In this gorgeous Fall Harvest Salad, crisp apples, pears, sliced carrots, toasted pecans and blue cheese are tossed with mixed greens and chopped bacon. The salad is then drizzled with a warm maple bacon vinaigrette! Serve as a side or top with sliced chicken as an entree.
It doesn’t have to be Fall to enjoy this Harvest Salad.
A blend of salad greens is topped with sliced apples, pears and carrots. Sprinkled with toasted pecans, crispy bacon pieces and crumbled blue cheese. And if that wasn’t persuasive enough, this salad is also drizzled with a warm maple bacon vinaigrette.
Serve this salad next to chicken or pork or with your holiday feast. It will no doubt be a crowd pleaser.
Apples, bacon and blue cheese plus a warm maple-y bacon vinaigrette… what’s not to love?
To Make This Fall Harvest Salad You Will Need:
for the dressing:
- reserved bacon fat – For sautéing shallot and also adds a smokiness to the dressing.
- shallot – Lends a delicate sweet onion flavor.
- pure maple syrup – Adds a touch of sweetness and subtle maple flavor.
- dijon mustard – Helps with emulsion and also gives the dressing a nice tanginess.
- red wine vinegar – Adds tang and acidity.
- kosher salt – This will draw out flavor and season the dressing.
- freshly ground black pepper – For added bite and flavor.
for the salad:
- bacon – I use thick-cut, applewood smoked bacon, but any will work.
- salad greens – Use a mixture of your favorite for the base for the salad.
- honeycrisp apple – Adds crunch and also sweet and tart apple flavor.
- pear – Anjou, Bosc, Bartlett or Comice are best for salads. Pick pears that are ripe yet still firm.
- carrots – I like to use heirloom carrots for their color, but any will do.
- pecans (toasted) – For toasty nutty flavor.
- crumbled blue cheese – Adds creaminess and sharp, earthy and tangy flavor.
Make The Vinaigrette:
Cook up 4 strips of thick-cut applewood bacon. Once cooked, transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. There should be roughly 2 tablespoons leftover after cooking the bacon, to that add 1 small finely diced shallots to the bacon fat. Cook over medium-low until soft.
To make the warm maple vinaigrette, first measure out 1/3 cup of good-quality, pure maple syrup and 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard into a small jar or bowl.
Next, add in 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Give that a whisk to combine and set off to the side.
Once the shallots have sautéed in the bacon fat, pour in the maple dijon part of the dressing.
Stir until the dressing is warm and slightly thickened, then remove off of the heat.
Keep the dressing warm or pour into a jar and set off to the side.
Can This Warm Maple Vinaigrette Be Made In Advance?
Sure! However, it may solidify due to the bacon fat. I would recommend gently reheating before giving it a quick whisk and then serve.
Build The Salad:
Throw 10 ounces of mixed salad greens into a gigantic serving bowl. Prep the salad toppings. Start by slicing up a honeycrisp apple, a pear, carrots and pan-toast 1/3 cup pecans.
Top with sliced apple, pear and carrots, chopped bacon, chopped toasted pecans and crumbled blue cheese.
Finally, serve the salad drizzled with the warm maple bacon vinaigrette over top.
Hands down my newest and most favorite salad.
It’s crunchy, sweet and smoky which all pairs deliciously with the funky blue cheese.
Click Here For More Delicious Salad Recipes!
Enjoy! And if you give this Fall Harvest Salad recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Fall Harvest Salad with Warm Maple Bacon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
FOR THE DRESSING:
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, I like country or whole grain
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons reserved bacon fat, leftover in the skillet
- 1 small shallot, finely diced
FOR THE SALAD:
- 10 ounce salad greens
- 1 small honeycrisp apple, sliced
- 1 ripe pear, sliced
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1/3 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
- 4 slices thick applewood bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup blue cheese, freshly crumbled - more to taste
Instructions
- Cook bacon until crispy, remove bacon to drain on a paper towel lined plarte.
- Meanwhile, combine the maple syrup, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper into a small bowl or jar and set aside.
