The coziest season of the year has arrived! That means all things cozy are in full swing – blankets, candles, bonfires, pumpkin spice lattes, apple cider donuts, the list goes on. You may be thinking, if fall is all things cozy, why am I reading a salad blog? Be leaf-me, by adding the right toppings to your salad, it will be packed with fall flavor, and be the perfect pear-ing to your warm home cooked meal. So set that table for your guests and let’s get to salad making!
Ingredients
The best part about a salad is that you can easily swap out ingredients for others that you prefer! Below are the ones I used:
- 16 oz box of Spring mix
- 2 Red Bosc pears
- ½ cup – 1 cup Cranberries & glazed walnuts – they come premixed!
- ⅓ cup Roasted pepitas or pumpkin seeds
- ⅓ cup Gorgonzola cheese
- Bottle of Raspberry vinaigrette
1. Lettuce be thankful
In a large bowl, drop in your lettuce of choice. I used spring mix – a mixed medley made up of fresh greens and lettuce of varying tastes and textures. It’s colorful and flavorful – a perfect base to any salad. My second choice would have been arugula, it has a distinctive, tart, peppery taste that some may not like, but I LOVE.
2. I’m fruity for you
Slice up some Red Bosc pears, thinly sliced is best. Really any pear will do, but this was my first choice because they were looking perfectly ripe at the store!
TIP: The important thing is to choose pears that are ripe, but still firm. You can gently squeeze the pear, it should have a bit of give if it’s firm. Avoid soft pears, as they can get mushy in the salad.
If pears aren’t your thing, apples will be just as delicious!
3. A little bit of sweet, a lotta bit of crunch
Your tastebuds will be in for a surprise (in a good way) with this sweet and crunchy combo! Sprinkle on as much or as little as you want. You can buy these separate or pre-mixed!
If you don’t care for dry cranberries, you can opt for pomegranate seeds – they are very tasty but can be hard to find!
A good alternative to walnuts could be pecans – a crispy, buttery texture
4. It doesn’t get anymore fall than this
What better way to add fall flavor than actual pumpkin seeds?! Roasted, salted or unsalted, no matter which you choose, these seeds will add a depth of flavor to your salad.
Sorry, I don’t have an alternative for these. You either love em’ or you hate ‘em. Let’s hope it’s not the latter.
5. Take it cheesy
And for the best part… Gorgonzola cheese. I listed a measurement for this in the ingredients, but to be honest, there’s no such thing as measuring cheese in my house. You can never have too much cheese, in my opinion! Make sure it’s crumbled up so it doesn’t clump together. If you’re lactose intolerant, you can leave cheese out!
An alternative to gorgonzola cheese would be blue cheese. Just as smelly, and delicious! (the smellier the better when it comes to cheese right?)
6. Don’t forget to dress the salad!
Store bought raspberry vinaigrette was my choice for this salad, it adds a sweet fruity taste, and compliments all of the ingredients really well. Pour it on at the very end, and mix it well so that your salad is fully dressed before going out to your guests!
If raspberry isn’t your jam, try a raspberry or fig vinaigrette.
Now that your salad is ready for the table, lettuce celebrate! Share photos of your festive salad and tags us @mybobs or #mybobs on our social channels!
