Spinach & Pear Salad with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This Spinach & Pear Salad with Roasted Brussels Sprouts has the perfect balance between roasted brussels sprouts, sweet pears, crunchy cashews and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  It's all your favorite flavors coming together into a delicious and healthy salad!

Before I start telling everyone how amazing this recipe is, I want you to know how obsessed I am with salads.

I could eat a salad for every meal of the week.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Sitting down with a big bowl of lettuce and mixed vegetables, topped with nuts or seeds and a tangy vinaigrette (and possibly a glass of wine) is totally my happy place.

With that being said, I have consumed a ton of salads and created my fair share of recipes.  But this Spinach Pear Salad with Roasted Brussels Sprouts is my all new fav.  Don't believe me? Just try it!

Building the perfect salad can be a tricky thing.  I love having many components to my salads, mainly so I don't get bored with them.  Nobody wants to have the same recipe everyday.  That is what makes salads so great!  You can transform them many different ways, just by adding or subtracting a few ingredients.

One thing I have learned is that you don't want to have too much of one ingredient.  An excess of salty or sweet ingredients can ruin your entire dish.  Believe me, I've done it once or twice.

WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED?

• 3-4 cups of Brussels sprouts
• 4 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon each: salt/pepper/garlic powder
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1 pear
• ¼ cup roasted (unsalted) cashews
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Fresh Parmesan Cheese- if desired

HOW DO I MAKE SPINACH & PEAR SALAD WITH ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS?

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees.  To prepare the brussels sprouts, trim off what remains of the stem and slice each sprout in half (I used approximately 3-4 cups of brussels sprouts). Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

**I did not use precise measurements for this, mainly because it is all about your preference.  (I would guestimate that I used about ½ teaspoon of salt/pepper/garlic powder and 2 tablespoon of olive oil. ) Bake the sprouts for approximately 20 minutes.

While the sprouts are cooking, I take this time to prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.  Wash 4 cups of baby spinach and put in a large bowl.  Add in 1 sliced pear and ¼ cup roasted (unsalted) cashews.

Once the brussels sprouts are finished baking add them to the salad and toss all the ingredients.

For the dressing, I simply drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Once again, use your judgement on the amounts. (I used approximately 2 tablespoon of each ingredient).  To finish, top your salad with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and you are set.

This Spinach Pear Salad with Roasted Brussels Sprouts will rival any fancy restaurant salad out there.  Enjoy it as an entree or a side dish for your next weeknight meal.

It's a great family recipe that is low in calories but super high in flavor!