A perfect salad for the fall season; crisp apples and pears, with creamy blue cheese crumbles, and a homemade apple cider vinaigrette.

This past weekend, we went out to celebrate Jason’s bar results with a handful of friends. We started out at The Pub for happy hour drinks, and then a local sports bar for grub. That’s my guy; celebrating his new attorney status, with a plate of chicken wings 😉
I opted for a fall-esque salad with autumn fruits, and grilled chicken. The menu boasted an apple cider vinaigrette that got me excited to try. Sadly, when my salad arrived, the dressing was way too sweet. It was not good. I should have ate Jason’s chicken wings, instead. Womp.
All weekend, I have craved a salad full of fruit, and a tangy, but slightly sweet dressing to toss it all in. So I made my own. #duh. This Pear, Apple, and Blue Cheese Chicken Salad is packed with seasonal fruit, blue cheese crumbles, and walnut pieces. It was light, but filling, and the vinaigrette is SO good.


This is a great salad for weekday lunches, and will get you through four days this week. If you’re prepping ahead, I’d make these using mason jars to ensure freshness. I used a mix of butter lettuce, and romaine. Any salad green you like will work for this salad! You could also use kale, if you’d like.
If you’re eating paleo, you could forgo the blue cheese crumbles, to keep this Pear, Apple, and Blue Cheese Chicken Salad compliant. If you don’t like blue cheese (I’m sorry), gorgonzola, or feta would be just as tasty. I grilled chicken breast in a grillpan, but you could slow-cook it and shred, or even use a rotisserie chicken – keep it simple, friends.

pear, apple, and blue cheese chicken salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 10 ounces greens of choice - romaine, butter lettuce, kale, etc
- 1 lb. chicken breast, grilled - leftover chicken or rotisserie will also work for this
- 2 medium pears, sliced thin
- 2 medium apples, cubed
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- ½ cup walnut pieces
Apple Cider Vinaigrette Dressing
- 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Salad
- Divide salad mix among four plates/storage containers. Layer each serving with 4-ounces chicken, pears, and apples. Toss with 2 tbs of apple cider vinaigrette (recipe to follow below). Top with blue cheese crumbles, and walnut pieces. If prepping for lunches, wait to toss in dressing until ready to eat.
Apple Cider Vinaigrette Dressing
- To a mason jar, or small bowl whisk together all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to toss over salads.
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Post originally published on 9/25/2017 – updated 9/25/23 with new images.
What a lovely autumn salad!
So many great flavors going on in this salad! Yum!
I’m dying to try this salad. YUM! #TBB
It’s been my go-to all week!
Looks amazing!!
Thanks – totally biased, but I think so too! xo
Yum! Sounds like the perfect fall lunch!
It’s definitely been an addiction for my lunches, this fall!
This sounds so delicious!
I’ve tried so hard to like blue cheese, I may have to give this a try and see how I like it.
People either love blue cheese, or hate it – there doesn’t seem to be an in-between on that! You could always sub for gorgonzola or feta too!
This is my kind of salad! Looks so fresh and delicious, and I love that you added fruits and honey, just perfect for my sweet tooth!
Thanks, Hadia! I am right there with ya!
Have you had the kale salad from Aldi’s? Your dressing sounds similar to the one that comes in that pack! I LOVE IT! I’ll have to try making this one at home 🙂