by Mary Neumann · 46 Comments
Today I am sharing my most requested salad recipe. If you like the ingredients below, you will LOVE this salad!
This is the BEST Salad….EVER!! Made with Gorgonzola, apple, cherries, pecans & bacon, with a sweet balsamic dressing! Trust me, you will be going back for seconds. This has been my most requested salad recipe for over 25 years!
Read rave reviews from people who tried this salad recipe on Pinterest!
I created this salad over twenty-five years ago when I was pregnant with my first child, trying to cure my salty, sweet, tart craving. Since then, it has been my go-to and most requested salad and recipe. I make it for dinner parties, holidays, special occasions and it’s what my first child requests every single birthday – which is fitting. 🙂
Check out my updated post for my salad here, where you can read more reviews.
Mary’s Most Requested Salad Recipe
Ingredients
1 bag spring salad mix
1 bag romaine
3 oz bag of Oscar Mayer real bacon (or make your own – I often cheat)
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1 large granny smith apple, chopped
1/2 cup toasted pecans or almonds
5 oz gorgonzolaor blue cheese crumbled
* you can add more or less of each ingredient, do what you like!
Mary’s Sweet Balsamic Dressing
1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
1/8teaspoondry mustard (or a little squeeze of yellow or Grey Poupon mustard)
Few twists of fresh cracked pepper Or use 1/8 tsp of reg ground pepper
Whisk dressing ingredients until sugar and oil are blended.
If you plan on serving the entire salad, go ahead and add the dressing a little at a time, blending until you reach desired amount. If not, keep dressing separate and add individually.
THIS IS A THICKER DRESSING and is easy to adjust. If you like less sweet, reduce the sugar. I make it as is – it’s perfect for this salad.
Tips
You can substitute dried cherries with dried cranberries and sub Gorgonzola/blue cheese with goat or feta cheese.
The dressing is easy to adapt by adjusting the amount of sugar. If you like less sweet, add a little sugar at a time until you reach desired sweetness.
Some people have made the dressing with olive oil and enjoyed the results. I have not used olive oil so I am unable to tell you if it changes the taste of the salad. If you want to use olive oil, make a small batch to taste test.
This salad is great with grilled chicken tossed on top for a meal.
If you make the salad, let me know what you think!
Thanks for visiting Sweet Little Bluebird!
Cheers!
More balsamic
- Best Salad Ever (My Most Requested Salad Recipe)
Dinner Made Easy with Slow Cooker
Tried-and-true recipes to make cooking in your slow cooker simply & delicious!
Reader Interactions
Comments
Karen
Someone else asked about the size bags of salad and that question was never answered. I would like to know the same so the proportions are correct.
Reply
Mary Neumann
Hi Karen – I use regular size bags that are around 9 ounces each.
Reply
Robin Neuss
Is this recipe Gluten Free?
Reply
Mary
If you are coming over from Instagram, I would love to know who shared my recipe, so I can thank them! 🙂 April 9, 2023
Hope you enjoy my salad recipe!
Reply
Sara
This salad is great and easy to put together as. Is the dressing- will be making again
Reply
Leanne
This sounds wonderful! How many people would you serve with this recipe?
Reply
Estelle Garcia
My salad dressing is very thick. Is it suppose to be thick?
Reply
Mary Neumann
Estelle, it’s a thicker dressing, but should not be too thick to pour. It’s wonderful.
Reply
melanie
you should try putting strawberries, grapes, red onion with the rest of your ingredients. its smazing.
Reply
Dayle
Should the dressing be refrigerated? Thank you.
Reply
Mary Neumann
Yes, Dayle,
It’s best to make the dressing right before dressing the salad. If you have have leftovers, refrigerate. The dressing will thicken more, but still great – you can bring it to room temp after pulling from the fridge (but I never do). Over the years a few people mentioned the thickness – this is a thick salad dressing, especially if you refrigerate. I have been making this salad and dressing for almost 25 years – it’s fantastic and easy to adjust…you can use less sugar. Hope you love the salad!
Reply
« Older Comments
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
