Wonderful salad for the holiday seasons. Great to serve for dinner at home or to take to a family gathering during the holidays. Originally submitted to ThanksgivingRecipe.com.
I have an almost identical recipe from another site & have been making this salad for many years. It is outstanding and always gets many recipe requests. I prefer to leave the skins on the fruit & always use Honeycrisp apples and red pears. I also think that using finely grated swiss cheese is really important as it is a strong tasting cheese & when shredded finely, balances nicely with the lemony dressing and fruits. Be sure to give this one a try!
Read MoreI am sorry this recipe needs to be reworked, I don't see how it can be considered a healthy choice at all with ½ cup of sugar in the dressing? 64 grams of sugar in a salad is ridiculous and unhealthy.
Read More I have an almost identical recipe from another site & have been making this salad for many years. It is outstanding and always gets many recipe requests. I prefer to leave the skins on the fruit & always use Honeycrisp apples and red pears. I also think that using finely grated swiss cheese is really important as it is a strong tasting cheese & when shredded finely, balances nicely with the lemony dressing and fruits. Be sure to give this one a try!
Simply delicious. I have made this recipe with swiss cheese and blue cheese and have decided that I liked the blue cheese better. Either way it is a great recipe!
This recipe was awesome! My husband and I throughly enjoyed the mixture of greens, fruits, and nuts. The dressing recipe stands on its own as well. We had leftover dressing and poured it over a fruit cup a few days later. I am thinking about making a batch for a gift to be presented in a pretty dressing bottle for a salad loving friend of mine. I used canola oil as it is a neutral fat for people with higher cholestral.
This is just as good as the reviews before mine state. I made it for a large gathering and doubled it. I inadvertently forgot the cheese and it was still so good! Now I can't wait to try it with the cheese. I used hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts that I toasted myself. I soaked my cranberries in warm water for a few minutes to soften them. That was my only variation.
Terrific. A great salad for anytime of the year. Made as written -- wouldn't change a thing.
The recipe was a little different in the All Recipes magazine (which is what i followed) and it turned out great! I added blueberries and it was delicious.
Great flavors and very light. I used pre-packaged romaine to make it easier.....
I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone seemed to enjoy the salad. The dressing really does make a large amount.
The dressing was just AWESOME! i made this for chrismtas as well as for a cocktail party for my friends and everyone raved about it! even my friends who usually don't eat vegetables loved it! however, instead of pear, i used 1 diced avocado
Great salad. Prepared everything before hand and just tossed it together before we ate. Due to personal preference, used toasted, slivered almonds instead of cashews and left out the cheese. The almonds were the favorite part of the salad. Will use this recipe again.
This has been a staple at our holiday meals for years. Everytime I introduce it to someone new they ask for the recipe. This is the greatest salad!!!!
Fabulous and easy! I followed the recipe exactly, using fresh lemons and toasted pecans, as suggested in other reviews. I made the dressing a day in advance which helps bring out the full flavor. Definitely a success.
Great Salad - all the ladies at my luncheon asked for the recipe. I did use butter lettuce along with the romaine and used craisins rather than the cranberries. I peeled and diced my pears and apples the night before so just kept them in a seperate container with some of the dressing covering them they stayed nice and white. I did not feel like getting the food processor out so just used my electric mixer and the dressing was delicious. I had considered doubling the dressing ingredients but I'm glad that I didn't as there was plenty of dressing.
This salad is excellent ! The dressing is what makes it so good.......but you do not need to use all of the dressing. It's a bit too much. This recipe is also quick and easy!
This is really good. I made it for an Iron Chef party my friend hosted. The secret ingredient was Lemons. I got 2nd place. I did add some pears and apples for extra winter fruit. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! Great flavor profile. Only change I made was we used spinach instead of romaine. Everyone at Christmas loved it.
Yummy and perfect for the holidays. The recipes made a lot of dressing is the only thing I could say - but I saved it for another day.
5 stars for the poppy seed dressing. Recipe worked well as a base for one's own creativity - you can't spoil this especially with the wonderful poppy seed dressing. The pears in the store were not ripe so I used strawberries - feta cheese - cashews and sliced almonds - mixed spring greens - used more apples than called for and did not peel. Not inexpensive - but great for a crowd - I was serving 17 - with corn chowder and yeast rolls everyone was applauding.
