Apple Walnut Salad
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This Apple Walnut Salad is delicious and easy to make. Combining simple fresh ingredients that are great for a fall salad meal prep!
If you think salads have to be boring, please allow this fall Apple Walnut Salad recipe to change your mind!
Loaded with seasonal apples, crisp red onions, and crumbly feta, topped with a tangy balsamic vinaigrette, this salad is perfect for lunch, meal prep, or as a holiday side dish. This salad has a great balance of sweetness and acidity.
This Apple Walnut Feta Salad is so fresh, vibrant, and vegetarian-friendly! The perfect fall dish packed with so much flavor!
For other delicious salad dressing recipes, check out these Healthy Salad Dressings! For other apple recipes check out these Healthy Apple Recipes!
why we love this apple walnut salad recipe
There is a lot to love about this apple salad. It’s one of our favorites for a hearty salad because it’s:
- Quick and Easy: This salad recipe only takes 15 minutes to make and is even quicker if you already have roasted walnuts.
- Versatile: Salads are such a great way to mix and match whatever toppings you want! Check the green box below for our suggestions.
- Great for meal prep: Because it lasts well in the fridge, this salad is great for meal prep!
Ingredients:
Here’s what you need to make the best fall salad:
- walnut halves (raw or roasted walnut halves work well)
- lettuce
- red onion
- dried cranberries (you could use craisins or raisins as well)
- feta cheese
- apple (granny smith apples or honeycrisp apples are our favorite)
Ingredients for the vinaigrette:
- extra virgin olive oil (make sure to use a high quality brand like this one
- balsamic vinegar
- dijon mustard
- maple syrup
- garlic, salt & black pepper to taste
Substitutions
Apples: Gala, Granny Smith, Fiji, Honeycrisp, or any other crunchy variety will work!
Lettuce: You can use green or red leaf lettuce, spinach, romaine, arugula, etc.
Nuts: Use walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc, whatever you prefer.
Cranberries: Feel free to use raisins or any other dried fruit of your liking. You can also skip them.
Dairy-free: To make this salad dairy free, replace regular feta cheese with a dairy-free variety or skip it.
Feta: Sub feta for goat cheese or blue cheese.
Olive Oil: You can use avocado oil in place of olive oil.
Dijon Mustard: Using whole-grain or stone-ground mustard instead will do the trick.
Additional toppings: Feel free to add more or fewer toppings. Homemade Croutons would be great!
How to Make Apple Walnut Salad
- Prep the Walnuts- Spread walnuts in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 6-7 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Immediately transfer them to a cutting board to cool, then roughly chop them.
- Make the Vinaigrette– Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Whisk together to combine.
- Assemble the salad– In a large bowl, add the chopped lettuce and half of the red onions, cranberries, feta cheese, apple slices, and walnuts.
- Add a few tablespoons of the salad dressing and toss the salad together.
How to Serve:
Serve it on the side of any main dish, add some protein (like baked boneless chicken breast, baked chicken tenders, healthy tuna salad or slow cooker pulled pork), or enjoy it as is and make it a complete vegetarian friendly meal of its own.
Just don’t forget to drizzle the creamy balsamic dressing over top! You could also top with pumpkin seeds and goat cheese. Try pairing it with Red Wine Sangria.
You can also serve this with Healthy Chicken Salad on top – we have that for lunch all the time!
For a classic soup and salad pairing, serve with our Chicken Corn Chowder.
Storage Options:
Storing: Keep the apple salad separate from the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days; dress immediately before serving.
Separating: The dressing may separate in a glass jar in the refrigerator. If it does just shake vigorously or quickly blend again!
Other healthy salad recipes:
Looking for other easy fresh salad recipes? Check out these healthy salad recipes:
Apple Walnut Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1/2 cup walnut halves
- 8-9 cups chopped red or green leaf lettuce
- 1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup sliced apple medium apple- cored and thinly sliced
Vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 clove- finely minced
- sprinkle salt & black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spread walnuts out in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 6-7 minutes, or until golden and fragrant.
- When walnuts are cooked, immediately transfer to a cutting board to cool, then roughly chop them.
- Make the dressing. To a mixing bowl or container, add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Whisk together to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
- In a large serving bowl, add the chopped lettuce and half of the red onions, cranberries, feta cheese, apple slices, and walnuts.
- Add a few tablespoons of the dressing and toss the salad together.
- Continue adding dressing to your preferred taste, or serve it on an individual basis. Top the salad bowl with the remaining cranberries, feta, walnuts, and apples. Serve immediately!
Made this salad as a side dish for a thanksgiving potluck and let me tell you… EVERYONE loved it!! None leftover! I made more the next day to have as an easy lunch/ dinner with a protein on the side. The dressing was absolutely delicious and super easy to put together! My favorite fall inspired salad. Thank you for such a simple yet tasty recipe!