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Celery Pear and Hazelnut Salad

December 20, 2023

Crisp celery, hazelnuts, fresh pear and shaved fennel bulb are tossed in a sweet, tart pear vinaigrette to make for a healthy, refreshing holiday side dish that’s packed with seasonal flavors.

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Celery Pear Salad with hazelnuts fennel and tarragon in a bowl

4 More Fantastic Seasonal Salads.

A Crunchy, Healthy Autumnal Salad Recipe

We’re so in love with this crunchy, fresh, sweet-tart hazelnut, pear and celery salad recipe. While it makes a truly lovely Thanksgiving salad, alongside our Endive and Roquefort Salad with Pear Vinaigrette or Radicchio Salad with Crème Fraîche Vinaigrette, it’s also a terrific everyday treat for fall and winter. Try serving it as a light lunch, or bring it to a winter dinner party along with our Christmas Salad—it travels beautifully, and can even be dressed a bit ahead of time. We like to make it a complete meal, starting with our Pear and Burrata Crostini, and serving it with Baked Chicken and Creamed Brussels Sprouts.

celery, fennel and pear salad with parmesan, hazelnuts and golden raisins

Ingredients You’ll Need To Make This Fall Salad

With hearty ingredients like celery and fennel bulb—and notably lacking in tender salad greens—this autumnal salad is ideal for making ahead! We just love the fact that you’ll be able to prep all of the components for this salad a day or two ahead of time, and even once it’s dressed and on the table, the celery and fennel will stay crunchy. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this earthy salad:

  • Celery

  • Fennel bulb

  • Pears

  • Hazelnuts

  • Shaved Parmesan

  • Golden raisins

  • Tarragon

  • Olive oil

  • Apple cider vinegar

  • Honey

  • Lemon

a bowl of hazelnuts and 3 pears
honey pear dressing with tarragon

How To Make The Best Raw Fennel Salad

Raw fennel bulb, sliced super thinly and tossed with celery and pears and the nutty crunch of hazelnuts, makes for a truly transcendent salad experience. This is a seriously restaurant-y salad, in the best way.

  1. Begin by chopping everything! If you’re making the salad a day or two ahead of time, chop everything except for the pears, because they’ll turn brown.

  2. Now make the dressing! Simply combine everything in a blender and purée until you’ve got a creamy, smooth pear dressing.

  3. Toss it all together! If you’re making the salad ahead, wait to dress it until close to the time you’re going to eat. It doesn’t have to be immediately before serving but try to wait until at least 30 minutes before serving.

Celery Pear Salad with hazelnuts fennel and tarragon in a bowl
Celery Pear Salad with hazelnuts fennel and tarragon in a bowl

Tools You’ll Need:

Leftover Celery? No Problem!

Put your extra celery to good use in one of these delicious Fall recipes.

Crunch Crunch Crunch

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Celery Pear and Hazelnut Salad

  • Serves:  8
  • Prep Time:  25 min
  • Cook Time:  0 min
  • Calories:  277

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

  • 1 large ripe pear, peeled and cored
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon

Salad

  • 8 celery ribs, thinly sliced
  • 1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
  • 1 to 2 pears, sliced or chopped
  • ½ cup hazelnuts, toasted, chopped, plus more for serving
  • ½ cup shaved parmesan
  • ½ cup golden raisins
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, chopped plus more for serving
  • Fennel fronds, for garnish, optional

Method

  1. Make the vinaigrette. In the base of a blender, combine the pear, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Stir in the minced tarragon.

  2. Make the salad. In a large bowl, toss together the celery, fennel bulb, pears, hazelnuts, parmesan, raisins, and tarragon. Add the dressing and toss to coat.

  3. Divide the salad among 8 bowls. Sprinkle with the fennel fronds, tarragon, and hazelnuts and serve.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories 277
  • Protein 4 g
  • Carbohydrates 23 g
  • Total Fat 20 g
  • Dietary Fiber 4 g
  • Cholesterol 6 mg
  • sodium 275 mg
  • Total Sugars 16 g

Celery Pear and Hazelnut Salad

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • Melissa

    Curious if you could beef up the salad with some greens or radicchio or something else? Or would that ruin the texture? TIA!

    We wouldn't just because it is a different type of salad rather than a typical green salad but doesn't hurt to try, we're sure it will still taste awesome by adding greens.

  • Jenn

    I LOVE all of the crunch in this salad! Thanks for this recipe!

    You're welcome, we are so glad you loved it!