A simple, old-fashioned Fall salad with walnuts and apples that is ready in 20 minutes. With a handful of ingredients and a quick dressing, it combines juicy crunchiness with baby greens, salty feta cheese and a tangy cider dressing. It's a great option for a light lunch, holiday dinners and potlucks.
Holiday option
If you're looking for a fresh and tasty way to enjoy apples that doesn't include the oven, this recipe is a must to add to your salad recipes for special occasions.
There's crunch and sweetness combined with a tangy dressing and salty cheese. You have a unique sweet-tart flavor and a crisp bite. It's all in the mix of textures.
Though apples are a fall staple, they're available year-round, so this salad (just like the old-fashioned Waldorf salad) is great for potlucks, weeknight dinners, and holidays to add some color and freshness to the table.
For those of us living in the southern hemisphere, the holidays are celebrated during the summer, so fresh and unique drinks and salads are necessary. Our holiday menu often features it for Christmas dinner, together with this apple slaw and apple cider sangria.
Testing notes
Greens: make sure they're thoroughly dried after washing them to prevent sogginess.
Use red apples: I favor them over the tart green ones I use for baked goods, as they are sweeter and not as sharply flavored. Apple season offers a variety of red ones, so choose your favorite. I like Red Delicious, Honeycrisp apples, Fuji and Gala apples.
Nuts, raw or toasted? Both work, but lightly toasting the walnuts (or pecans) deepens the nutty flavor in the best way. You can do it ahead of time. Make sure the nuts are completely cooled down before using them.
Raisins or cranberries: make sure they're plump and soft! Old, dry raisins are not nice to bite into and can ruin the salad.
Assemble it at the last moment to maintain freshness. You can prepare the dressing and wash and dry the greens in advance (keep them in airtight containers in layers, separated by paper towels). Also, consider serving the dressing on the side and adding it just before eating to keep the salad crisp.
This is a salad to eat on the same day.
Ingredients
Quantities are listed in the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
- Baby greens: I use baby or wild arugula (rocket) and baby spinach as they're more tender than their 'grown-up' counterparts. But they all work. You can also use only one.
- Cheese: feta and soft goat cheese are my favorites for this recipe.
- Shallots: They have a mellow flavor. If not available, use red onion that is sharper but works well.
- Oil: My first choice is olive oil, but the dressing works just as well with sunflower oil.
- Dijon mustard: I use smooth Dijon mustard or grainy mustard (ancienne or country mustard). I didn't have the same flavor results with regular mustards (for hot dogs and such), but it's your choice.
Variations & substitutions
- Greens: Use a different type of mixed greens. They might include some kale, radicchio and lettuce.
- Use another nut instead of walnuts. Pecans, almonds and hazelnuts all work. Go a step further and caramelize them first for a sweeter and crunchier bite.
- Citrus: add orange juice to the dressing, substituting for some of the vinegar. Or use lemon juice instead of the cider vinegar.
- Add protein: turn this beautiful salad into a hearty meal by adding leftover turkey, tofu, chicken breasts or boneless thighs (shredded or cubed, grilled or roasted).
- Grains: add cooked quinoa or rice (basmati, yamani or wild rice).
- Cheese: halloumi or ricotta salata are other alternatives for this fall salad. You can use blue cheese, and be careful with the amount, as it can be overpowering.
- Sweeter dressing: Use a honey dressing like the one in the pomegranate salad, or the honey mustard dressing used for the pear arugula salad. They also work with maple syrup.
How to assemble this salad
Apple salad dressing: I like using a blender or mixer to emulsify it better; the ingredients don't separate as much or as quickly. If mixing by hand, you must whisk or shake it well before serving.
If using a deep salad bowl, make two layers so you don't have to toss it too much to serve. Dress the greens first, transfer half of them to the bowl and scatter half the add-ons. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients. This way, you don't have to toss the salad to mix it up before serving, as the bottom of the salad is dressed.
The same goes for a shallow platter, but sometimes it's large enough to make one single layer.
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Classic Apple Walnut Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 4 cups packed baby greens, I use arugula, butter lettuce, spinach and radicchio (a small amount) washed and dried
- ½ shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 red apple, unpeeled and thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup raisins, or dried cranberries
- ¼ cup crumbled feta , or goat cheese
For the vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ cup olive or sunflower oil
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste, freshly ground if possible
Instructions
- For the vinaigrette: stir together 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard, ½ cup olive or sunflower oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl. They will not completely emulsify, and you can use the blender to make a creamier, more integrated dressing. I use the immersion blender as the regular one is too large for this small amount of dressing, but you can.
- Place 4 cups packed baby greens in a large bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette and lightly toss. Transfer to the serving platter.
- Scatter and sprinkle ½ shallot, 1 red apple, ⅓ cup walnuts, ¼ cup raisins and ¼ cup crumbled feta over, arranging the thin apple slices in clusters.
- Drizzle with a little more vinaigrette and serve.
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