Pear Salad Recipe
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This classic Southern Pear Salad recipe is an old-fashioned side dish found at many family gatherings! It’s a bright and simple favorite with juicy pears and cheddar cheese, topped with cherries!
This easy pear salad recipe is always a favorite for Sunday suppers and holiday meals, especially Easter, Memorial Day, and throughout the summer. It’s been served at southern family suppers and potlucks for as long as I can remember. Don’t save it for a holiday – it is delicious any time of the year.
This pear salad recipe isn’t the type of salad recipe that many expect. The only time you’ll find lettuce involved in this salad is if you decide to add a bed of large lettuce leaves to the platter to nestle your pear salad on. But this no-cook side dish recipe is always a favorite!
How to Make Southern Pear Salad
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
Made with just four ingredients, this easy recipe comes together quickly.
You’ll need canned pear halves, mayonnaise, cheese, and maraschino cherries.
Pears – Canned pear halves come in heavy and light syrup. Choose your favorite. Drain the pear halves well. Fresh pears won’t work as well, so I advise using canned ones.
Mayonnaise – Use your favorite creamy mayonnaise. You’ll need about a teaspoon of mayonnaise per pear half.
Cheese – I love to use freshly shredded cheddar cheese for this recipe.
Cherries – I prefer to use maraschino cherries with the stems removed, but we all loved to play with the stems growing up!
Lettuce – Optional – You can use iceberg or butter lettuce leaves and arrange the pears on top of the leaves if you wish.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Arrange pears and add mayonnaise. Drain the pears from their juices and place them onto a serving platter. Add a dollop of mayonnaise to the center of each pear.
Add cheese and cherries. Top the mayonnaise with shredded cheddar cheese and then with a cherry. Serve cold.
Make Ahead Instructions
To make ahead. Prepare the pear salad without adding the cherry to the top and wrap well with plastic wrap or place in an airtight container. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. Add the cherries right before serving.
More Favorite Salad Recipes
Here’s the Southern Pear Salad Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Pear Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (29-ounce) can pear halves, drained well
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- maraschino cherries
- lettuce leaves (butter or iceberg lettuce), optional
Instructions
- Remove pear halves from can, taking care to drain away as much liquid from pears as possible. Place pears onto a serving platter on top of lettuce leaves (if using) or straight onto the platter.
- Top each pear half with about a teaspoon of mayonnaise, then add a little cheddar cheese to the top of the mayonnaise, and top each with a maraschino cherry.
- Serve cold.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
You’ve just taken me back to childhood. Thank you.
Felicia, I always think of my mother and grandmother making this pear salad when I was a child, too.
Iโm 65. Been enjoying this Classic since I was a little kid, watching my Grandmother prepare. Surely one of my All Time Favorites !!! Thanks for โreminderโ. Iโm off to grab ingredients from Food Lion and will enjoy over Easter Weekend !!!
Thanks, Lucius. I always loved this when my grandmother and mother made it.