Delicious Southern Pear Salad Recipe! This easy side dish takes minutes to prepare and tastes amazing. Classic southern pear salad is the side dish everyone will be talking about.
Pear Salad Recipe
While my husband's nephew from Alabama was staying with us this summer he asked if I had ever made southern pear salad. Prior to this moment, I had honestly never heard of this salad.
When Nathan started describing it to me I thought he was joking a bit but then I did some research and reached out to family in Alabama and they all told me it is a church potluck staple. My Sister-in-Law said she loves this salad and changes it up at times and uses cottage cheese.
Nathan ran to the store to get all of the ingredients and showed me how to make this easy side salad.
I will admit to struggling to call this a salad versus a side dish. This is not your typical seven layer salad with lettuce and tomatoes.
This pear salad has pear halves, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, and cherries. This southern favorite quick and easy salad takes minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
- Sliced Pear Halves
- Mayonnaise
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Maraschino Cherries
Adaptations - You can change out the dollop of mayo with cottage cheese or a bit of cream cheese.
Equipment
- Serving Platter
- Spoon
Recipe Tips
I suggest putting the maraschino cherries on a couple of paper towels to get the extra juice off of them. This will help them stay in place and stop the red drips that tend to occur when they are not wiped down.
You can serve these on a bed of lettuce leaves to make them really pop.
Plan time for this southern dish to chill in the refrigerator for a few hours. I love that you can make this salad ahead of time.
Step 1 - Lay out the sliced sweet pears on a platter or in a 9x13 pan.
Add mayo on top of the sliced pears.
Step 2 - Add shredded cheese on top of the mayo. I try to add enough that it doesn't fall all over the place.
The cheese and mayo should be contained on the pear.
Step 3 - Add maraschino cherries on top.
Chill the pears in the refrigerator if you have time.
Great Salad Recipes
This is one of our favorite salads to serve with ham.
Do you love recipes? Check out our copy cat recipes, dessert recipes, and our Crock Pot Recipes.
Southern Pear Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 can Pear Halves
- ½ Cup Mayonnaise
- ⅓ Cup Cheddar Cheese Shredded
- 9 Maraschino cherries
Instructions
- Drain the can of pears and place each pear half on a serving platter
- Add a dollop of mayonnaise in the center of the pear and top with shredded cheese
- Add a maraschino cherry to the top. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.
Ronda Leah Liebert
We ate this all the time when I was growing up in the 50's and 60's and continued making them myself. But haven't done them lately. We also made the same dish using pineapple slices and that's yummy, too.