This Kale and Pear Salad combines tender kale with a zesty olive oil dressing, sweet pears, candied pecans, crumbly goat cheese, and dried cranberries. Quick and easy to make, it’s a nutritious, crowd-pleasing appetizer, side dish, or main course for fall!
This recipe was inspired by one of my friend Jo’s (from Jo Cooks) very first cookbooks, 30-Minute Meals. This salad is perfect for fall and is one of my go-tos for holiday gatherings or Thanksgiving. It’s so easy to customize or make a main dish with the addition of protein. I added my own twist on the original to the dressing for a little extra flavor, and made it more seasonal with cranberries, of course! Enjoy!
Prep Tips Before You Begin
- Make the candied pecans yourself! It’s much cheaper than store bought and they take only 8-10 minutes to make. You can even make them ahead of time and store at room temperature for up to 1 week. Find the step-by-step instructions in the recipe card below!
- Other components of the salad can also be made days in advance so you can just combine and toss when you’re ready to serve! Massaged kale will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days and the dressing will last for up to 1 week in a separate container. Just be sure to give the dressing a good stir or shake to redistribute the ingredients before serving.
- Also, be sure to keep the goat cheese cold, and add it to the salad just before serving for the best texture.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Below is an overview of the ingredients and instructions for this kale and pear salad recipe. Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the complete details and nutrition information indicating fiber, carbohydrates, sodium, calcium, etc.!
For The Salad
- Kale – Use any kale you like best such as curly kale or Lacinato kale. I buy whole heads of kale. However, you can save time by buying bagged, ready-to-eat kale.
Ingredient Swap: If you’re not a fan of kale, spinach, arugula, or even butter lettuce will also work! Skip the massaging.
- Shallot – Shallots add a tangy, subtle sweetness to delicate dishes such as this salad! Chopped red onions work well too, though they’ll add a bit more bite to the flavor, as many of you may already know.
- Pears – I typically use Bartlett pears for this recipe, but Anjou pears also work great! Just keep in mind that they have slightly thicker skin. Whichever you choose, make sure they’re ripe and free from discoloration or bruises. If you’re not a fan of pears, apples also taste great!
Pro-Tip: You’ll know your pears are ripe when they’re fragrant and give just slightly when squeezed..
- Candied Pecans – These are optional but highly recommended for extra crunch and a sweet taste. If preferred, walnuts will also work.
- Dried Cranberries – These add a pop of color, a chewy texture, and a tart, sweet taste. If preferred, raisins, dried cherries, fresh cranberries, or pomegranate seeds (pomegranate arils) will also work.
- Goat Cheese – Adds a creamy consistency and a savory, salty taste. If you’re not a fan of goat cheese, blue cheese, feta cheese, parmesan cheese, or gorgonzola cheese also tastes great.
Dairy-Free Swap: Feel free to use your favorite plant-based cheese, or omit it completely to keep this salad dairy-free.
For The Dressing
- Olive Oil – This helps tenderize the kale and forms the base of the dressing adding flavor and healthy omega fatty acids.
- Lemon Juice – The acidity helps break down the tough kale fibers and prevents the pears from oxidizing or browning once sliced. Freshly squeezed is best, but bottled lemon juice will also work.
- Honey – This sweetens the dressing and eliminates the need for refined sugar. If preferred, maple syrup will also work.
- Seasonings – Cumin, sea salt, and ground black pepper enhance the flavor of the dressing, adding extra depth and a hint of spice.
Note – Feel free to use any store-bought or homemade dressing you like best. A balsamic vinaigrette or Dijon mustard dressing would both taste great.
How to Make a Kale Pear Goat Cheese Salad
Prepare the kale. Wash and dry the kale. Then, cut it into small, thin pieces, and transfer it to a large bowl. Add lemon juice and oil, and massage the kale, breaking down the tough fibers until it’s tender.
Make the dressing. In a separate, small bowl or jar, whisk or shake the dressing ingredients until a smooth blend forms.
