Sweet Peas and Saffron

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Spinach Pear Salad with Gouda and Hazelnuts

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A delicious spinach pear salad topped with Gouda cheese, toasted hazelnuts and pomegranate seeds, all tossed in a tangy vinaigrette. Perfect for your holiday table!

Fruit in salad- yay or nay? I am a big, resounding YAY on this one! Exhibit A: This Autumn Apple Farro Salad, and Exhibit B: this Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad. Exhibit C would clearly have to be this delicious (and pretty) Spinach Pear Salad!

overhead view of pear salad in white bowl

When it comes to salads, I’m unapologetically opinionated. It must have something sweet, something savory, something crunchy and something creamy.

This spinach pear salad has all of the above and gets bonus points for the pretty factor. The red + green means it would be perfect to grace your holiday table!

With the toasted hazelnuts and gouda, it feels special, but it can be our secret that it’s incredibly easy to prepare 😉

Reasons you’ll ♡ this spinach pear salad

  • it’s simple to prepare but is perfect for a special occasion
  • it tastes amazing!!
  • it looks beautiful and would be great for a holiday meal

Recipe Video

Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this salad. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.

Don’t forget to pin this post to save it for later!

side view of 1/2 pint jar with white wine vinaigrette

Which ingredients do we need?

  • spinach– or any leafy green. Arugula would be a great alternative!
  • pomegranate seeds– which you can de-seed in advance.
  • gouda– I went for a regular gouda, but you could be adventurous and try different flavors! If you can’t find gouda, goat cheese or feta cheese would be a delicious alternative.
  • pear– a used a Bartlett pear for this recipe but really any pear will be great in this pear salad including Bosc or Anjou.
  • hazelnuts– be sure to take the extra time to toast them…this makes ALL the difference in this salad! If you are short on hazelnuts, almonds or walnuts would be a great alternative.
  • white wine vinaigrette– we are using my favorite white wine vinaigrette in this recipe. It is tangy but neutral and lets all the other flavors shine.

toasting the hazelnuts for the pear salad recipe

Tips for the BEST salad

  • toast hazelnuts- I highly recommend doing this as it brings out so much nutty flavor. This can be done a week or more ahead of time!
  • don’t cut pear ahead– while the majority of the ingredients may be prepped ahead, pear is prone to browning and is best sliced just before serving
  • pomegranate– if you are unsure of how to deseed a pomegranate, check out my tutorial (+ video), which makes it seriously SO EASY
  • prep ahead– you may toast the hazelnuts, shake up the vinaigrette, cut the gouda and de-seed the pomegranate up to 4 days before serving. Do not add vinaigrette until right before you serve

Find my favorite kitchen equipment in my shop!

overhead view of spinach pear salad (tossed up)

Does this salad work for meal prep?

Unfortunately this salad is not great for meal prep thanks to the pears. If you left off the pears, it *might* work layered in a mason jar keeping leafy greens away from the dressing, but I have not tested.

Can I swap an ingredient in this recipe?

Yes, this is an extremely flexible recipe! Check the ‘ingredients’ section above for swap suggestions.

What to serve with spinach pear salad?

This is a great holiday meal and goes well with a number of sides and entrees. Here are some suggestions:

close up view of pear salad on fork

This recipe was originally published in 2014. It has been updated with fresh photos, tips and a video in 2019! Same delicious recipe.

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5 from 3 votes

Spinach Pear Salad with Gouda & Hazelnuts

Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Christmas, classic, gluten-free, holiday, Thanksgiving, traditional
Calories: 267kcal
Author: Denise Bustard
Servings: 4 -6
A delicious spinach pear salad topped with Gouda cheese, toasted hazelnuts and pomegranate seeds, all tossed in a tangy vinaigrette. Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time10 mins

Ingredients

Salad

  • 1/3 cup hazelnuts (coarsely chopped)
  • 5 oz baby spinach (140g)
  • 1 pear (cubed)
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1/2 cup Gouda cheese (cubed)

Vinaigrette

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon dijon
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a pan, toast hazelnuts over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden brown. This will take around 10 minutes.
  • Shake together all vinaigrette ingredients.
  • Combine all salad ingredients and toss in dressing. Serve immediately.

Notes

* make ahead- hazelnuts may be toasted and dressing shaken together up to a week ahead. Pomegranate may be de-seeded up to 3 days ahead.
** do not slice pear or toss salad in the vinaigrette until just before serving.
*** this salad does not keep well and must be eaten within an hour of dressing

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 batch | Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 411mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 4125IU | Vitamin C: 15.5mg | Calcium: 235mg | Iron: 1.8mg

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About Denise Bustard

Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more. read more

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Comments

  6. Isadora

    Gouda is one of my favorite things too! This is totally a Friday worthy salad and I love all the ingredients, Denise! I love adding fruit and nuts to my salads, they add such great taste and texture! I could eat this salad for lunch all week 🙂

    Reply

  7. katie

    I need more of these kinds of salads in my life! This spinach salad look amazing, and I haven’t had gouda cheese on anything in way to long..pinned 🙂

    Reply

  9. Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen

    I can’t believe I haven’t had a hearty spinach salad in so long! For some reason, when the cooler weather hits I really start to crave spinach salads like this one (I love all the goodies you have in there – yum!!). Pinned 🙂

    Reply

    • Denise

      Hi Geraldine! Thanks so much for the inspiration for this salad! When I saw that you put Gouda in your salad, I just had to put it in mine, too 🙂 Love it, absolutely delicious!

      Reply

  17. Helen @ Scrummy Lane

    Ooh, this is my kind of salad … minimum ingredients and maximum taste. I also love that the proportions in your dressing are really easy to remember – 2, 2, 2 and then a smidge of mustard. I can work with that! It always irritates me that I haven’t got these kinds of things clear in my head and always end up having to look up a recipe, which makes the whole thing not so fast any more.
    Anyway, thanks for a wonderfully creative but simple salad idea. Love it and sharing!

    Reply

    • Denise

      I agree with you, simple recipes are the best 🙂 And it wasn’t intentional for the dressing measurements to be like that, but I’ll take it! Thanks, Helen!

      Reply

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