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Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Pear Blue Cheese Salad
Sliced autumn pears and mesclun greens tossed with pear Dijon dressing topped with crunchy toasted walnuts and crumbled gorgonzola cheese. All I can say is YUM!
I love a salad that’s as great tasting as it is good-for-you, and this simple classic combination really delivers. It’s easy, healthy and delicious.
At this time of year, my mind typically goes straight to apples. But thanks to my participation with a group of bloggers working its way through Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients (affiliate link) (by Martha Stewart and the editors of Whole Living Magazine), I was reminded pear season and apple season coincide, so, now is a perfect time to enjoy them too.
Recipe Notes
Soft and sweet, pears are low in calories and packed with nutrients, fiber and antioxidants, making them a healthy and delicious addition to your diet.
I used a recipe for mesclun with pears and blue cheese from my Better Homes and Gardens: New Cookbook (affiliate link) as the starting point for this pear blue cheese salad, making a few modifications based on what was available (which I’ve noted in the recipe) with great results.
How Many Calories & WW Points in this Pear and Blue Cheese Salad?
According to my calculations, each serving of salad has about 152 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
4 SmartPoints (Green plan)
4 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
4 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
4 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Recipe Variations
No Pears – substitute thinly sliced apples.
No Blue Cheese – use feta or another strongly flavored cheese instead.
No Walnuts – pecans or slivered almonds would work.
Easier – use your favorite bottled light vinaigrette. Newman’s Own Light Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette would be nice.
Fancier – use candied nuts instead of plain toasted walnuts.
If you like this Fresh Pear and Blue Cheese Salad, be sure to check out some of my other Weight Watchers friendly salad recipes including Simple Arugula Salad with Sunflower Seeds and Parmesan, Broccoli Salad, Kale Salad with Apples and Dates, Camilla’s Easy Broccoli Slaw with Cranberries and Mixed Green Salad with Goat Cheese and Dates
If you’ve made this Mixed Greens Salad with Blue Cheese and Pears, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Pear and Blue Cheese Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 cups mesclun (mixed baby greens) or torn romaine
- 3 medium red or green pears, cored and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup pear nectar (I used pureed pear baby food instead)
- 2 tablespoons walnut oil or salad oil (I used olive oil)
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
- 1/2 cup broken walnuts, toasted
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used gorgonzola)
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl place add the mesclun and pear slices and toss them gently to combine.
- To make the dressing, in a screw-top jar combine the pear nectar, oil, vinegar, mustard, ginger, and pepper. Taste the dressing and if it seems too tart, add the optional honey.
- Cover and shake well. Drizzle over the salad and toss lightly to coat.
- Divide the salad evenly among 8 salad plates. Sprinkle each serving with the toasted walnuts and crumbled blue cheese.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 4 SmartPoints (Green plan) 4 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 4 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 4 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Recipe Variations
No Pears – substitute thinly sliced apples. No Blue Cheese – use feta or another strongly flavored cheese instead. No Walnuts – pecans or slivered almonds would work. Easier – use your favorite bottled light vinaigrette. Newman’s Own Light Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette would be nice. Fancier – use candied nuts instead of plain toasted walnuts.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Sources:
- Better Homes and Gardens: New Cookbook (affiliate link)
- Mother Earth Living
- The World’s Healthiest Foods
More Weight Watcher’s Friendly Pear Recipes
- Avocado Pear Smoothie (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Crockpot Apple and Pear Fruit Compote (EverydayMaven)
- Healthy Roasted Pears Snack (SnackGirl)
- Cranberry Pear Sauce (SkinnyTaste)
- Prosciutto and Pear Stuffing (Laaloosh)
- Autumn Salad with Pears and Gorgonzola (SkinnyTaste)
Be sure to check out what these other participating bloggers have cooked up with pears:
Do you have a substitute for the pear nectar? I can’t find it here.
Hi Rhonda, I’ve used pureed pear baby food with good success (It’s in the recipe notes.) Hope this helps. ~Martha
I like the variations you put for different availability of some veggies in this salad recipe. I’ll try some of them and see which one I’d like best.
And it also made it the Menu this week:
http://www.thelady8home.com/2012/11/08/menu-finds-with-weekend-gala-extravaganza-dinner-party-9/#
The dressing looks so flavorful!! Thank you so so much bringing this to my party 🙂
I love a pear and cheese combination. Growing up, pears were something you ate when you could not find the exotic fruits like mangoes and bananas in the store. Yes I lived at a place where bananas were exotic :))
Love your salad dressing!