In this post I’ll be sharing the classic Southern Pear Salad Recipe.

One evening I said “Do y’all remember the pear salad we used to have at school?”, and of course everyone did. We kind of giggled, then I said “But I liked it”, and it turns out so did everyone else.

I remember my grandmother making pear salad and I wanted nothing to do with it. Being in school though, everyone else was eating it, so I tried it. I’ve liked it ever since.

I don’t know if they still serve this in schools and you don’t see this classic served often anymore. It is one of the easiest things to make. If you’ve never had it, you have to try it.

I made it and served prior to tonight’s supper and I’ll be serving this old fashioned classic at Easter this year.

Table of Contents

Southern Pear Salad Recipe

Serving platter with pear salad Southern style

Ingredients:

16 ounce can of pear halves, drained
Lettuce Leaves
Shredded Cheddar Cheese, freshly grated
Mayonnaise, preferably Dukes
Maraschino Cherries (optional)

Lay out a lettuce leaf and place pear half on top. Add about 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise to the top of each pear and sprinkle on cheddar cheese over the mayonnaise. I’ve seen recipes where people will top it with a cherry, but I don’t care for the cherry.

The cherries were often a garnish when company was visiting for supper. We usually had the basic salad.

Its so fresh and delicious. I haven’t tried this yet but I bet it might even be good with a dollop of pimento cheese if you wanted to use that instead of the mayonnaise and cheese.

This recipe has also evolved and some folks prefer to use either cottage cheese or cream cheese instead of the mayonnaise. For me, some things are best left as they were and I’ll always prefer my pear salad with a dollop of mayonnaise.

If you’d like to add a small touch of color, I like to add a pinch or two of paprika.

Vintage Salad Recipe

Let’s make this beloved classic Southern Pear Salad Recipe.

4.22 from 14 votes

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Southern Pear Salad Recipe

Classic old school Southern Pear Salad recipe made with just a few basic ingredients has been loved for generations.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Servings: Servings

Calories: 119kcal

Author: Julia Jordan | Julia’s Simply Southern

Ingredients

16 oz. can of pear halves drained
Lettuce Leaves
1/4 c Shredded Cheddar Cheese freshly grated
2 tbsp. Mayonnaise preferably Dukes
6 Maraschino Cherries optional

Instructions

Lay out a lettuce leaf and place pear half on top. Add about 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise to the top of each pear then a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Garnish with a maraschino cherry if desired.

Notes

Pimento cheese, cottage cheese and cream cheese are sometimes used instead of mayonnaise.

Nutrition

About Julia

Hey Y’all! I’m Julia, the cook and writer behind the recipes here at Julia’s Simply Southern. I began my website so that I could share easy to follow recipes that anyone can use to put a home cooked meal on the dinner table. Thanks so much for stopping by!

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