Baked Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans

Birds eye view of a salad in a wooden bowl with sliced pears on top, gorgonzola cheese, and candied pecans.

Baked Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans

A refreshing combination of 3 simple ingredients with a super easy tasty homemade dressing drizzled all over to perfection!

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Diet Low Calorie

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 0

Total Time 5

Servings people

Calories 154kcal

Author Jillian Schneider

Equipment

salad bowl
cutting board
paring knife
salad tongs

Ingredients

For the salad
8 cups greens - spinach or a spring mix are my favorite washed and dried
1 ripe bosc pear thinly sliced
4 ounces gorgonzola cheese crumbled
For the dressing
6 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
¼ cup dijon mustard
1 tsp thyme
ground black pepper and salt to taste
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
½ lemon juice squeezed out
For the pecans
½ cup pecans
1 ½ tbsp coconut sugar

Instructions

Step 1 - In a small mixing bowl whisk together olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, thyme, salt and pepper, pure maple syrup, and lemon juice.
Step 2 - Heat a small non-stick skillet to medium heat and add your pecans and sugar. Shake the pan and stir the pecans to make sure they are coated with the sugar. Continue cooking until sugar starts to turn dark brown.
Step 3 - Put coated pecans on a plate lined with a paper towel to cool. Once cooled you can break them up to the desired consistency.
Step 4 - thinly sliced your pears and then halve them.
Step 5 - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your pears on a baking sheet. Sprinkle them lightly with salt and pepper then bake them for 10 minutes. Flip them and sprinkle salt and pepper on this side of the pear then bake them for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Step 6 - To assemble the salad, place greens in the bottom of four bowls or plates. Then add the pears on top of each, then top with crumbled gorgonzola and candied pecans. Drizzle the salad dressing on top and devour!

Notes

How can the kids help?

Have your child help you mix in all the ingredients to make the dressing.
My daughter also loves using a fruit squeezer. I put my lemon slice into the juice squeezer and add it to my dressing that way.

How to cut pears for roasting?

I like to cut my pears in slices. I cut the pear in half lengthwise then slice each half into thin slices. Make sure to discard the stem, seeds, and core.

How do you know if a pear is ripe?

You can tell a pear is ripe by pressing it gently near the stem. It will slightly give way if it's ripe.

Nutrition