Winter Pear Salad
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So hearty with so many feel-good ingredients! Lemon rosemary chicken, brussels sprouts, pear and a honey dijon dressing!
Anyone else still rolling from the holidays? I feel like I have gained 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas with all the stuffing, cream pies, and corgi sugar cookies I have been stuffing down my gullet the last month.
It’s been absolutely glorious. I still have some leftover corgi sugar cookies hoarded away in my purse. SHHHHHH.
But I also need all my veggies now, and then some to make up for the holidays, and this salad makes it almost too easy to get in all my nutrients.
With massaged kale, brussels sprouts, pear, pomegranate, and the juiciest marinated lemon rosemary chicken thighs, I can eat this for the entire month of January. The candied walnuts, crumbled blue cheese and honey Dijon dressing also help tremendously.
Winter Pear Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 cups shredded kale
- 3 cups shredded brussels sprouts
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 bosc pear, sliced
- 3 clementines, peeled and segmented
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- ¾ cup candied walnuts
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
Instructions
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken, 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper; marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat.* Working in batches, add chicken to the grill pan in a single layer and cook until golden brown and cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 4-5 minutes per side.
- In a large bowl, combine kale, brussels sprouts and green onions; drizzle with remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, honey and Dijon. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with pear, clementines, pomegranate, walnuts and blue cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
My husband & I both enjoyed this salad. The marinaded chicken was very juicy. I did not drain any extra liquid before cooking it. Make sure you really massage the kale. It really needs about 10 minutes of massaging. Also, I made 3 times the amount of dressing.
Absolutely delicious! Had to substitute craisins for pomegranate, and candied pecans for the walnuts, but otherwise made it as shown. Thanks!
My whole family loves this salad!! I am not a blue cheese fan, so we used feta, but it was great!
What’s the calorie count for this dish? Anyone know?
Hi Donna! Nutritional information is provided only for select recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps!
That. Looks “Damn Delicious”!!
Lip smackin’ Goodness.
This was fabulous. Such a great combination of flavors. Thank you so much for posting this!
Look good! I will try your recipe soon for my next holiday.
Loved this salad! Was so tasty and filling and just the healthy but fun meal I needed! I’m curious do you know the nutrition information for this?
I just made your Winter pear salad, it was amazing!!!
My husband said it was the best salad he ever ate. Thank you for this recipe
Haven’t made it yet, but the picture alone is worth 5 stars! Just curious…it looks like chicken breast (not chicken thighs). Does this change anything in the directions? I’d rather use chicken breast anyway.
Thanks for the inspiration!
This salad is so beautiful! I want to make it!! Can you suggest another cheese to
add, my husband doesn’t eat blue cheese. (I love it, but he won’t touch it). I love all your recipes! The Best!! Happy New Year!!
Crumbly feta would work. A few slices of brie Or camembert would be indulgent too. Or just give yourself the luxury of blue cheese and him none 😉
Can you recommend another dressing for this amazing salad? I am not a fan of dijon.
I’d use another mustard then. Or even good mayo if you like creaminess. Or just leave it out – a honey vinegarette is good!