Got room for one more fall recipe? Say hello to the Autumn Chopped Salad, aka a fresh and filling entree-sized salad that’s bursting with seasonal flavors and ingredients!
This gorgeous chopped salad contains all the ingredients that make autumn wonderful, including sweet pears, crisp apples, crunchy roasted peanuts, chewy dried cranberries, and bacon. I suppose bacon isn’t inherently autumnal but hello, it’s bacon. Do we need an excuse to throw it into a salad? (The answer is no, we don’t!)
The toppings-to-lettuce ratio in this crunchy salad is off the charts (a MUST for any entree-sized salad), and the combination of sweet and salty flavors, plus crispy and chewy textures is so satisfying. Plus, I repeat, there’s bacon. You will love this quick and filling salad recipe!
Start by adding chopped romaine lettuce to a large mixing bowl.
Next microwave center-cut bacon until crisp. Here’s my muss/fuss-free way to microwave bacon with perfect results every time:
Place bacon strips onto a folded paper towel on a microwave-safe plate then cover with another folded paper towel. Microwave for 1 minute then rotate the plate 1/4 turn and microwave for 30 more seconds. Continue rotating and cooking in 30 second increments until the bacon is crisp, 2-3 minutes, then let it cool and chop it up.
While the bacon’s cooling, chop the rest of the salad ingredients, including a fresh pear. Use whatever variety is your favorite — bartlett, bosch, asian, etc.
Next chop an apple — use whatever you’ve got in the fridge!
Finally add dried cranberries, chopped peanuts, and crumbled feta cheese, plus the chopped bacon.
Time to get dressed!
That is to say, drizzle on your favorite dressing. I love a mixture of store-bought Poppy Seed Dressing thinned out with a little balsamic vinegar. This easy combo tastes delicious with the fresh pears and apples, especially.
Divide the salad between two bowls then devour. A feast for the eyes and stomach! Enjoy!
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