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Cranberry Pecan Apple Salad Recipe

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This Cranberry Pecan Apple Salad Recipe is full of delicious and healthy ingredients for an amazing fresh salad filled with tons of flavor. It’s colorful, delicious, and perfect for everyday eats or for any gathering.   

cranberry pecan apple salad in a white bowl


 

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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the 
recipe card at the bottom of the post. 
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.

One thing I love to make is a BIG SALAD. Every time I think of a salad, I think of Elaine on Seinfeld and how she loved ordering a big salad from their favorite diner. I have no clue what was in that big salad, but I imagine it was pretty amazing. 

This big salad is one of my favorites and it’s one I’ve been showing up to our get-togethers with. It’s bright, colorful, and full of lots of healthy and yummy ingredients.

This salad is filled with apples, cranberries, spinach, red onion, and topped with creamy goat cheese, sugared pecans, and a sweet and tangy dressing. It is a salad recipe that everyone will ask you the recipe for.

Here’s how I make it.

How to make Cranberry Pecan Apple Salad

Grab a mandolin and thinly slice your red apples and red onions. The thin slices of apple and red onion create the perfect bite when eating the salad with the other ingredients.

If you don’t have a mandolin, you can just chop these ingredients into bite-sized pieces. 

Place the apple slices in a large salad bowl and squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the apple slices and toss, ensuring all apple slices get covered in the lemon juice. This is so your apples don’t turn brown.

apple slices in bowl

Then add spinach mix, apple slices, red onion slices, cranberries, sugared pecans, and goat cheese to the bowl. Use salad tongs and toss these ingredients together. Set aside. 

Make the salad dressing

In a small mason jar, add apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, white sugar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Cover and shake vigorously, for about 20-30 seconds, until salad dressing has thickened.

close up photo of yellow salad dressing in mason jar

When ready to serve, lightly pour dressing over salad greens and toss.

Serve and enjoy.  

cranberry pecan apple salad in a white bowl

Helpful Tips: 

  • It’s best to wait until right before serving to pour the dressing on. If you put the dressing on too early, the spinach leaves will wilt. Your salad will still taste good, it just won’t be as pretty. 
  • I use my Sugared Pecans for the chopped pecans in this recipe. I just give them a quick pulse in my mini food processor to chop them up a bit.
  • This is a great base salad that can be changed up in a few ways:
    • Apples – I use red delicious apples (for color and tartness) but a thinly sliced granny apple is great in this salad too. 
    • A thinly sliced shallot is a great sub for the red onion.
    • Need protein? Baked chicken breast or drained chickpeas are a great addition if you are looking for more of a meal.
  • Feel free to double or triple the dressing and keep it on the side. This stuff is pretty good on all kinds of greens.

Looking for other big salad recipes? Try these out:

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5 from 1 vote

Cranberry Pecan Apple Salad

This Cranberry Pecan Apple Salad is the perfect light and delicious salad. It’s made with healthy ingredients and topped with delicious creamy goat cheese, sugared pecans, and a sweet and tangy dijon vinegarette.
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword apple salad recipe, cranberry apple salad recipe, winter salad recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 257kcal
Author Tanya

Ingredients

  • 2 red apples thinly sliced on a mandolin
  • 2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 4-5 cups spinach salad mix
  • ½ red onion thinly sliced on a mandolin
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ½ cup sugared pecans chopped
  • 4 Tablespoon goat cheese chopped or crumbled

Salad Dressing

  • 2 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1.5 Tablespoon white sugar
  • 1.5 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 4 Tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Place the apple slices in a large salad bowl and squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the apple slices and toss, ensuring all apple slices get covered in the lemon juice.
  • In a large salad bowl, add spinach salad mix, red apples, red onion, dried cranberries, sugared pecans, and goat cheese. Toss to combine. Set aside.
  • In a small mason jar, add apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, white sugar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Cover and shake vigorously, for about 20-30 seconds, until salad dressing has thickened.
  • When ready to serve, lightly pour dressing over salad greens and toss. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

  • It’s best to wait until right before serving to pour the dressing on.
  • Feel free to double or triple the dressing and keep it on the side. This stuff is pretty good on all kinds of greens.

Nutrition

Calories: 257kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 234mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 2005IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
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Recipe Rating




Olivia

Monday 20th of November 2023

Which store bought dressing is a good alternative to the Dijon vinagrette.

Olivia

Tuesday 21st of November 2023

@Tanya,thank you. Happy Holidays

Tanya

Tuesday 21st of November 2023

Hi Olivia, I've never used a store bought dressing or this, so I'm not sure which brand is best. A raspberry vinaigrette would likely make a good sub if you're not a fan of the dijon.

Janki Patel

Sunday 20th of November 2022

Can the salad be mixed without dressing and set aside the day before?

Tanya

Sunday 20th of November 2022

Hi Janki, yes it can be.

Jane

Monday 3rd of January 2022

Hi Tanya this looks fabulous but do you have any recommendations for a substitute for the cheese. Thankyou

Jane

Saturday 8th of January 2022

@Tanya, thank you for your quick reply. Happy new year to you

Tanya

Tuesday 4th of January 2022

Hi Jane, I would just leave it out if you don't want the cheese. Goat cheese is pretty light in flavor and it's more for the texture. If you want a different cheese, feta works well.

Kim

Friday 26th of November 2021

Where does the lemon juice come in?

Tanya

Saturday 27th of November 2021

Hi Kim, the lemon juice is to toss the apple slices so they don't turn brown. Just realized I mentioned it in the post but it wasn't in the recipe card. Thanks for letting me know. I'll make sure to update that :)

Peachie

Tuesday 17th of December 2019

Looks delicious.

Happy Holidays.

Tanya

Wednesday 18th of December 2019

Thank you! Happy Holidays to you as well :)