Toss. Pour the dressing over the kale, add the shallot, and toss to combine and coat the greens.
Prepare the pears. Next, wash and dry your pears. Then, slice them in half, remove the seeds, and continue to slice or chop the fruit into pieces. Drizzle lemon juice on top. This prevents them from browning!
Combine. Add all the salad ingredients to the bowl of kale, and toss to combine. Season to taste, and enjoy!
Serving and Storage Tips
Slice or Chop the pears just before serving to keep them fresh! Personally, I like to use chopped pears. This is a great option if you want every bite to have a balanced taste of pear along with other flavors. That being said, using sliced pears gives a beautiful layered presentation.
Once combined, any leftover pear salad will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Just be sure to give it a good toss to redistribute the ingredients before serving!
Serving Suggestions
I love to turn this kale and pear salad into a complete meal by topping it with shredded chicken, salmon, or tempeh! However, it’s also great as a side dish or appetizer with main courses like:
Kale and Pear Salad with Goat Cheese Recipe
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 5-6 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Make this massaged kale and pear salad with goat cheese, candied pecans, goat cheese, dried cranberries, and an olive oil dressing for the perfect fall salad!
Ingredients
- 8 –10 ounces kale (about 7 cups)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, divided
- 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
- 1 Tablespoon(15 ml) honey
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 shallot, peeled and minced (see notes for other option)
- 2 large pears (225 grams per pear), seeded and chopped or cut into thin strips.
- 4 oz (115 g) crumbled goat cheese or feta
- ⅓ cup candied pecans (see recipe in notes)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries or fresh cranberries (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the kale by washing it, drying it and cutting into small, thin pieces or purchase the pre-shredded bagged kale in the produce section. Place it in a large bowl and toss with 1 Tablespoon of the oil and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Massage until softened to your liking.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, honey, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Drizzle over the massaged kale. Add the shallot and toss to combine.
- Prepare the pears, by washing and drying, slicing in half and removing the seeds. Slice or chop the pears. Drizzle the pears with lemon juice (optional but it stops the pears from browning).
- Top the dressed salad with goat cheese, candied pecans, optional cranberries, and pears. Toss to combine and serve. Season to taste.
- Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
Substitute Tips – Three tablespoons finely chopped red onion may be used in place of the shallot.
Optional Homemade Candied Pecans:
- Ingredients: ¾ to 1 cup pecan halves, 1 Tablespoon melted refined coconut oil or butter, 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar, ½ Tablespoon honey or syrup, pinch sea salt, pinch cinnamon (optional)
- Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toss the pecans with oil or butter, coconut sugar, honey, sea salt, and cinnamon (if desired). Spread them evenly on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and roast for 5-10 minutes, turning the pecans once with the spatula, until they are fragrant and golden brown. Let them cool before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving with dressing
- Calories: 268
- Sugar: 18.1 g
- Sodium: 282.7 mg
- Fat: 16.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.5 g
- Fiber: 4.5 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 10.5 mg
Delicious! Made this for a dinner party and everyone was raving about this salad. I just did plain pecans.
Oh yay! I’m so glad. It’s a favorite here too!
Hey! I just wanted to say that Im loving your blog, these recipes are amazing! I just wanted to let you know I have nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award
I love a kale salad, love the flavour of it. Must give a try to this recipe with goat cheese, Lindsay!
yes! me too! and the goat cheese just makes it even better!
I didn’t know that there are seasonal pears and seasonal kale. Wow, that would make a salad different. I haven’t had a kale salad in a while, but it is so true that it needs some really good ingredients to really compliment the vegetable. Goat cheese and pears would be perfect!
isn’t it amazing? I love nerdy food facts like that.
Adding this to my menu for next week and just so happens, I have pears! Goat cheese? Where do I begin?
Have an awesome weekend Lindsay. xoxo
yea!!! you will love! plus goat cheese always is a winner. Miss you!
