Southern Pear & Cherry Salad Recipe
Southern Pear & Cherry Salad is not only one of the prettiest dishes you will ever place on your dinner table but one of the most yummy too. Don’t wait for a special occasion to make this dish, it’s perfect for weeknight meals.
It’s almost unreasonable to even refer to the instructions as a recipe but alas, we must. I wish I could share with you the first time I ever enjoyed a Southern Pear & Cherry Salad but we’ve been eating them for so long, I simply don’t remember. I grew up eating this delicious fruit salad.
When I make this fruit salad for a weeknight dinner, I don’t worry about placing the pears onto a bed of lettuce. However any self respecting southern cook taking this dish to an event wouldn’t dare forget that bed of lettuce! We also use only Duke’s mayonnaise.
What are the ingredients for Pear Salad?
Three simple ingredients make this quick and easy fruit salad for a side dish or a healthier dessert.
- Canned Pear halves, drained
- Mayonnaise
- Shredded Sharp cheddar cheese
- Lettuce, optional (I recommend Iceberg lettuce)
- Maraschino Cherries, optional
- Raisins, optional
Substitute cottage cheese for the mayonnaise if you like. That is a common substitution for this recipe.
Presentation of Pear and Cherry Salad
Present your pretty Pear and Cherry Salad on a bed of lettuce on a nice platter if you are making it for guests. Presentation is everything, they say. Nice crisp fresh lettuce makes this dish look even more pretty.
Southern Pear & Cherry Salad
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz. can of pear halves, drained
- ½ Cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- Maraschino cherries
Optional
- Use cottage cheese instead of mayonnaise
- Raisins
- Lettuce
Instructions
- If using a bed of lettuce, add that to your platter prior to adding the pear halves
- Drain juice from pear halves and place the pears onto a serving plate.
- Place a dollop of mayonnaise onto each pear half.
- Sprinkle with shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
- Top each pear with one maraschino cherry.
- Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition
This is what happens when I make an executive decision to have a bowl of pear salad for lunch but only have 3 maraschino cherries left in the jar. I don’t let that stop me. I toss raisins on top and make no effort whatsoever to keep the mayo exactly on top of each pear half.
A bowl of Southern Pear & Cherry Salad for lunch is a healthy lunch, right?
Serve Pear and Cherry Salad as a side dish or a fruit salad. I also enjoy making Pear Salad for lunch when I’m trying to eat lighter.
 More Recipes Using Fruit
- Sweet & Salty Strawberry Watermelon Salad
- Cinnamon Baked Peaches Easy Dessert Recipe
- Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
- Watermelon Blueberry Summer Salad Easy Recipe
- Mandarin Orange Salad And 4 Ingredient Mandarin Orange Dressing
- Spicy Mango Salsa Recipe
- Honey Sweet Peach Mango Salsa & Grilled Pork Chops Menu
I have never tried anything like this. Sounds like an interesting mix of ingredients and will have to try it. Included this in a cherry roundup this week.
My grandmother used to serve this as a salad. I had totally forgotten about it and how good it was. Thanks for the reminder. And thanks for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend.
Wishes for tasty dishes, Linda
Oh my gosh…what a neat recipe!
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
This looks like a light and easy salad. Heck, that’s a salad that even kids who don’t like vegetables would eat. Thanks for sharing your recipe at the Over the Moon Link Party.
Hello Shirley,
This dessert sounds so good.
Thanks for sharing the recipe at Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Enjoy the week and we hope to see you again.
Julie xo