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–+ servings
A vibrant Thanksgiving salad recipe featuring fresh greens, sliced pears, pecans, pumpkin seeds, and crumbled feta cheese.

Thanksgiving Salad with Pear and Pepitas

This Thanksgiving salad features tender greens, crisp pear, and toasted pepitas, all tossed in a simple lemon-vinegar dressing. It's a refreshing and colorful addition to your holiday meal.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4 side servings
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Calories: 76
Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

GREENS & DRESSING
  • 6 cups Tender baby greens torn into bite-sized pieces (gem lettuce, green leaf lettuce, or butter lettuce // or sub mixed greens)
  • 3 cups Chicories of choice torn into bite-sized pieces (radicchio, endive, and/or frisée // or sub more mixed greens)
  • 1.5 tsp Olive oil
  • 1 tsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar (or sub champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar)
  • to taste Flaky sea salt
  • to taste Freshly ground black pepper
FOR SERVING
  • 1 small-medium Asian or Bosc pear core removed, thinly sliced (or sub another sweet, crunchy apple or pear — Fuji, Honeycrisp, or D’Anjou)
  • 1/4 cup Toasted pepitas (or chopped hazelnuts or slivered almonds)
  • optional Vegan goat cheese (for store-bought, we like Treeline // if not vegan, regular goat cheese would also work)

Equipment

  • Small skillet
  • Large serving bowl

Method
 

  1. If you don’t already have toasted pepitas (or almonds or hazelnuts), toast them first. In a small skillet, toast over low-medium heat, stirring/tossing occasionally until the pepitas begin to pop and puff up — about 3-5 minutes — or until the hazelnuts/almonds become fragrant and lightly browned — about 6-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Roughly chop the hazelnuts if they’re whole.
  2. To a large serving bowl, add tender baby greens and chicories. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, and vinegar, then sprinkle with a few pinches of flaky salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Toss to evenly coat the greens. Taste and adjust, adding more oil for richness or if dry, lemon juice for brightness, vinegar for sweetness, salt for overall flavor, or black pepper for kick.
  3. Add the sliced pear or apple and toasted pepitas (or nuts) and gently toss again, just a couple times. Immediately before serving, garnish with vegan goat cheese (optional) and more freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 76kcalCarbohydrates: 5.5gProtein: 2.7gFat: 5.4gSaturated Fat: 0.9gSodium: 63mgPotassium: 167mgFiber: 1.9gSugar: 2.6gVitamin A: 219IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 0.8mg

Notes

If preparing in advance to bring to a gathering (we don’t recommend preparing more than 12 hours in advance), it’s best to keep the components separate (greens, apple or pear, dressing, salt, pepper, pepitas, vegan goat cheese) and assemble just before serving. If cutting the apple or pear in advance, toss the slices with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.

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