This pretty pear and pomegranate salad recipe is festive and delicious! Perfect for when you want to eat lighter and healthier but still want something that pleases your eyes as well as your tummy!
Want a fun, colorful salad to eat after the holidays? Me too.
This pear and pomegranate salad is so tasty and satisfying that you could eat it as your main meal if you wanted to. Christopher and I usually split one and combine it with a main dish. Usually.
But sometimes, I want to have only salad for dinner. When that happens, I make sure Christopher gets a pear pomegranate salad of his own. We can’t have him dipping his errant fork into mine now, can we!
Don’t get me wrong. I’m willing to share. Mostly. But when the pretty pear pomegranate salad is my whole meal, then I feel like a mama bear defending her cubs. And once you taste this salad, you’ll see why. It’s a perfect combination of flavors that blend well without being too sweet and that make a person, well, a little possessive.
What makes this pretty pear pomegranate salad even more perfect, in my opinion, is the addition of bacon.
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Choosing your ingredients
- As all tastes are different, choose pears at the ripeness that you want to eat. If you’re not familiar with pears, choose one that is firm but not rock hard.
- I use a Bosc pear in this recipe but D’Anjou could also work.
- You should use whatever lettuce you prefer but I recommend Boston lettuce because the leaves are so tender and the flavor is delicate, like the pears.
- For more flavor and a bit of indulgence, I love adding bacon to my salads.
- Shaved parmesan is the fancy way to go, but shredded or grated taste just as delicious.
How to remove pomegranate seeds (aka arils)
- Wear an apron because the juice can stain your clothes.
- With the pomegranate nub facing the ceiling, make a cut into the skin no more than a quarter of the way deep down into the fruit and around the entire circumference.
- Keeping the nub face up, turn the fruit 45 degrees and cut the skin again the same way as above. When you’re done, the skin has been cut in quarters.
- Twist the fruit to break it open. Holding the fruit over a large bowl, place your thumbs on the skin and push with your thumbs. Some seeds will fall into the bowl, but know that most of the seeds are deeply embedded in the papery substance.
- With your fingers, gently remove the seeds.
- There may be paper stuck to the seeds. Either remove the paper without the water as I do, or fill the bowl with water and let the paper rise to the top of the water.
How to make pear and pomegranate salad
Pre-step
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a jelly pan with foil.
Step one
Gather the ingredients – pomegranate, a pear, uncooked bacon, tomatoes, cucumber and Boston lettuce.
Step two
Lay strips of bacon on the foiled lined pan and bake for 10 minutes. Flip the bacon and bake for another 10 minutes. Place bacon on a plate with paper towels and blot the grease off the slices.
Step three
As the bacon is baking, remove pomegranate seeds using the steps I provide above in the helpful tips above or in the notes section of the recipe card. Set aside.
Step four
Remove the nub from the Boston lettuce, separate the leaves and break them into bite size pieces. Divide lettuce between the two bowls.
Step five
Cut the cucumber in as many slices as you like. I find six slices to be perfect. Add them to the lettuce.
Step six
Add washed grape tomatoes. Use as many as you like.
Step seven
Add as many pear slices as you like.
Step eight
Add as many pomegranate seeds and crumble as much bacon as you like.
Step nine
Shave some fresh parmesan cheese on the salads.
Step ten
All that is left to do is dribble on your dressing of choice. I find that balsamic dressing is the way to go.
Delicious! We enjoyed eating these pear and pomegranate salads and you will too!
Other popular salads
Please feel free to leave me a comment, let me know what is your favorite salad? I’d really like to know.
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!
Pear and Pomegranate Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head Boston lettuce (or any lettuce you like), torn into bite sized pieces
- 1 Cucumber cut into slices
- 10 Tomatoes
- 1 Pear sliced
- 2 tbsp Pomegranate seeds
- 3 slices cooked bacon crumpled
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese shavings
- 4 tablespoons balsamic dressing
Instructions
Make it!
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Line jelly roll pan with foil and lay bacon on pan
- Bake for 20 minutes, pat dry and set aside
- Place lettuce in two bowls
- Add cucumbers, tomatoes, pear slices, pomegranate seeds, crumpled bacon and parmesan cheese
- Dribble dressing on salad
- Eat
- Smile
- Enjoy
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published in January of 2018.
Jeni @ Biscuits & Booze
This salad looks so lovely. I am a big fan of pomegranate in salads. And combining it with parmesan is a great idea. I don’t like to share my salads with my husband either! 🙂
Elaine
Hehe Jeni! 🙂 Thank you!
