Pear Salad with Walnuts, Avocado and Grilled Chicken
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Published Mar 21, 2019, Updated Jul 24, 2023
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An easy pear salad with walnuts, avocado and grilled chicken. This combo makes for a satisfying meal-sized salad that’s perfect for pear season! This post is sponsored by USA Pears.
It’s pear season! I love pears and have been dreaming up a pear salad recipe for you that is perfect for spring. Ya’ll know I love my salads, but it’s been a minute since I’ve shared any salad recipes so I’m excited to share this meal-sized salad today.
I created this salad by starting with the main ingredient: pears. Pears are nutrition powerhouses yet I feel like they can be overlooked in the health world!
What Are The Health Benefits of Pears?
One pear has six grams of fiber and is a good source of vitamin C. Pears are a low calorie fruit and don’t contain any fat or cholesterol. They’re naturally sweet and are great to add to a variety of recipes to add natural sweetness.
I love using pears in oatmeal, baked goods, salads and smoothies. This Pear and Avocado Smoothie is one of my faves. Learn more about pear nutrition here.
How Can I Tell if a Pear is Ripe?
I’m excited to share a new trick I learned! I used to just give pears a little squeeze or judge off of the color (LOL!), but I’ve learned that you can press at the top of the pear near the stem. If it presses in a little, it’s ripe and ready to eat!
If your pear isn’t quite ripe yet, just let them sit at room temperature. When you have ripe pears that aren’t quite ready to eat them yet, you can put them in the fridge to slow down ripening.
Ingredients For a Pear Salad
I loved dreaming up the flavor combinations for this pear salad! I combined sweet and savory, different textures and a variety of flavors to make a satisfying, protein and fiber packed smoothie that will keep you full for hours!
- fresh pear – The star of this salad and honestly what I built this recipe off of. I used Red Anjou and Green Bartlett. Both are tasty but the Red Anjou might be my fave pear variety at the moment.
- spring mix – Fitting for the season… I chose spring mix for this salad, but really any greens you have on hand would be delicious!
- avocado – I love the creaminess avocado brings to the salad.
- nuts – I chose walnuts but feel free to use any nut you’d like!
- goat cheese – I love adding crumbled cheese to my salads but feel free to omit if you need a dairy-free or vegan.
- grilled chicken – I upped the protein factor of this salad by adding in easy grilled chicken. If you’re vegetarian, grilled tofu or chickpeas would be a great sub.
- turkey bacon – In my opinion, bacon makes everything better. I used turkey bacon because it is leaner than traditional pork bacon. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, I love tempeh bacon!
- dried cranberries – Mmm the perfect touch of sweet (and chewy) that this salad needed.
- maple balsamic dressing – I rounded out this recipe with a delicious maple balsamic dressing. It’s super simple to make – the main ingredients are olive oil, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and a little dijon mustard. I used white balsamic vinegar because it’s tad sweeter and I like that it doesn’t turn the whole salad brown like regular balsamic vinegar tends to do. If you don’t have white balsamic on hand, regular balsamic works great!
I love this salad and find myself craving it often! Pears are in season right now so it’s the perfect time for this salad but honestly, I can see myself enjoying this year round.
More Fruit Salads to Try
- Strawberry Salad
- Blueberry Corn Chicken Salad
- Grapefruit Avocado Salad
- Fuji Apple Salad
- Blueberry Breakfast Salad
- Easy Fruit Salad
More Pear Recipes to Try
- Pear Baked Oatmeal
- Barley Salad with Chickpeas and Pears
- Pear and Beet Salad with a Ginger Hemp Dressing
- Baked Pears
- Pear Smoothie
Be sure to check out all of the pear recipes as well as the full collection of salad recipes on EBF!
Pear Salad with Walnuts, Avocado and Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 cups spring mix
- 2 pears, I used Red Anjou and Green Bartlett, sliced or chopped
- 6 oz grilled chicken breast
- 2 slices of cooked turkey bacon
- 1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
- 2 Tablespoons dried cranberries
- 2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts, raw or toasted
- 1/2 avocado, sliced or chopped into chunks
Maple Balsamic Dressing
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, I used white
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Prepare bacon + chicken: Cook turkey bacon and grill chicken if you haven’t already. See notes.
- Make dressing: Prepare dressing by whisking together all ingredients in a small bowl or jar. I like using a jar with a lid for this so you can easily store any leftover dressing in the fridge in that same jar.
- Prep salad: Grab two bowls and add a base of spring mix, pear slices, grilled chicken breast, bacon, goat cheese, dried cranberries, walnuts and avocado.
- Serve: Drizzle salad with desired amount of balsamic dressing and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have not tried this recipe but will soon. I am allergic to avocado so is there another healthy fat I can use in this particular salad that you would recommend?
You you add in more nuts otherwise you’ll get some good healthy fats from the walnuts already. 🙂