Classic Pear Salad recipe made with canned pears, mayonnaise, cheese, and topped with maraschino cherries. A crowd favorite recipe.
This pear salad recipe is always a favorite for Sunday suppers and holiday meals, especially Easter, Memorial Day, and throughout the summer. Still, it is delicious any time of the year.
This pear salad recipe isn’t the type of salad recipe that many expect. The only time you’ll find lettuce involved in this salad is if you decide to add a bed of large lettuce leaves to the platter to nestle your pear salad on. But this no-cook side dish recipe is always a favorite!
How to Make Classic Pear Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
Made with just four ingredients, this easy recipe comes together quickly.
For this recipe, you’ll need canned pear halves, mayonnaise, cheese, and maraschino cherries.
Pears – Canned pear halves come in heavy and light syrup. Choose your favorite. Drain the pear halves well.
Mayonnaise – Use your favorite creamy mayonnaise. You’ll need about a teaspoon of mayonnaise per pear half.
Cheese – I love to use freshly shredded cheddar cheese for this recipe.
Cherries – I prefer to use maraschino cherries with the stems removed, but we all loved to play with the stems growing up!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Arrange pears and add mayonnaise. Drain the pears from their juices and place them onto a serving platter. Add a dollop of mayonnaise to the center of each pear.
Add cheese and cherries. Top the mayonnaise with shredded cheddar cheese and then with a cherry. Serve cold.
Make Ahead Instructions
To make ahead. Prepare the pear salad without adding the cherry to the top. Add the cherries right before serving.
Here’s the Southern Pear Salad Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Pear Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (29-ounce) can pear halves, drained well
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- maraschino cherries
Instructions
- Remove pear halves from can, taking care to drain away as much liquid from pears as possible. Place pears onto a serving platter.
- Top each pear half with about a teaspoon of mayonnaise, then add a little cheddar cheese to the top of the mayonnaise, and top each with a maraschino cherry.
- Serve cold.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I never understood things like this referred to as a salad. Growing up salads were always leafy green things with veggies and dressing, or chopped up stuff swimming in mayo (potato, ham, eggs, etc.), and I had a friend whose grandmother would always serve something like this as a salad course whe. I had dinner at her house. I was always so confused.
This looks really good. I’m a big fan of pears as it is, but this is icing on the cake.
Does it taste the same if you use light mayonaise?
I grew up eating this. It was one of the things Daddy would make when he cooked (which wasn’t often). I made it tonight for my family and my husband looked at me weird. I told him to google it. He was very surprised it’s an actual thing! Hahaha! Glad I made it tonight – brings back great memories of my Daddy.
This has been a favorite in my family since I can remember! My mother preferred pineapple slices and she did place it on an iceberg lettuce leaf. I serve either fruit except I use healthier Romaine leaves. We omit the cherry and use ONLY Hellman’s full -fat mayo. Reduced or fat free tastes terrible in our opinion. I believe this salad originated in the 1940’s. We love it with pork or chicken!
Seems quite simple to put together and it’s so pretty 🙂 I’d love to try this soon.
I think this is the first time ever that I’m stumped on whether or not I want to try a recipe. The thought of mayo with pears sounds kinda ick… and I’m not a fan of maraschino cherries unless I dip them myself in chocolate… and yet I am INTRIGUED. And I trust your taste for yumminess!
So I will have to try these… maybe tomorrow! 🙂
HA! I hope you love it as much as we do. It is certainly a staple side dish in my family since I can remember. The combinations of sweet, salty, tart, and the cheese is really perfect together.
I had this when I was a teen at a friend’s house. It sounded gross, but after I tasted it, I loved it! I hadn’t thought of it again until seeing this recipe. I will make this for my kids soon!
Oh, the memories! I was married at age 19, and this is one of the special salads my mother-in-law often served at her dinner table, oh, so many years ago! I’m 56 now, and wishing I could be a grandma — you’ve reminded me of something I’d forgotten, so, Robin, I thank you! I will pin this on my Grandkids board and do this for my grandchildren one day and make special memories for them — cherries included!!
Wow…..never thought to use pears. We made this with pinapple slices, but I think I prefer the pears. Adding lots of cherries!! Yummy-Yum-Yum! Thanks for this recipe. Happy Blessed Easter to you & yours!
My elementary school cafeteria always served this salad but I have never had it with cherries. Will give it a try. Thanks for the reminder!
Anything is better with cheese!! Have to try this!! I was/am the kid who always wanted the cooked fruit off the ham….cherries and pineapple!!