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The easiest Apple Walnut Salad Recipe with homemade Balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Quick and effortless to make, the perfect balance or sweet and savory flavors, easy to customize. This salad takes less than 15 minutes to make. The dressing could be prepared in advance. Great for lunch, dinner or to serve at a party.
Apple walnut salad has been a favorite of mine for a while.
Biting into crisp apples, paired with fresh greens, flavorful onions, crunchy walnuts, savory blue cheese (or Feta) and the easiest homemade Balsamic dressing has been very satisfying.
Make it in advance and take as your lunch to work. Add grilled chicken to make it a complete meal.
What kind of apples to use?
Apples in a salad, what kind should you use?
I usually use firm and crisp Granny Smith apples in most of my salads, but for this particular one I tend to stick to Gala or Fuji.
These are the kinds of apples that I usually buy during fall and winder to snack on at home. This is why I used them in my favorite fall/winter inspired salad. Pink Lady, Honeycrisp or Empire apples will work well here.
Certain kinds of apples tend to brown more quickly than others. Make sure you cut them right before you are ready to add to the salad, to prevent browning.
TIP: If you fill a bowl with cold water and add some salt to it, then add the sliced apples and leave them in the bowl, while you are making your salad, the apples won’t brown. Simply rinse them or just add to the salad like that.
TO CUT: Use a knife to cut an apple on one side as close to the core as possible. Repeat on all sides. Slice each piece into thin slices, by placing it cut side down.
Ingredients:
- The greens – a bag of mixed greens or chopped romaine lettuce will do it. I don’t like a lot of arugula (or any) for this particular salad.
- Red onions or shallots – for this kind of a salad, I prefer red (purple) onions or shallots, because of their mild flavor.
- Roasted walnuts – you can use store bought roasted walnut halves or roast them in the oven yourself. Sprinkle with some salt and bake at 300 F for 10-15 min.
- Blue cheese – the creamier the better. If you are not a fan or blue cheese, you can use Feta cheese or completely omit this ingredient.
- The apples – we already discussed the apples above. Honestly, any apples of your choice will work. The salad flavor will vary, depending on the type of apples used. I used Gala apples. Just slice them with a knife, no fancy apple corer needed.
- Olive oil (vegetable or grape seed oil will work)
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Salt
- Oregano (optional)
- Garlic powder (optional)
- Dijon Mustard
- Sugar, Honey or Maple syrup
Dressing:
This easy apple walnut salad recipe uses a simple homemade dressing with Balsamic vinegar.
The dressing is amazing and pairs well with other green salads like this Filet Mignon Salad recipe.
Of course you can use another salad dressing of your choice.
If you don’t have Balsamic vinegar in your hands, you can use white balsamic vinegar or Balsamic glaze. If you don’t have any of these, a simple dressing of olive oil, white vinegar, salt and a little bit of liquid sweetener or honey will do it.
More salad recipes:
- The best homemade steak salad recipe
- Strawberry spinach salad – a great combination of sweet and savory flavors
- Keto broccoli salad recipe – crunchy broccoli with creamy, sugar free dressing
Apple Walnut Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 6 cups mixed greens, I used lettuce, spinach and arugula
- 1 apple, of your choice - cored and thinly sliced
- 1 small red onion, or shallot, diced
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/3 cup roasted walnuts, chopped
For the Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing:
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar, honey or maple syrup
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- Pinch of garlic powder, optional
Instructions
For the dressing:
- Combine all ingredients in a jar with a lid. Shake a few times to incorporate.
- Use in the salad.
For the salad:
- Divide the greens between two salad bowls.
- Add half of the apple, cheese, onion and walnuts to each bowl.
- Drizzle dressing on top. Serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yum ! Your recipe look awesome. Love this salad