Joyce
Salty, sweet with a bit of tanginess! This is my kind of salad! I’m a huge pear fan so I am super happy to have found this recipe! One more new way to enjoy it! 🙂
Elaine
Thank you Joyce! I appreciate the comment!
Rae
I make a salad very similar to this around the holidays, it’s one of my most requested recipes. I’ll have to start sharing your version, as well. Looks delightful!
Elaine
Thank you Rae. I appreciate that!
Jillian
Fresh & Flavorful! My favorite things in a salad!
Elaine
Mine too Jillian!
Edyta at Innocent Delight
This salad has the right name. It is very pretty and you used all my favorite flavors. Pomegranates with pear and bacon? This sounds amazing!!!
Elaine
Thanks so much Edyta!!
Dominique | Perchance to Cook
This salad is seriously made of all of my favorite things!! I love pear and pomegranate together in salad but I haven’t thought to add bacon! YUMMMM
Elaine
Yay Dominique!! It’s such a yummy salad.
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen
Such a pretty salad and pears are so good this time of year! I love that you added a bit of bacon too 😉
Elaine
Hehe! Right? Thanks Carrie!
Becky Tarala
I would never order seven pieces of bacon, but I’ll be honest. I might eat them all if that’s what I was served! Ha! Your salad is gorgeous. Thanks for the recipe!
Elaine
Hehe Becky! Thank you 🙂 !
Sarah
SEVEN!?! Seven pieces of bacon?! That breakfast should’ve come with a complementary EKG. Lol. This salad sounds so light and refreshing though- I love pomegranate!
Elaine
Hehe Sarah! I know, too much!
Analida's Ethnic Spoon
I love pear in a salad as it is not too sweet and adds a nice flavor and texture too! The bacon is a huge plus and I would almost call this a BLT salad with pear! Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Elaine
Thank you Analida!!
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
This looks like the perfect dinner salad to me. Love those tasty little gems that just pop in you mouth. Bacon makes everything taste good.
Elaine
I totally agree Gloria 😉
Helena
And those bacon strips are something that we really need today! LOL Your salad is amazing!
Elaine
Thanks Helena 🙂
Sharon Glascoe
Bacon, pear & balsamic dressing sound like a winning salad to me.
Elaine
Thank you Sharon!
Ruchi
Salad pics looks awesome.I love pomegranate.But cutting and opening of pomegranate is already a challenge.
Elaine
Thank you Ruchi!
Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen
Wow – 7 pieces of bacon sounds like a LOT!! This salad looks like a much nicer way to enjoy a bit of bacon without going overboard. Love the mix of fruits with it for that sweet and salty flavor combo!
Elaine
Thank you Ashley! I so agree!
Leslie Haasch
It’s just so pretty! I don’t want to be shallow, but that makes it pretty darn appealing 😉
Elaine
Hehe. I agree! We eat with our eyes!
Christine
Love pears and pomegranates, so I can only imagine that this salad would be absolutely delicious! Beautiful photos, too!
Elaine
Thank you Christine!
lauren
You had me at pear but you hooked me at bacon! Salty and sweet is the best combination especially in a salad! Balsamic dressing is definitely the way to go with this salad.
Elaine
Hehe Lauren!! Bacon makes the world go ’round!
Eileen Kelly
This is such a delicious salad I love the bacon with the pears and pomegranates!
Elaine
Thanks Eileen! The flavors together is so yummy!
christopher
I feel so virtuous eating this salad. And I LOVE pears! Thanks for such a great way to serve them!
Elaine
Thanks Christopher! I appreciate your comments, as always. 😉
Sophia
This looks so simple and delicious! I love pears, what a great combo to add pomegranates and crumbled bacon. Can’t wait to try!
Elaine
Thanks Sophia! I do enjoy this salad (especially the bacon). 😉
Anita
This salad looks so delicious, and it’s unbelievably easy to assemble too! And the best part is, pear is still in season right now. 🙂
Elaine
Thanks Anita! Christopher loves pears and waits patiently until they come in season so he can have as many of these salads as possible. 🙂
Colleen
This salad is a perfect combo of sweet, salty, smoky, tangy, and crunch. I love it, and will make it again.
Elaine
Thanks Colleen! Yes, indeed the salty and sweet combo makes for a yummy dish! Thanks for commenting so thoughtfully! 🙂
Tonje
I love a good salad, and this one looks so fresh and tasty. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Elaine
Thanks Tonje! It’s my hubby’s favorite!
Anjali
This is the perfect winter salad thanks to the pomegranate and pear!! It was so simple to make but so tasty! My kids loved it too! 🙂
Elaine
Thank you Anjali! I appreciate it! I bet they will as well!