French Salad with Brie and Pears is a wonderful option for those nights when you want to eat a salad but you desire a bit more than just a simple Green Salad. This French Salad recipe is perfect when you want to eat low carb meal without sacrificing on taste and nutrition. Butter lettuce, French green beans, radishes, and pears add a healthy dose of vitamins; and walnuts – give you some healthy fats; and finally the brie cheese – will provide you with needed protein. This salad is naturally gluten-free, and oh so delicious!
Pair this wonderful French Salad with a French Vinaigrette and you’ll surely be making both of these over and over.
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French Salad with Brie and Pears – Perfect Meal to Keep Up with Your Resolutions
I know that a lot of you are on a health kick for the beginning of this New Year (keep the fight alive). Regardless of whether it’s in furtherance of resolution, I know that many of you find it important to eat meals that are low in carbs. Well rest easy, this French Salad is here to help you out. It is super delicious and super quick to make. It is packed with nutrients and is very low in carbs.
Yes, it has a pear in the ingredients and if you want to avoid any sugar, then replace it with, for example, a cucumber. I love pears and I think that their nutritional value outweighs the little bit of sugar that it naturally contains (and it’s not refined sugar, so you should feel better about that).
And yes, this salad has a brie cheese in it, which is not necessarily low in calories, but it’s full of protein and will help you stay full longer. However, if you want to avoid it, then I’d substitute it with hard-boiled egg if you still want to have this salad as a meal.
Ingredients Needed to Make this French Salad
The ingredients list for this salad is very simple and short:
- Butter lettuce;
- French green beans (they are slimmer than regular green beans and they cook much faster)
- Radishes;
- Pears;
- Walnuts (toasted)
- Brie cheese; &
- French Salad Dressing
How to Make French Salad with Brie and Pears
Step 1: In a pot, bring water to boil. Add salt and cook French green beans for about 3-4 minutes until they’re crispy. In the meantime. prepare ice water in a bowl. Transfer the beans to the bowl with ice water to stop the cooking process. Once the beans are cooled off, transfer them onto the paper towel to dry them out.
Step 2: Remove the core from the lettuce (discard leaves that do not look good) and place the remaining leaves in cold water – let them sit there for a few minutes to make sure that all the sand and dirt will drop to the bottom of the bowl. You may also want to rinse the leaves under the running water. Then transfer the leaves in batches to the Lettuce Dryer (affiliate link) and dry them well.
Step 3: Thinly chop radishes, pears and brie cheese.
Step 4: Assemble the salad. Add as follows: lettuce, green beans, radishes, walnuts, pears, and brie. Dress with a French Vinaigrette and enjoy!
Equipment Needed to Make French Salad
- Cutting Board (affiliate link) to chop the radishes and pears
- Set of Knives (affiliate link) – this set is awesome; ….I got it for my birthday and I don’t know how I used to cook without it;
- Lettuce Dryer (affiliate link) – this is a game changer if you want to use fresh lettuce;
- Medium Pot (affiliate link), to boil the beans;
- Glass Bowl (affiliate link), to soak the lettuce and cool off the beans;
- Oval platter (affiliate link) to serve – you will need it only if you want to serve it the way I did it; otherwise, a bowl will be fine.
What to Serve this Salad with
This salad may be served as a vegetarian main dish (with crusty bread), or it could double as a side dish. Here are a couple of suggestions of what to pair it with:
- Chicken Chasseur (French Country Chicken);
- Chicken Provencal with Shallots and Garlic;
- Olive Oil Chicken Mediterranean Style;
- Or with Soups like:
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups Butter Lettuce
- 1 cup French Green Beans
- 3 Radishes medium size, finely sliced
- 1/2 Pear thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Brie cheese sliced or cubed
- 1/4 Roasted Walnuts
- 1/2 Cup French Salad Dressing
Instructions
- In a pot, bring water to boil. Add salt and cook French green beans for about 3-4 minutes until they're crispy. In the meantime. prepare ice water in a bowl. Transfer the beans to the bowl with ice water to stop the cooking process. Once the beans are cooled off, transfer them onto the paper towel to dry them out.
- Remove the core from the lettuce (discard leaves that do not look good) and place the remaining leaves in cold water - let them sit there for a few minutes to make sure that all the sand and dirt will drop to the bottom of the bowl. You may also want to rinse the leaves under the running water. Then transfer the leaves in batches to the Salad Dryer and dry them well.
- Thinly chop radishes, pears and brie cheese.
- Assemble the salad. Add as follows: lettuce, green beans, radishes, walnuts, pears, and brie. Dress with a French Vinaigrette and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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What a delicious recipe! Loving the flavors in this one!
Thank you Kim!
This salad looks so flavorful & filling – and I have been known to eat a salad for breakfast!
Thanks Jillian
Love the choice of ingredients and dressing to this delicious and colorful Salad. Great Salad for my next weekend Dinner with family.
Thanks Veena!
I love simple salad recipes especially ones filled with delicious vegetables and crunchy nuts. This looks great for a side to dinner or a nice lunch.
Absolutely! Thanks a lot Erin.
Every salad you make causes drool reaction ;). And that rarely happens with a salad. I’m making this salad. Looks so, so delicious!!
Thanks so much Mary!
Absolutely wonderful….you are a terrific chef! Thanks.
Thank you very much Norma.