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!
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!
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.
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
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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:
- Salmon- two of my faves are this Balsamic Salmon Marinade or this Herb Crusted Broiled Salmon
- Chicken- these Perfect Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs are perfect for a fancier dinner.
- Potatoes- try these fun Herb & Garlic Potato Stacks, or this potato alternative: Fluffy Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower
- Roasted Veggies- these Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts and this Maple Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash would both be great.
This recipe was originally published in 2014. It has been updated with fresh photos, tips and a video in 2019! Same delicious recipe.
Spinach Pear Salad with Gouda & Hazelnuts
Ingredients
Salad
- ⅓ cup hazelnuts (coarsely chopped)
- 5 oz baby spinach (140g)
- 1 pear (cubed)
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
- ½ cup Gouda cheese (cubed)
Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- ½ 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.
Cheryl
Thanks for the recipe! Made this for dinner! We loved it!
Denise
Hi Cheryl! Woohoo! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let us know how it went for you 🙂
Leah | So, How's It Taste?
Oh hello gouda! I love that stuff. This salad is so simple yet all that flavor is making me drool. I love how pretty the pomegranate seeds make it.
Sarah@WholeandHeavenlyOven
Eeee! This salad is just speaking to me. 😀 Totally loving all the fall goodness you packed inside, especially all that gorgeous gouda cheese! Lovin' your gif too, girl! Pinned. 🙂
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely
I can see why this is your favorite salad ever. It sounds delicious! Perfect combination of flavors. And I love gouda cheese too. Yum!
Denise
Thanks, Natalie!
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic
Ooooh, love a friday salad especially when it looks like this. Gouda cheese is one of my favorites, its so delicious when combined with a pear. This is so beautiful Denise.
Denise
Thanks, Kathy! The pear/Gouda combo is amazing!
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 🙂
Denise
Thanks Isadora!
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 🙂
Denise
I hadn't had Gouda in years...love it so much! It's definitely going into the rotation :). Thanks, Katie!
Anne
OMG!!! I usually dislike salads, but this??? It looks impossible to resist! Especially with that pomegranate... ;D
Denise
Thanks, Anne! Pomegranate is great on salads...or anything really 😉
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 🙂
Denise
I'm not really a huge spinach fan, to me it's all about the goodies ;). Thanks, Ceara!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel
This looks like an AWESOME salad!! I love the flavor combination! So fallish! 🙂
Denise
Thanks, Jess!
Lisa at Bake Bellissima
This salad looks so dreamy! I love pomegranate in salad. This is going on my salad board!
Denise
Me too, I'm so happy pomegranates are back in the stores 🙂 Thanks, Lisa!
Danielle
This salad looks absolutely perfect for fall. Love all of the flavors in this dish, and gorgeous pictures too!
Denise
Thanks, Danielle! Loving all the fall produce these days 🙂
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext
This salad looks right up my street! So good, love the combination of the flavours!
Denise
Thanks, Jess 🙂
Denise
Thanks, Cailee 🙂
Geraldine | Green Valley Kitchen
Love this salad, Denise. Isn't Gouda the best - and love the additions of pear and pomegranate. Can't wait to try this combination!
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!
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter
This definitely sounds like a great any day salad! Loving the maple dijon vinaigrette and the gouda is such a great addition. Looks so pretty with the pomegranate seeds too!
Denise
Thanks, Kelly! I love pomegranate seeds, they are so pretty!
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!
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!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
This salad looks too good. Pinned.
Denise
Thanks, Jocelyn 🙂
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
This looks like the perfect salad to get the weekend started with, Denise! I love all of the wonderful flavors in here! Such a great idea to pair gouda with hazelnuts. Delish!
Denise
Gouda & hazelnuts are my new favorite things in the world, Gayle! They are so amazing together...especially with pear 🙂