Perfect Autumn Chopped Salad

Salads aren’t just for enjoying in summer!  Plus, salads don’t need to be boring!  Adding fresh fruit, even those of autumn, is a great way to make a humble salad superb!  Plus, the color of the fruits of fall really adds some eye appeal . . . reds, golds, oranges, and with the brown pecans, this salad definitely tastes and looks like fall is here!

This is a wildly popular recipe, Autumn Chopped Salad.  To make this salad even more perfect, I used ‘praline’ sugar-coated pecans and blended Gorgonzola cheese with goat cheese.  The sweetness of the praline pecans combined with the tangy gorgonzola really sings on the tastebuds!  Lastly, for the dressing I replaced balsamic vinaigrette with a cranberry balsamic vinaigrette — even my husband loved it!

Chopped salads differ from ordinary salads due to the way that they are prepared and presented.  All ingredients are chopped, including the lettuce, and blended together instead of being layered on top.  This allows you to create hundreds of options in ingredients.

Perfect Autumn Salad

Just before serving lightly dress the poppy seed/cranberry balsamic vinaigrette on the salad.  Pass around more dressing to your guests.

Perfect Autumn Chopped Salad
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Perfect Autumn Chopped Salad

Perfect Autumn Chopped Salad

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  • Author: Roz | La Bella Vita Cucina
  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Additional Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 6 to 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 1 medium (red) pears, chopped
  • 1 medium (red) apple, chopped
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup chopped praline-sugar coated pecans
  • 8 – 10 slices thick-cut bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
  • 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
  • 4 oz. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup poppy seed salad dressing
  • 1 cup cranberry balsamic vinaigrette
  • Instructions
  • On a large platter, combine the lettuce, pear, apple, dried cranberries, praline pecans, bacon and feta and gorgonzola cheese.
  • Mix the poppy seed dressing with the cranberry balsamic vinaigrette. Add more or less of each according to your taste preferences. (More sweet = Less balsamic)
  • Drizzle the dressing onto the salad and gently toss.
  • Pass any extra dressing around to guests.

Instructions

    1. On a large platter, combine the lettuce, pear, apple, dried cranberries, praline pecans, bacon and feta, and gorgonzola cheese.
    2. Mix the poppy seed dressing with the cranberry balsamic vinaigrette. Add more or less of each according to your taste preferences. (More sweet = Less balsamic)
    3. Drizzle the dressing onto the salad and gently toss.
    4. Pass any extra dressing around to guests.