Apple Walnut Salad
Our apple walnut salad is a delicious blend of apples, nuts, carrots, and mixed greens topped with a honey Dijon dressing that will compliment any dish. Very tasty and simple to make!
Salads with walnuts and apples are perfect for any time of year. They are wonderful in the summer, but also make a delicious fall salad as well. They add a little bit of nutrition and sunshine to any meal. This is one of our favorites because it’s very easy to make, very customizable, and so delicious you won’t notice how healthy it is!
If you love this recipe as much as we know you will, try some of our other favorite summer salads like our strawberry spinach salad, mandarin orange salad, or our grilled peach and berry summer salad.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Spring Mixed Greens – most mixes contain baby lettuce, spinach, red and green romaine, and much more.
- Carrots – if you want to add some more color to your dish, try using rainbow carrots.
- Apples – We recommend sweet red, crisp apples, but feel free to use your favorite apple.
- Walnuts – an excellent source of protein to add a texture and crunch to your salad. You can substitute with any other nuts.
- Honey Dijon Dressing – check out our recipe for homemade Honey Dijon Dressing here!
Feel free to customize your salad by adding garlic, red onion, dried cranberries, feta cheese, goat cheese, gorgonzola, salt and pepper, olive oil, or any other delicious ingredient you desire. Play with the recipe and customize it to your own taste.
If you want to make this side dish a main dish, try adding baked or grilled chicken!
Instructions
Step 1 – Wash and dry your produce -Wash and dry the greens, carrots, and apples.
Step 2 – Prepare carrots – Peel and trim the carrots. Next, use a peeler to cut long ribbons from the carrots lengthwise.
Step 3 – Prepare apples – Remove the apple core and cut your apple into ½ inch pieces. You can peel the apples if you wish, but it is not necessary.
Step 4 – Assemble salad – Place your greens, carrot ribbons, apple slices, and walnuts in a large bowl and drizzle with honey Dijon salad dressing before tossing.
Step 5 – Serve – For best results, serve the salad immediately.
We highly recommend a sweet red apple for this apple walnut salad. Our favorites are fuji, gala, pink lady, or honey crisp, but you can use any apple you like. If you prefer something tart, you can use a green granny smith apple or mix half green and half red to balance the flavor in the salad.
We love crunchy walnuts with apples, but you can mix and match with any nuts you like. Pecans, almonds, or even pine nuts would make a great addition to this salad. If you prefer you could also substitute the nuts with sunflower seeds or simply add them in with the nuts.
Our honey Dijon dressing is our favorite for this salad. However, it also pairs nicely with the citrus dressing we use on our mandarin orange salad. If neither of those peak your interest, we also have a great dressing for homemade blue cheese dressing .
If you had rather a store-bought dressing, we recommend using a balsamic vinaigrette or a slightly sweet vinaigrette such as champagne vinaigrette or raspberry vinaigrette. Those would be best to bring out the sweetness of the apples.
How to Store It
Salads are best when they are served as soon as you make them. Since apples turn brown once they are cut, we recommend you assemble the salad, then dress and serve it immediately.
If you like to meal prep you can cut and wash your lettuce and shave your carrots up to 2 days in advance and store in air tight containers in the refrigerator. We do recommend that you do not prepare the carrots or add the dressing until you are ready to serve the salad.
Looking for More Easy Salad Recipes?
- Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad
- Easy Cucumber and Tomatoes Salad
- Mandarin Orange Salad with Citrus Dressing
- Waldorf Salad Recipe
- Spicy Southwest Salad
- Endive Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
- Panzanella Salad – Italian Bread Salad
- More Salad Recipes…
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Apple Walnut Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ounces Spring Mixed Greens
- 5 ounces Carrots
- 1 large Apple, should be a sweet red apple
- 1 ounce Walnuts
- ½ cup Honey Dijon Dressing
Instructions
- Wash and dry the greens, carrots, and apples.
- Peel the outer skin off of the carrots and then use a peeler to cut long ribbons from the carrots lengthwise.
- Prepare the apple by removing the apple core and then cutting the apple into ½ inch pieces.
- Place greens, carrot ribbons, apples, and walnuts in a large bowl and drizzle with honey dijon dressing before tossing.
- Serve immediately.