Mixed Greens and Pear Salad with Maple Glazed Pecans

Mixed greens and pear salad with maple glazed pecans provides a burst of flavor and texture for fall and winter meals. With the vivid color and subtle bite of radicchio, it’s festive enough for special occasions, and easy enough for everyday fare.

This salad’s main attraction is a an abundance of delectable maple glazed pecans. They’re a perfect foil to the slight bitterness of radicchio and perhaps some of the other leafy greens in the baby greens mix (sometimes sold as spring mix, though it’s available year round).

Radicchio is a member of the family of chicory vegetables, along with escarole, Belgian endive, and frisée. Though not the star of this salad, it makes itself known! If you love this vivid leafy vegetable, you may also enjoy these salads:

• Watercress and Radicchio Salad with Beets & Avocado
• Avocado and Radicchio Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Enveloped in maple syrup, pecans provide the yum factor in this salad. If you love this nut’s mellow flavor, explore our Guide to Pecans, which provides an array of tips, ideas, and recipes.

Swap-in for pecans: Almost, though not quite as good as pecans in this salad, feel free to swap in walnut halves if you prefer.

Convenient and pretty, baby greens (aka spring mix) come in 5-ounce packages in the supermarket or natural foods store produce section, and less often (and in season), they’re sold loose by weight.

Photos by Hannah Kaminsky, BittersweetBlog.com.

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Yield: 4 to 6

Mixed Greens and Pear Salad with Maple Glazed Pecans

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This salad of mixed greens, pears, and maple glazed pecans provides a burst of color plus lots of flavor and texture for fall and winter meals. 

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

Glazed pecans

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup pecan halves

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (plus more after tasting if desired)
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• Pinch of salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad

• 1/2 medium head radicchio, thinly sliced
• 1 cup grated carrot or quartered baby carrots
• 2 medium bosc pears, cut into quarters lengthwise, cored, seeded, and cut into large diced
• 1/3 cup dried raisins or cranberries

Instructions

1. Heat the agave nectar in a small skillet and sprinkle in the cinnamon and salt. When just starting to get bubbly, stir in the pecans. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the pecans are nicely glazed, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
2. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowls and stir together
3. Combine the salad ingredients in a serving bowl and toss together well. Pour in the dressing and toss again; taste to see if you’d like more lemon juice. Just before serving, add the pecans and toss again.

If you enjoy mixed greens …

Mixed Greens Salad with Cucumber, Radishes, and Herbs

A roundup of gorgeous winter salad recipes

Explore lots more plant-rich salads & sides.