Got room for one more fall recipe?
Say hello to my little giant friend, the Autumn Chopped Salad!
Chopped salads are big, entree-sized salads where all the ingredients have been, you guessed it, chopped into bite-sized pieces, then tossed with dressing until every morsel is uniformly coated and ready to be shoveled into your face. I mean, eaten. Delicately, eaten.
Autumn Chopped Salad is a chopped salad that contains all the ingredients that make autumn wonderful, including sweet pears, crisp apples, crunchy roasted peanuts, chewy dried cranberries, and bacon. I suppose bacon isn’t inherently autumnal (love that word,) but hello, it’s bacon. Do we need an excuse to throw it into a salad? The answer is no. No. We. Don’t!
You may have seen the recipe for Autumn Chopped Salad from the doll that is Madison of Espresso & Cream floating around Pinterest for the past couple of years – and for good reason. The toppings-to-lettuce ratio is off the charts (a MUST for any entree-sized salad,) and the combo of sweet and salty is so satisfying. Plus, I repeat, there’s bacon. You will love this quick and filling salad recipe!
Start the Autumn Chopped Salad by adding 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce in a big bowl. A VERY BIG BOWL. The biggest one you’ve got!
Then microwave 3 slices center-cut bacon until crisp. Here’s my muss/fuss-free way to microwave bacon with perfect results every time:
Lay bacon strips on a folded paper towel on a microwave-safe plate, then cover with another folded paper towel. Microwave for 1 minute then rotate the plate 1/4 turn and microwave for 30 more seconds. Continue rotating and cooking in 30 second increments until the bacon is nice and crisp, about 2-3 minutes, then let it cool and chop it up. Done!
While the bacon’s cooling, start chopping the rest of the autumnal (there’s that word again!) toppings for the salad, including 1 pear. Whatever variety is your fave – bartlett, bosch, asian, etc. – is perfect.
Next chop up 1 apple. This here is an organic Pink Lady. A juicy Honeycrisp would be the ULTIMATE, but they’re still $3.99/lb around here which I’m not desperate enough to pay…yet.
To the lettuce, pear, and apple, add 1/4 cup each dried cranberries, chopped peanuts, and crumbled feta cheese.
Toss in the slightly cooled bacon, then it’s time to get dressed!
Madison recommends dressing the salad in a mixture of poppy seed salad dressing and balsamic vinaigrette, which I thought was brilliant – I always forget about PSD! I didn’t have any balsamic vinaigrette in the house, so I just threw a shot of balsamic vinegar into the mix, and it turned out awesome.
Give the salad a thorough toss to coat every bite in the dressing mixture (this is where having a BIG bowl comes in handy!) then divide between 2 big plates and shovel enjoy. :)
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Autumn Chopped Salad
Description
Autumn Chopped Salad highlights delicious fall flavors like pears, apples, roasted peanuts, and dried cranberries.
Ingredients
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 3 slices center-cut bacon
- 1 pear, chopped
- 1 apple, chopped
- 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup Poppy Seed Salad Dressing (or more or less)
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (or more or less)
Directions
- Lay bacon strips down on a folded paper towel on a microwave-safe plate, then cover with another folded paper towel. Microwave for 1 minute then rotate the plate 1/4 turn and microwave for 30 more seconds. Continue rotating and cooking in 30 second increments until the bacon is crisp, then let cool and chop up.
- Add cooled bacon, romaine lettuce, pear, apple, peanuts, dried cranberries, and feta cheese into a very large bowl, then add salad dressing and balsamic vinegar to taste. Toss well then serve immediately.
Notes
Barely adapted from Espresso & Cream
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
A feast for the eyes, and the stomach! Ben and I licked our bowls clean when I made this for dinner the other night, although we both had different ways of getting there…
Ben eats all his toppings first then uses the lettuce to “fill in the cracks”, while I prefer to eat all the lettuce first and save all the yummy toppings for “dessert”. To each their own, I suppose. Either way, enjoy!
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes 09.29.2012
I always save the best parts of a salad for last. This looks amazing! Definitely bookmarking :)
The Weekend Dish 9/29/2012 09.28.2012
[…] Autumn Chopped Salad (Iowa Girl Eats) I love a lot of “stuff” in my salads (a la Elaine from Seinfeld) and this one is right up my alley! […]
Friday Favorites | Iowa Girl Eats 09.28.2012
[…] Bacon-cheddar cornbread >>> cheddar cornbread!Favorite crunch: Honeycrisps. Well, I finally caved. Soooooo worth it! These might have been the best, most crisp and sweet Honeycrisps I’ve ever […]
sunshine 09.28.2012
This was delicious!
autumn chopped salad. | Cooking Pics 09.26.2012
[…] autumn chopped salad. /* […]
Ruth 09.25.2012
I saw this recipe yesterday and had to try it for lunch today! I reduced the bacon and added chicken for some extra protein. It was delicious!
Julia 09.25.2012
Love this combination of flavors! Your photos look gorgeous!
Gravel Naperville 09.25.2012
What a gorgeous salad! Absolutely beautiful and full of color and flavor!
Ellen 09.25.2012
I’m a new reader, and I LOVE your recipes! I’ve tried a couple of them, including this salad tonight; so, so good! Thanks for sharing them! :)
Cathy 09.25.2012
I’m going to the local farmstand to get some apples and pears to make this tasty salad!! BTW, saw the end of THE CHEW today and I think Chef Morimoto was on it. Guest chefs had made cakes and he made a Sushi cake.
Life's a Bowl 09.25.2012
So much YUM in one bowl! One bowl, one serving?! If I made it I don’t think I would be good at sharing [hehe] :P
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe 09.25.2012
LOVE big salads like this!
I was just complaining the other day about restaurant side salads – there seems to be a plethora of places that mix lettuce and grated carrot together and call it a side salad. Pathetic!
Adrienne @ Midwestern Belle 09.25.2012
I agree…good toppings are a must for a great salad! Can’t just have a big pile o’ lettuce. Can’t wait to try this one :)
Katie @ Blonde Ambition 09.25.2012
This looks sooo hearty and delicious! Even though I’m usually a “dessert for last” type of gal (e.g. I ALWAYS eat the marshmallows last out of my Lucky Charms!), when it comes to salads, I am more of a fan of all my bites including an equal ratio of lettuce-to-topping..
I can’t believe I just broke that down for all the internet to see….Yay for foodnerds?
Rachael {SimplyFreshCooking} 09.25.2012
Pretty salad!!
Renea B. 09.25.2012
I want one right now!! Yum.
Sara 09.25.2012
I just found this recipe on Pinterest a few months ago – it looks delcious! Now I have to try it! I love the dollar section at Target too – you never know what you might find! :)
Rach 09.25.2012
Oh Yum!!! your blog is some serious food porn!!! haha
xo Rach
rachiecakes-rachael.blogspot.com
Anne Weber-Falk 09.25.2012
This salad is being printed out, in Color, as I write. It’s going on the fridge so I can make this all season long. My favorite way to eat this is to make sure I have some of everything on the fork. The flavors and textures together in my mouth as I crunch away…yum! Thanks for another great recipe and all the ideas that go with it.
Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats 09.25.2012
Hahah I eat all the lettuce first too!! The toppings are totally best when saved for last :)