- Add the salad greens to a large serving bowl. Top with sliced apples, pears, carrots, bacon, toasted pecans and blue cheese.
- Reheat the bacon fat over medium heat.
- Sauté diced shallot until softened. Once soft, stir while gradually pouring in the maple/mustard mixture. Simmer for a few minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Plate up the salads and serve the warm maple bacon dressing drizzled over the top and more freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
Buy the Cookbook: Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy Now available on Amazon »
THANK YOU in advance for your support!
There is a restaurant out here that makes a similar salad and it’s to die for. I love crisp apples and cool lettuce combined in a salad not to mention bacon! You can’t ever go wrong there!
What a perfect salad Laurie!
No such thing as a bacon shortage *la la la la la* (fingers in my ears and eyes shut) lol
Wait, WHAT?! Is this a joke?
That vinaigrette definitely sealed the deal for me! (How could it not?!)
Amazing dressing, Laurie! I love dijon and shallots in dressings!
Oh the color! and that dressing! Do you have a cookbook yet? You need one!
I’m with you on the real maple syrup thing. I hate when a restaurant says the pancakes come with maple syrup, and then they bring out the pancake syrup. I never would have ordered the pancakes had I known!!!!
I love a good vinaigrette, and this is a good vinaigrette.
Bacon does so much in the flavor department. And it can turn a salad into something extraordinary! What a satisfying recipe! Thank you for sharing…and whetting my appetite for dinner. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Wonderful flavors here! I’m not too worried about the bacon shortage. I think it will be available if we need it, just really expensive. As long as I can my fix every now and then I’ll survive 🙂
This family will be in SERIOUS trouble if there’s a bacon shortage. We love Kunzler bacon and have it every Saturday. It’s a little more expensive than other brands in our grocery store, so I already stock up when it’s on sale. It freezes really well, so I guess I’ll start buying extra extra. :<}
Yummy salad!!!!!
Oh my word! This sounds unbelievable!!
OOOOh yea, this looks insanely good! I think the bacon shortage is just a bunch of crap. Just like every year they say gas will go up to $10 a gallon by the end of summer and it never does?! Yea…like that.
I am living by the same motto – if I don’t hear about it, it doesn’t exist. Apparently we need to raise a few pigs in our back yard, so I can have a source of bacon. Or I need to start buying it now, and freeze it.
Gorgeous salad! A really lovely balance of sweet and savory ingredients.
The bacon shortage is cracking me up too. I think there will be a lot of disappointed bacon lovers out there…I adore bacon but admit that less of it to go around is probably a good thing. Your salad looks DELICIOUS! I’ll have to get on the recipe before our nation runs out of bacon! 😉
I had no idea this shortage was happening – but I’m with you, if you ignore it I’m sure it won’t happen 🙂 This salad looks amazing!
this looks like the perfect fall salad to have! especially after the weekend I had with all the bad eating, i’m all up for this! 🙂
Hahahaha, love it – Aporkalypse! I’m stealing that.
This maple bacon dressing sounds KILLER! I am not a salad person – but I may be making myself this just for the dressing… Orrrr I could just make the dressing and lick it up without the greens.
I found your recipe for Maple Bacon Vinaigrette from a Google search and just want to say thanks for posting it, ESPECIALLY with pictures. I love maple syrup and think more things should be sweetened with it (or honey) instead of sugar. And how can you go wrong with BACON! – Worlds most perfect food. I’m going to share this on FB.
I agree! I swear it’s a rule I live by… if I can use honey or maple syrup instead, I do! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I made this for book club and everyone was in love with it. Thank you!!
I’m so happy to hear it, R!
Not a fan of blue cheese – what other cheese would be best to use?
I will be making this salad tomorrow, for Thanksgiving. Curious to know if the dressing can be made ahead? Like today so it’s one less thing I have to concern myself with tomorrow? Thanks, looks delicious, can’t wait to give it a try.
Hi Tina! I don’t see why not! It may solidify (because of the bacon fat) so I would warm it up (gently) before giving it a quick stir. It should be slightly warm when serving but can be served at room temperature. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!
Yum. Very easy to make and everyone loved it. Thanks.