Apple Walnut Salad
This Apple Salad with Candied Walnuts and Apple dressing is a delicious apple salad recipe that is perfect for fall and a great all year-round salad and perfect for entertaining too. Fresh salad greens of your choice tossed and topped with fresh, crisp apples, candied walnuts, cranberries, bacon, feta, red onion, and finally drizzled with a quick and easy apple dressing. The tasty tangy sweet apple dressing is oh so good - not only is there apple cider vinegar but I also love to add in some apple butter or apple sauce to add more apple flavour to ever bit of this salad - totally optional but recommended.
Apple Walnut Salad Ingredients:
- Lettuce Greens: You can literally use whatever salad greens you like - use Romaine lettuce, spring mix, red leaf lettuce, baby spinach or baby kale, arugula or do a blend of a few.
- Apples: I love using a sweet red apples variety to complement the salty bacon and tangy feta like gala, red delicious, fuji or honey crisp but you can go tart too with some Granny Smith. Feel free to use any type of apples you like or have on hand. I like my apple thinly sliced but feel free to chop them into chunks – whatever your personal preference is
- Dried cranberries & Pumpkin Seeds: Dried cranberries are always welcome in a fall salad but you can substitute with other dried fruit like dried cherries or even raisins or raisins. Pumpkin seeds add the perfect crunch to the salad - but can be substituted with sunflower seeds, sliced almonds or other chopped nuts. I like to use toasted pepitas or pumpkin seeds but that is optional.
- Bacon: Its totally optional to add cooked crispy crumbled bacon but I do recommend it - it’s salty and a fabulous add in
- Red Onion: I think it’s a must to add to the salad but you can substitute with.
- Feta cheese: feta is the perfect salty briny add in but you can also use your favorite crumbled cheese such as goat cheese, blue cheese or Gorgonzola cheese
- Caramelized/Candied Walnuts: The caramelized walnuts add a sweet crunch to this salad - this is a quick candied recipe that I love and is perfect for salads. It is hard to not eat them all before adding them to the salad. Add as many as you like to the salad and feel free to swap the walnuts with pecans if you prefer. If you would like a variation you can toss in the pumpkin seeds in to get candied with the walnuts.
- Optional Add Ins: Feel free to add extra veggies like red bell pepper, cucumbers, chopped celery, sliced avocado or even broccoli. You can even add in some protein to the salad like adding some chickpeas, or leftover roasted or grilled chicken.
- For the Dressing or Vinaigrette: You will need olive oil, apple cider vinegar, apple butter or apple sauce (optional), dijon mustard, maple syrup, minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste. This combination makes for a delicious dressing for this apple and candied walnut salad. Ofcourse you can swap out the cider vinegar for balsamic vinegar, the maple syrup for honey and dijon mustard for prepared mustard too - switch things up according to taste
How to Make This Delicious Apple and Walnut Salad (candied walnut):
- Make Salad Dressing: Whisk all the Dressing ingredients together in a bowl or shake in a jar. We want to make the dressing first so it has time to chill and the flavors to marry
- Cook Bacon: cook bacon and transfer to paper towels to drain excess grease. Crumble or chop when cool enough and set aside
- Caramelize/Candied Nuts: Add butter, sugar, and walnuts to a saucepan along with the spices and cook until sugar is melted and coats nuts
- Assemble: Toss Salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Drizzle and toss salad with dressing if you are eating it right away or serve salad with dressing on the side.
Storage & Make Ahead
- Storage - Undressed salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days
- Make Ahead: You can make the the dressing, cook and crumble the bacon, and caramelized walnuts up to a day in advance and store each individually in separate airtight containers in the fridge - candied nuts do not need to be refrigerated and canoe stored for longer than a day.
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Recipe
Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 10-15 mins for making bacon and candied walnuts
Ingredients
For The Salad
- 2 red or green apples, quartered, seeds remove, finely sliced
- Squeeze of lemon juice (to stop apple browning)
- 3-4 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled
- 6 cups mixed salad greens and arugula
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup feta or goat cheese, crumbled (garnish, optional)
For the Candied Walnuts (or Pecans)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted walnut halves or pieces
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
For The Dressing/Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple butter (or apple sauce), optional
- 1-2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried garlic or 1 minced fresh garlic clove
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme or sage
Directions
- Make Quick Candied Walnuts: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. In a medium non-stick skillet, add the butter and sugar and heat over medium heat until the butter is melted, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the walnuts, salt, and cayenne pepper, if using. Stir well to coat walnuts. Continue to cook and stir frequently over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the sugar is fully melted. Immediately remove the skillet from the heat to prevent the sugar from burning. Spread the candied walnuts onto the prepared pan in a single layer, making sure they are not in clumps. Cool for 10 minutes or until the candy hardens.
- Prepare Apples: Drizzle with lemon juice and toss (stops apple from browning).
- Make Dressing: Place Dressing ingredients in a small bowl or in a jar and shake or whisk well. Adjust to taste - more oil to make it creamier, maple syrup for sweet, cider vinegar for tart.
- Assemble Salad: Place salad greens in a large bowl with half the apple slices and all the onion. Drizzle with half the dressing then toss. Scatter over the cranberries, bacon, pumpkin seeds, desired amount of candied walnuts, remaining apple slices and feta. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve immediately
Recipe Notes
- Storage - Undressed salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days. Dressed salad should be eaten right away as the salad greens will get soggy.
- Make Ahead: You can make the the dressing, cook and crumble the bacon, and caramelized walnuts up to a day in advance and store each individually in separate airtight containers in the fridge - candied nuts do not need to be refrigerated and canoe stored for longer than a day.
