Pear And Gorgonzola Salad With Candied Pecans

ByCynthia

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This Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans is an autumn staple! It’s one of my go-to entertaining salads because it’s easy to prep in advance and it tastes amazing.

Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans

Making Vinaigrette for Pear Gorgonzola Salad

A gorgonzola, pecan and pear salad is super easy to make. All you have to do is arrange the pears over a bed of field greens and top with crumbled cheese and candied pecans. 

As with most recipes when you’ll be focusing on very simple ingredients, go for the highest quality you can afford. While pears, pecans and field greens aren’t particularly expensive, you’ll want to use a really nice vinaigrette.

This is a good time to open that designer bottle of vinegar or oil that you were given last Christmas and never could figure out what to make with it!

My mom usually buys me really interesting oils and vinegars. The latest was D’Anjou Pear White Balsamic Vinegar from her local farmer’s market.

“You’ve got to blog something with this,” she told me many times, “It’s delicious!”

I kept telling her, “How can I write about a product that can’t be found outside Southern California?”

But that’s when it occurred to me. It’s not about that balsamic. It’s about using the ones you’ve been saving for a special occasion. As long as you know the basic principles of making a vinaigrette, you can use that special vinegar or olive oil.

A real, homemade vinaigrette takes only minutes to whip up and tastes infinitely better than a store bought dressing. 

Close up of Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans.

What You’ll Need for Pear and Gorgonzola Salad

It really doesn’t matter so much if you use arugula, field greens or romaine, walnuts or pecans, blue cheese or feta, pears, apples or nectarines! Experiment, create, and discover a version of this salad that is your own.

  • 6 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
  • pinch of salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar or honey
  • 1-2 teaspoons lime or lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup candied pecans (store bought or make your own – see recipe below!)
  • 8 cups field greens washed and dried
  • 4 ounces gorgonzola cheese crumbled
  • 1 pear ripe, washed and quartered into thin slices

How Do You Cut Pears for Salad? 

For an elegant presentation, I like to cut my pears into thin slices and fan them out on top of the salad. Another option is to dice them into nice bite-sized pieces. 

Start by cutting the pear into quarters, then cut  out the core. Lay the quarters flat side down.

Next you can cut the quarters into thin slices, or cut them into strips and then cut crosswise to dice.

Pears bruise easily and ripen better off the tree. Look for pears with intact stems and unblemished skin. To ripen, leave them on your counter for three to five days. 

Close up of a pear.

I hope you’ll enjoy this Pear and Gorgonzola Salad!

pear salad

Pear And Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans

Cynthia
This Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans is an autumn staple! It’s one of my go-to entertaining salads because it’s easy to prep in advance and it tastes amazing.
5 from 60 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine Vegetarian
Servings 4 servings
Calories 436 kcal

Ingredients
  

Dressing

Candied Pecans

  • 1/2 cup pecans
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
  • pinch cayenne (optional)

Salad

  • 8 cups field greens washed and dried
  • 4 ounces gorgonzola cheese crumbled
  • 1 pear ripe, washed and quartered into thin slices

Instructions
 

Dressing

  • Whisk all ingredients for dressing together and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Candied Pecans

  • Heat the sugar and pecans over a medium heat until sugar begins to melt. 
  • Shake pan and stir pecans so that they are lightly coated with sugar, add pinch of cayenne if desired. When sugar begins to turn caramel colored. 
  • Turn off heat and dump nuts on a cookie sheet to cool. Break up nuts when cool.

For the Salad

  • Divide field greens or arugula between 4 plates. Arrange 1/4 sliced pear on each plate. Top with crumbled gorgonzola and candied pecans. Drizzle with salad dressing.

Notes

For the dressing I made, the pear vinegar was a bit sweet so I omitted the sugar went for a 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Taste…taste…taste! Citrus will cut the sweetness and make the flavors pop. I skipped the garlic, since I didn’t want the flavors of the salad to be overwhelmed by the garlic.

Nutrition

Serving: 1personCalories: 436kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 8gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 417mgPotassium: 299mgFiber: 3gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 4454IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 187mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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37 Comments

  1. I totally agree, use those luxuries now. I always have. My grandma use to get out her special Blue Willow tea cups for us to use when we were little. She loved them and told us the tea tasted better in them. And it did!

    I will light some candles tonight!

    Thanks for the tips on vinaigrettes.

    Reply

    1. Kim, I light scented candles all the time now! I’m sure you have really great artisan oils and vinegars up in SB! I’ve gotten some really good olive oil at a little shop in Ventura in Old Town.

      Reply

  2. Hi! Love to us various vinegars and oils as well. This is a geat template for building a fantastic and interesting dressing. Great heartfelt post. I’m OVER 50 (closing in on the next BIG _0. It’s shocking but really a great time to live.) In my mind I’m 35 and that’s all that matters. 🙂

    Please come by and share your great ideas through our newly launched – Simply the Best – easily post your great ideas on our site with a link back to your blog and we’ll talk you up on our social networks too.

    Thanks and Best of Days!

    Reply

  4. Love this post!!!!! Enjoy NOW!!! Thanks for putting life into perspective. Love you lots. Say hi to the girls from Auntie.

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    Dear Cynthia, I was taken out for a belated birthday dinner last Sunday night at The Holy Grail Restaurant in Epping, NH, a former catholic church. I had a similar Pear and Gorgonzola Salad. Absolutely delicious, but yours is prettier by far. I love using beautiful things everyday. For me it’s my grandmother’s early 1900’s silver. More often than not I eat cereal with a silver spoon…:) It just tastes better…

    Reply

  17. 5 stars
    Wow! Awesome salad! Very impressive for brunch. Several people asked for the recipe. Who knew candied pecans are so easy? Will never purchase again.

    Reply

  22. 5 stars
    The pear and the dressing go so well together. I also love arugula, it’s my go to salad over anything. The sweetness of the dressing and bitterness of arugula really works well together.

    Reply

  23. Wow! Thanks so much! I used to buy the bagged Pear and Gorgonzola Salad @ Publix, but it’s getting harder to find. I am so glad I ran across this recipe! I signed up for your emails. I am really impressed! I even went to Amazon and ordered the pear balsamic vinegar!

    Reply

    1. No, not really. If you’re planning on serving it later, I’d make the candied nuts and dressing ahead of time.
      Just make what you’re eating at the time. Field greens don’t have a long shelf life once they are dressed.

      Reply

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