A delicious salad! I used walnuts because I forgot it called for cashews. Try it you'll like it!
The dressing was very easy to make and the flavors come together, so delicious! I'm planning on making this special salad for Holidays since everyone loved it. If you make it, expect some compliments!
Another tip: if you want to cut the apple and pear ahead of time, just toss it w/ a little of the dressing to prevent browning. Keep it in a separate container and add at the last minute.
This was wonderful! I brought it to a party and everyone commented on it! I did not add cheese and for the nuts I used almond slices I toasted in the oven. The amount of dressing it calls for is way too much. Next time I will probably make half of what the recipe calls for. I also only used 1/4 cup of sugar in the dressing and it was plenty sweet enough for me!
Every family meal I go to, people ask me to bring this salad. It's delicious - sweet and refreshing. Beware of the onion (better to put too little than too much, it can be overpowering).
Made this for Christmas dinner and loads of times since. Its been a big hit. I use a red onion which turns the dressing pink - its very pretty and I usually server it on the side. Also I add all the ingredients into the processor together and I still get the same results (I didn't read the recipe right the first time !). After the first time, I omit the chesse as I don't think it adds anything to the overall result. As others have said there is way too much dressing for one salad but I always manage to use up the leftovers.
I've made this several times, and have loved it each time. Any time I take it somewhere, people ask for the recipe. I make it just the way it is outlined, except I usually add more cashews and dried cranberris, becasue they are so good.
Delicious vinaigrette and salad. I had almonds and fontina on hand instead of swiss and cashews. I skipped the poppy seeds and added half a tablespoon of celery seed. Next time, I want to reduce the amount of sugar by half to see if it makes a big difference. With the leftover dressing I plan to marinate some chicken thighs.
This is an excellent salad and dressing. It has been a hit with everyone I've prepared it for. A friend served it for my husband and me and I had to have the recipe. She turned my on to allrecipes.com and I'm never at a loss for something to cook.
Great salad! I received compliment after compliment on this one...it's a keeper!
I thought this salad was incredible! The dressing was AMAZING and the salad was delicious. I am embarrassed to say I didn't follow it to the letter, which I like to do when I make a recipe for the first time. I had no Swiss cheese but I did have goat cheese so I substituted that ~ still terrific! Try this - it's easy and so tasty!
I put in a fresh mango or two. Also, I use whatever fresh fruit is available, strawberries, raspberries, or whatever. Mozarella cheese works great, too. The dressing really makes this salad; lemon is better than vinegar.
OMG! I like salads, but WOW! This was a breeze to make (especially when I used the prepackaged romaine), and the dressing was fabulous! I suggest you make the dressing the night before and let it spend an evening in the fridge to mellow and for the flavors to mix more. I will make this as often as I can!
I used olive oil and less sugar and pecans. It was really good! This is also good as a dipping sauce for white, sauteed fish!
This was a delicious salad!! The lemon-poppy seed dressing complimented the fruit and cheese and (I used toasted walnuts) beautifully. Am going to serve this to my son and family when they come for dinner for the Super Bowl, and bet they'll love it as I did.
My husband and I just scarfed it down, it was THAT good! I halved the recipe to make 2 salads. I omitted the cheese and substituted almonds on one salad and pecan halves on the other instead of cashews. The dressing is so good that I was tempted to lick my plate after I was finished.
This was so DELICIOUS!!! My husband laughed and said I was making too much salad, but between the two of us and my two teenagers, my huge salad didn't stand a chance. Served with pan seared swordfish and garlic bread, and it was perfect. This may actually be on the Thanksgiving table this year. Thank you for sharing!
Dressing was yummy - I blended it with a hand mixer. Everyone loved it, good variety of flavors!
This is a delicious salad. I didn't have any swiss, so I used feta instead which was good, but I'll bet the swiss would have been better. I also replaced the vegetable oil with olive oil. I will be making this one again.
Made it exactly as written and it's a great salad. Add the cut up fruit to the dressing and add it to the salad just before serving. This way your fruit wont discolor and your greens will stay crisper---and this makes it easier to transport to a potluck.
