This delicious apple pear salad features fresh fruit and golden raisins over leafy greens, tossed with a flavorful curry vinaigrette.

Apples, pears, and squash are starting to make their appearance at our farmer’s markets. I must admit that my thinking hasn’t quite caught up to autumn quite yet, since we still have tons of basil and another round of tomatoes ripening in our garden. However, Alex and I couldn’t hold ourselves back from such a bounty! We decided to make this apple pear salad with a tangy curry vinaigrette: and man, was it worth it. The vinaigrette is so unique, you’ll want to try it on everything!

What’s in this apple pear salad?

What’s better than biting into the sweet tart crunch of a raw apple? Rather than cook up the apples we got at the farmers market, we love highlighting raw apples in salads. This apple pear salad has a very unique component: a curry vinaigrette. It’s the star of the show, and you’ll want to put it on all of your salads! It’s incredibly easy to make and lends a nuance in flavor to the salad.

The subtle spice of the curry vinaigrette was the perfect highlight to the sweet apples and pears. To add another nod to an actual curry, we added some golden raisins for another sweet element. Golden raisins are sometimes used in savory curries or chutneys to bring in a sweetness. Then for a little crunch, some pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or walnuts.

How to make a curry vinaigrette

To make the curry vinaigrette, you’ll simply whisk together white wine vinegar, curry powder, a little maple syrup to soften the flavor, and salt. Then whisk in the olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time until a creamy emulsion forms. It’s important to whisk in the olive oil slowly so that the dressing is emulsified: otherwise it will have a tendency to split out into the oil and vinegar.

Roasting pepitas at home

We can usually find pepitas at our local grocery store roasted and salted, and they’re perfect in salads for texture and a little salty zing. If you can’t find roasted pepitas, you can toast them in a skillet: here’s how to do it:

Place the pepitas in a dry pan over medium high heat.
Toast for about 3 minutes, shaking the pan and watching constantly so they do not burn.

Looking for salad recipes?

Outside of this apple pear salad, here are a few favorite salad recipes:

This apple pear salad recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.