So I pretty much love every single thing about this salad: hooray local produce plus goat cheese, but I most secretly adore the use of the word zippy. Well played, my friend, well played.
Love that we can input pears into salads. print button on go!
i so agree!
Reason I love you:
1. Dudette in a blog post.
2. Cumin in a kale salad.
we need to use dudette more often. 😉
Yesss this looks delish and super healthy, which can be a tricky combo to master! 😉 Plus your photography is just so gorgeous! Can almost taste the sliced pears and kale already haha.
Pears and goat cheese!?! Say no more– I’m in!!! (I really struggle with raw kale though- but I keep trying!!!)
me too! Until i found this recipe. GOLDEN!
This salad looks and sounds AMAZING. I have a serious crush on pears right now, and I’m always trying to get more kale salads in my diet (and mix them up so I’m not always eating the same one). Thanks for letting me know about Jo’s cookbook — yet another one to add to my wishlist! (And that is hilarious that you bought it as a gift and then kept it for yourself — I have that same problem whenever I buy books for people, haha!)
haha glad i’m not alone! and yes, you will love jo’s cookbook!! keep me posted Willow.
The colors in this salad are so vibrant. I’d want to toss in some dried cranberries. I bet it would be good with sliced stawberries instead of pear.
oh that sounds lovely Amanda!
kale salad are hit or miss..but this surely sounds like a perfect one to try.. i love goat cheese + pear combo.
I so agree. I never know what dressing or cheese to use. But now I do! LOL! first world problems solved!
Oh, how I love a good Kale salad! I also always add fruits to my salad, to bring some of that sweet bite to it.
yes a sweet crunch is so perfect.
Sounds amazing! I have a giant-size bag of kale in my fridge from Costco, so this is going on the menu. I’ll use apples instead of pears since that’s what I have on hand, but otherwise I’m going to follow the recipe. Looks beautiful!
oh that sounds wonderful too! let me know how it turns out!
Cravable restaurant salad…yes!!! This sounds amazing 🙂
i so agree! What’s your fav restaurant salad in Denver?
It was so unexpected, but there is a restaurant called Choppers Sports Grill and I went there with the little girl I was nannying last year and they had a salad called the buckmaster. I had pretty low expectations (hello ordering a salad at a sports grill) but it was SO good. It had greens, grilled chicken, goat cheese, sweet corn, avocado, tomato, toasted almonds and medjool dates….yum!!!
Love that! a good surprise
Lindsay, the salad looks incredible! Thank you so much for sharing this from my book. You’re an amazing human being!
of course! We loved it! so delicious! can’t wait to make more. You are amazing friend!
I have tried to recreate some salads too and they have failed miserably haha. Kale salads are a bit tricky but so glad you were able to nail this one! This looks amazing Lindsay 🙂
Haha likewise! Glad we can relate
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe! Even that is really exceptional food which is needed to make fresh life. People who are fatty, then they can use it if they want to burn calorie like my sister. I can try it to cook and eat this food. I love it.
I can put goat cheese on EVERYTHING, but I especially love it in salads. It gives it such a nice creamy delicious taste. Miss you friend and hope we can catch up soon…BIG HUG from the dreary east coast! XOXO
miss you! i will call you next week for sure!
I love a good kale salad, this looks like a winner.
My fav kale salad includes roasted squash and chickpeas with a maple tahini dressing….mmmm!
okay I need that dressing, stat!
Here is my recipe, super simple and easy and you can switch things up if you like….add spices etc.
http://www.carashealthycravings.com/kale-salad-with-roasted-chickpeas-and-maple-tahini-dressing/
oh I can’t wait to try! Thanks friend
Pea, goat cheese and kale. I’m not even a cheese person and that sounds amazing. Goat cheese is one of my exceptions, though. I feel like adding some cranberries to this would take it over the top. OOH or pomegranates! or goji berries… Yummmm
goat cheese is always an exception. SWOOOOON!
The name alone make a me wanna try it! Sounds so good.