This turned out really well— I’m not a fan of pears, but in this salad, it works really well. INext time I won’t add so many craisins (the hubby felt they overwhelmed the dish, although I disagree), but otherwise
This has become one of our holiday standards. It's a great addition to the usually heavy Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners, and the flavours are wonderful. I've experimented with a bunch of mild cheeses, and find that Havarti is my favourite in this recipe.
I have used this recipe since last year for progressive dinners with rave reviews! I have altered the recipe using extra virgin olive oil, cranrasins, rasins soaked in orange juice & mixed greens.
The dressing is perfect not too sweet. This salad was a great side dish for our Christmas Dinner.
I have been making this same salad for years with my own poppy seed dressing (vinegar instead of lemon juice and dry mustard instead of Dijon) and love it! Sometimes I just make up the fruit minus the romaine for a yummy fruit salad.
Loved the dressing on this salad! I served it as a side for Christmas, and doubled the recipe as I had 20 people - that was NOT necessary. With all the other food, I easily have half left over.
Wonderful recipe. It's my husband's all time favorite salad. I've made it several times and everyone seems to love it. I do add extra romaine lettuce since the dressing tends to go far. I keep everything else the same. This is a keeper!!
I have been making this for Christmas the last couple of years and everyone loves it! I make the dressing the day before and wash the lettuce and leave it overnight in the spinner. I soak the apples in sprite so they won't brown. A nice compliment to a turkey and ham dinner. Very light and refreshing.
Served this at a lunch party I had for my girlfriends. Everyone seemed to like it. It was sweet and a nice combination of flavors. I put the dressing on the side and next time will probably make half the amount of dressing it calls for because I had a lot of left over dressing.
This was a beautiful salad for our Christmas gathering. I added the fruit and dressing just before serving. If I make it again I will put the dressing on earlier because the leftover salad was more flavorful.
I made this exactly as written. I made the dressing one day in advance. It was very easy to make and delicious!
Success!!!! Made it for a teacher apreciation day a d my kids school and everyone loved it. :)
Substituted slivered almonds for cashew. Delicious and everyone loved. Does not keep more than a day. Next time I will add dressing to individual servings instead of on entire bowl.
Did this salad for a Christmas pot luck...got great raves...great for a winter salad!!! Have made many times since often by request when I have to bring a dish to a family dinner. Used purple onion for added color. Also made with spinach instead of romaine lettuce.
Made this last night for a holiday dinner party, and it was excellent! I doubled the recipe for a party of 8, and we had about two cups leftover. Our guests unanimously raved about this, and all wanted the recipe. I used Honey Crisp apples and Bosc pears. Subbed walnut pieces for the cashews and used about half of the listed amount of shredded Swiss. Also, per the suggestion of another reviewer, I used red onion to give the dressing a little pink color. I cut up the pears and apples in advance and tossed them in a several TBS of dressing, and I later tossed this with the rest of the ingredients with one more TBS of dressing, and that was more than enough. I had tons of dressing leftover, as many other people have noted, so unless you like having it leftover, you can cut those amounts in half and still have plenty. Great recipe - this salad will be made very regularly. Thanks!
I have been making this salad for years for Thanksgiving & Christmas & it's always a hit. I basically double the salad & probably triple the cranberries, but only need to make single of the dressing. I prefer using Pecans instead of cashews, but both are great. I cut the apples & pears & mix it in the dressing to keep them from browning, toss with apple, pear dressing mixture before serving. I usually use Swiss cheese, but sometimes have used cheddar, both are delicious. Such a simple recipe but a huge hit.
This recipe was so simple and so delicious that I can't stop making it!! The dressing is now my favorite dressing. The dressing is a perfect balance of sweet and tangy.
Great Salad. I Served at Thanksgiving dinner and everyone loved it! I used Parmesan cheese instead of Swiss and Almond slivers instead of Cashews.
I made this salad last year over the holidays & my family loved it. It was recommended to me by a fried. I was a little skeptical at first but it's great. They raved about it!
Loved it. I'm always looking for a new salad to serve my family their greens and this was perfect just as is.
I loved this dressing. I made it with slivered almonds and without the cheese. Next time I will use pecans and add feta cheese. Will make it again soon since I have so much dressing left over.
