candied walnuts, and blue cheese.
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my kale and pear salad is so good!
This Kale Pear Salad with Candied Walnuts is one of my favorite seasonally inspired fall salads. While kale salads usually get more love in the summer, I can’t help but keep making them once the weather cools down. Pears pair (no pun intended.. jk small pun intended) so well with walnuts, kale, and blue cheese. Tossed with cranberries and a simple homemade vinaigrette, this kale pear salad has a great mix of flavors and textures for fall.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Pear Salad Ingredients
- Kale: I like to use organic kale or a mix of different types of kale for added texture. Mixed greens will work, too!
- Pears: Look for pears that are ripe, but still have some firmness. You don’t want mushy pears in your salad!
- Cranberries: Dried, unsweetened cranberries are best.
- Candied Walnuts: I usually candy walnuts myself by tossing them with sugar and cooking them in the oven until they’re lightly caramelized, but you can also use store-bought candied walnuts, or plain walnuts. Pistachios, almonds, or pecans will work, too!
- Blue Cheese: I love the taste of blue cheese in this salad, but you can swap in feta or goat cheese, too.
- Vinaigrette: For this vinaigrette, I like to combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, fresh OJ, garlic, salt, and pepper. You can also use store-bought vinaigrette if you’re in a rush!
How to Make Pear Salad
Pear Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
For the Salad
- 6 cups kale leaves roughly chopped
- 2 small pears thinly sliced
- 1 cup candied walnuts
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- In a large serving bowl, whisk together garlic, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, Dijon, honey and salt and pepper. Slowly stream in the olive oil and whisk until emulsified.
- Add chopped kale on top of the dressing. Using your hands, massage the dressing into the kale to help break down the leaves. Massage until the kale is bright green and starts to feel soft.
- Top kale with sliced pears, candied walnuts, blue cheese and cranberries, serve.
Equipment
Notes
▢ ¼ cup olive oil
▢ 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
▢ 1 tablespoon maple syrup
▢ 1 clove garlic clove
▢ 1 tsp fresh thyme
▢ Salt and pepper
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Toss your sliced pears in lemon juice. If you have time to toss your pear slices in lemon juice, the acid will keep them from oxidizing quickly and turning brown
- Make sure you massage your kale. Kale can be quite tough and chewy, so use your hands to massage the leaves in the dressing to soften them. You’ll also notice the color of the kale will get darker when massaged!
- Make extra dressing. This dressing should last up to a month in the fridge, so I like to make extra to have on hand for future salads!
Serving Ideas
- Add some protein. Grilled chicken, chickpeas, or even slices of steak would add a nice protein boost to this salad.
- Serve as a Thanksgiving side. I love to serve this salad with my easy Thanksgiving turkey, along with vegetarian stuffing, and healthy mashed sweet potatoes.
FAQs
I’d recommend storing your salad ingredients separately and tossing them together just before serving to keep everything as fresh as possible. If you have leftovers of your dressed kale salad, they can only be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days before the pears will start to brown and the nuts will lose their crunch.
More Fall Salad Recipes
- Fall Harvest Salad
- Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad
- Brussels Sprout Salad
- Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad
- Brussel Sprout Sweet Potato Salad
- Apple Walnut Salad
- Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
- Farro Grain Salad Bowl
- Wholesome Chickpea Salad
- Beet Orange Salad
This Pear Salad with Candied Walnuts recipe (renamed from Autumn Pear Salad) was originally published on October 19th, 2020. The post has been updated to include helpful cooking tips, frequently asked questions and step-by-step photos.
Comments
Delicious, was a hit at my party the other week
Aww, yay!! So happy it was a hit! Thank you!!
Hi, did you change the recipe for the dressing? I thought I made it last year with maple syrup and thyme but this is different. Trying to find that other amazing dressing recipe!
I did, actually. I am so sorry I forgot to include the original recipe in the notes sections on the recipe card. I went back in and added it for you. It’s right under the instructions in the Notes box. Enjoy!
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