Roasted Pear & Apple Salad with Caramelized Shallot Maple Vinaigrette

We love to make this roasted pear and apple salad in the fall with all the freshly harvested apples and pears!

It is topped with prosciutto, cinnamon pecans, pepitas, gorgonzola and raisins then tossed with the most stunning caramelized shallot maple vinaigrette. 

Ingredients for Roasted Apple Salad

Here is a list of the ingredients you will need for this salad recipe:

• Prosciutto – adds crunch and smoky delicious flavor
• Honeycrisp Apples (or Jonagold) – these apples hold up great to roasting and the flavor is the best
• Bartlett Pear (or Bosc) – become so flavorful and delicious when roasting
• Cinnamon Pecans (or Hazelnuts) – You can buy these at the store or make them on your own. See section below for how to make them at home.
• Olive Oil – helps keep the apples and pears from sticking to the pan
• Black Pepper – adds flavor
• Mixed Greens with Arugula – If your container of mixed greens doesn’t include arugula then buy some arugula and add it. Arugula just shines in this salad!!
• Gorgonzola – We love gorgonzola but it is easily substituted with any cheese you love. Try smoked cheddar, gouda, goat cheese, manchego, gruyere, etc.
• Pepitas – adds a yummy little crunch and nutty flavor
• Golden Raisins – can be replaced with regular raisins, craisins or pomegranate seeds

Vinaigrette

This recipe was inspired by a Taste of Home recipe I was reading. It just sounded so good and it was fabulous on this salad! Here is what you will need:

• Shallots – have a mild onion flavor and caramelize quickly
• Kosher Salt – adds a touch of flavor to the shallots as they caramelize
• Maple Syrup – use the real stuff!
• White Balsamic Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar) – you gotta have vinegar for a vinaigrette, both these options are sweet and tangy
• Olive Oil – the base of the vinaigrette

What Apples are Best for Salads?

I am forever loyal to honeycrisp apples! Jonagold will also work great. If you can’t find those or if they are too expensive (they can get quite pricey), then go with gala, granny smith, or Braeburn.

How to Roast Apples and Pears

Roasting apples and pears is so easy! You will want to slice them pretty thin, cutting the pears a little thicker than the apples. Then lay them on a baking sheet that has been drizzled with a little olive oil to prevent sticking. Make sure all the slices are in a single layer. Place them in a preheated oven (425 degrees) and let them roast for 10 minutes. Then flip them all over and roast them for about 5 more minutes or until they are golden.

How to

Creamy Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing

Our creamy avocado cilantro lime dressing is fresh, tangy, a teeny bit spicy and delicious not only on salads, but also on tacos, rice bowls, or as a dip for veggies!

I’m slowly but surely gathering up all of my favorite salad dressing recipes… for my mom. Haha! I mean, I’m doing it for all of you as well, but this stems from a comment my mom made that I’m not completely ruminating on. She said she doesn’t know how to make a good salad. AND, FURTHERMORE, she doesn’t really eat salad in the winter because she associates it with summer. 

Oh heck no. 

Salad is one of the greatest things of my life, so I absolutely have to help her out! Salads are the easiest recipe because literally anything goes. You wanna add roasted sweet potatoes? DO IT! You want to mix cottage cheese in? IT’S DELICIOUS!

So, first up, Cilantro Lime Avocado Dressing because it’s healthy, and so bright and zesty! And look at that green color! All the heart eyes!

Ingredients for Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing

This recipe uses all natural ingredients and is gluten free and dairy free. Here is what you will need:

• Avocado: make sure it is ripe by gently grabbing the top and bottom between your thumb and index finger and giving it a slight squeeze, it should have a little give to it
• Cilantro: grab a handful of the leaves and pull them from the stems
• Lime Juice: you definitely want fresh limes for this
• Jalapeño: remove the seeds and use more or less of the jalapeño to determine the heat you want
• Tomatillo: have a tangy and almost citrus-y flavor
• Garlic: fresh garlic, adds a little bite to the dressing
• Apple Cider Vinegar: adds acid and flavor
• Honey: mellows out all the acid and tanginess
• Ground Coriander: adds a slightly sweet, lemony flavor
• Olive Oil: adds flavor and healthy fat
• Kosher Salt: adds flavor
• Water: thins the dressing out, you can add as much or as little as you want to control the creaminess

The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Avocados for Life

Someone recently asked me what my favorite food is. That is quite possibly the hardest question to ask a food blogger! I could maybe narrow it down to a top 10 food. And if I was forced to choose, avocados would definitely be on the list. I am obsessed with them!

You can eat avocados for every meal, and I do! Have you seen our post about avocado toast? Heaven! I love to throw them on sandwiches for lunch and we even have an avocado taco recipe that is so deli

Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

This is spinach salad at its very best! With crunchy bacon and fabulous homemade salad dressing, this salad gets devoured every time I make it!

This is a perfect holiday (and every other day of the year) salad. I don’t even know where to begin with this spinach salad. When you read what the ingredients are you might think…”what’s so special about this?”, but the combination of the salty bacon with the creamy cottage cheese and flavorful swiss cheese just rocks the taste buds in all the right ways.

Every time I make this recipe I make a whole boat load, and every single time I have brought it to an event the whole boat load is gone. One of the best things about this salad is that it is perfect for holiday dinners and get-togethers simply because it doesn’t require any produce that could be out of season and the ingredients list is short and simple. You can eat this beauty ALL YEAR LONG! It’s seriously so good!

Make it, eat it, enjoy it…and you can thank me later. In fact, add it to your Thanksgiving menu right now because I am for sure!

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Your Neighbor’s Tomato Cucumber Salad

What is it about the combination of tomatoes, cucumber and onions that is so dang good?! Am I right? It’s like the summer salad trifecta! This is the best tomato cucumber salad recipe ever!

It seems like every year we head off to some BBQ and someone that claims to hate cooking shows up with the most perfectly delicious recipe out of the whole neighborhood. And 9/10 it seems to be a tomato cucumber salad. SO! I’ve changed our neighbor’s recipe slightly and am here to beg you to pin it, especially those who say that they can’t cook because you DEFINITELY can cook this!!

It is so light and refreshing and perfect to cool down on a hot summer day! The dressing is tangy and flavorful without weighing the salad down. There are few things worse than a salad that is drowning in dressing! And this salad is healthy!

Ingredients for Tomato Cucumber Salad

Made with all fresh ingredients, here is your shopping list for this salad recipe:

Salad

• Vine Cocktail Tomatoes
• English Cucumber
• Brown Sugar
• Red Onion
• Parsley (fresh)
• Cilantro (fresh)
• Salt
• Pepper

Dressing

• Olive Oil
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Lemon Juice
• Pepper
• Kosher Salt
• Garlic
• Brown Sugar
• Basil (fresh or dried)

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. You can save or print the recipe there as well.

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