Made this last night. It was delicious. I might adjust the dressing with a little less sugar and more lemon for more tang and less sweet.
Very good recipe. I would cut the sugar a bit next time, maybe 1/3 or 1/4 as it was a bit too sweet for my taste. But overall, crisp and refreshing. I served it at my usual Monday night dinner party of 8 men and they all gobbled it up.
Wonderful salad! Make as directed and it's perfect! I use a Bosc pear! Everyone who eats it wants the recipe!! Surely, will impress your guests!
I made this salad and dressing exactly as written, and it was a hit at the party I took it to. However, the great thing about this recipe is its tweak-ability ( yes it is a word- look it up!!) Reading a lot of reviews has given me so many ideas for the next time. Thanks for a keeper!
I made it as published, it was great! I also grilled some shrimp and served it with bread for a light dinner
I made this for my family and everyone raved about how good it was. While the quality of your ingredients are always important, I believe it is fundamental to this recipe. I used Gala apple, and red pear. The pear was so sweet. I took 6 slices of deli cheese and cut them into matchsticks rather than grated. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. I did not dress the salad, but kept the dressing in a container. Refrigerating the leftover dressing is a BONUS that you can use on other salads. THIS recipe is going to make its way to some of my holiday menus. ABSOLUTELY wonderful, easy, & sure to be in my regular rotation. Thanks for a great dish!
This is a nice salad with really good ingredients. We like fruit in our salads and having 3 kinds in the salad was very good. The dressing is light and adds a nice sweetness to the salad. I served this with 'White Chili VI' from AR and my version of the soup 'Spicy Chicken and Bean Soup'.
I really love all the components of this salad and they complemented each other nicely in the salad. I did think that there was a lot of sweetness in the salad with the pear, apple, cranberries, and sweet lemon dressing. I will make again, but, probably use feta or blue cheese instead of swiss and maybe almonds instead of cashews to offset the sweetness.
Excellent! The dressing is on the sweet side, but tastes great and goes perfectly with the fruit, cheese and nuts (my cashews were salted, which was also nice). I left the apples and pears unpeeled by preference. Thanks for the recipe!
This was a winner at my Christmas dinner!! Everyone raved about it! I omitted the red onion because my father is allergic, but the salad didn't seem to suffer any!
I cut back on the sugar slightly, used half romaine and baby greens, walnuts and gorgonzola cheese as that's what I had in the fridge. DELISH!
Delicious and unique salad. Freshly squeezed lemon juice made the dressing wonderful, but I only pured about 2/3 of it on the salad and it was plenty. Served this with Christmas dinner and everyone loved it!
This is our favorite salad recipe now--I take it to all potlucks and serve it to guests at home. It is unique with the cheese, nuts and fruits. The dressing makes enough for 2 large salads. I always cut back on the amount of oil in the dressing to about 1/3 cup.
My son made this salad for our family on Christmas Eve this year. This was one of the best salads that I have ever eaten. The recipe was shared with quite a few of us that night. I am adding this salad to my favorites.
One bite and my husband said you have to make this again. I told him what was in it and he was glad he tried it first and was hooked since the ingredients are unusal for regular salad eaters. Deffinetly will make again and again.
This was a great recipe, but I did make a few changes and OMGosh was it good! Just left out the mustard (mostly because I didn't have any and stores were already closed for xmas..lol) changed the veg. oil to olive and changed the nuts to toasted walnuts. wow was it ever good. Very light and took the prime rib and ultimate twice baked potatoes and croissants to the next level. This will definitely be a keeper, even with the small changes.
I am sorry this recipe needs to be reworked, I don't see how it can be considered a healthy choice at all with ½ cup of sugar in the dressing? 64 grams of sugar in a salad is ridiculous and unhealthy.
This was delicious, everyone loved it. Cut the dressing amounts in half. It made way too much.
Made this for different events 6 times in the last 2 months. Never a lick of it left. I will never never buy poppy seed dressing again. This is wonderful!
I served this at a large party and it was a hit. The dressing is wonderful. I substituted two bags of spring mix (ready pac) lettuce.
Made exactly as written, this salad is a perfect accompaniment to a holiday meal. Thanks for the great recipe!
Served for Christmas dinner and received great compliments. Very unique and refreshing.
