A bright and flavorful fall-inspired salad! This apple, avocado, and arugula salad is paired with a maple cranberry vinaigrette and topped with all the best fixings. It's a healthy side dish you'll want to have on repeat all season long!
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📋 About the Recipe
- This apple, avocado, and arugula salad is jam-packed with delicious fall flavors and produce. From crisp apples, crunchy toasted pecans, and tangy cranberries, it's a salad above all others!
- This recipe is quick and easy to throw together, but elegant enough to serve for a special occasion. This will quickly become your favorite holiday salad because it's so easy to serve a crowd.
- The unique cranberry vinaigrette dressing truly kicks things up a notch. The dried cranberries soak in all the delicious flavors of the dressing adding a punch of flavor in each bite.
- Serve this salad as a side dish to your favorite meal, as an appetizer before the meal, or as a main dish with your favorite protein added on top.
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Romaine, arugula - romaine provides some added crunch to the salad, while the arugula adds some flavor. Both are a nice pair in a salad for a mix of textures and sizes.
- Apples - apples add a bright, fruity touch. You can choose any kind of apple you like, but I recommend honeycrisp, gala, or jonagold for a nice crisp texture.
- Avocado - avocado provides a creamy, earthy flavor. It is recommended that you add it to the salad last so that it doesn't brown before serving.
- Pecans - the pecans get coated in a maple syrup and cinnamon glaze. Then, they are placed in the oven and toasted for added flavor. They're nutty, slightly sweet, and add the perfect crunch!
- Maple syrup - maple syrup helps to sweeten both the pecans and the cranberry vinaigrette dressing. It adds a slight caramel flavor.
- Cinnamon - cinnamon is a warm and comforting spice that definitely makes me think of fall. The pecans are coated in the cinnamon for added fall flavor.
- Olive oil - olive oil is the base of the salad dressing. It helps the dressing stick to the rest of the salad components, while providing a subtle flavor.
- Shallots - shallots are small onions that have a slightly more delicate, sweeter flavor than onions. Make sure to dice them finely so they incorporate into the dressing well.
- Dried cranberries - dried cranberries are essential to the dressing! They are both sweet and tart as they soak up the vinaigrette. The dressing for this apple arugula salad is mainly contained in the infused cranberries, instead of in liquid form like other dressings.
- Red wine vinegar, lemon - these add some tartness and acidity to the salad dressing, making it a vinaigrette. They help to balance out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
- Dijon mustard - dijon mustard provides flavor to the dressing. Add more or less depending on your tastes.
- Feta - feta is a rich, creamy cheese that helps to balance out all the other strong flavors.
📓 Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper.
2. Toast the pecans: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine pecans, maple syrup, melted butter, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to coat evenly.
Spread the pecans out on the prepared sheet pan and toast them in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes, watching carefully so they do not burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3. Make the cranberry vinaigrette: Add olive oil and shallots to a saucepan over medium low heat. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally so the shallots do not burn.
Add the cranberries, vinegar, maple syrup, and dijon. Stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes to rehydrate the cranberries and allow them to soak up some of the dressing.
Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Allow to cool slightly.
4. Prepare the salad: Wash and chop the romaine lettuce. Slice the apples and avocado.
In a large, shallow bowl combine romaine and arugula. Top with apple and avocado slices, followed by the toasted pecans and feta.
Drizzle the warm cranberry vinaigrette over top and serve immediately.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
Instead of romaine and arugula: you can use any salad greens you like best. Iceberg, spinach, spring mix, and kale are all great substitutions.
Instead of apples: you can use sliced pears or orange segments.
Instead of feta: you can omit it or use blue cheese.
Instead of red wine vinegar: you can use apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or rice vinegar.
❄️ How to Store
To store: If you make the arugula salad and cranberry dressing ahead of time, store all of the components separately in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Store lettuces with a dry paper towel over top to absorb any extra moisture.
To freeze: Freezing is not recommended.
To reheat: You can reheat the cranberry vinaigrette in a saucepan over low heat until it is warmed through or simply serve any leftover dressing at room temperature.
🔍 FAQs
The citric acid in lemon juice slows the oxidation process, which helps to prevent browning.
To prevent apples and avocado from turning brown, simply squeeze some lemon juice over top after slicing. Then, rub the juice around each slice to lightly coat both sides.
Arugula is a bright, earthy green that tastes a bit peppery. It has a nice semi-crunchy bite to it, similar to spinach with a hint of extra flavor.
The peppery flavor pairs well with the other sweet and acidic flavors in the salad.
If you plan to serve this apple, avocado, and arugula salad as a side dish to your holiday meal, you should plan on about 1 to 1 ½ cups of lettuce per person.
If you're planning to serve it as a main dish, plan on about 2 cups per person.
This salad recipe provides about 6 servings, so you can easily scale it up or down depending on the number of guests you intend to serve.
💭 One More Tip
If you're planning on serving the warm cranberry vinaigrette dressing on the side, instead of adding it on top of the salad, you might want to double the dressing recipe.
The liquid from the dressing is infused inside the cranberries. However, guests may not realize that as they spoon dressing onto their salad. Therefore, they may take more than needed.
So, to ensure everybody gets enough dressing for their salad, you'll want to make extra or simply dress the salad before serving.
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Apple, Avocado, and Arugula Salad with Maple Cranberry Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 large head of romaine
- 2 ½ ounces arugula
- 2 large apples preferably honeycrisp, gala, or jonagold
- 1 avocado
- ¼ to ½ cup feta
For the Candied Pecans
- 1 cup pecan halves raw and unsalted
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
For the Warm Cranberry Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon shallots very finely diced
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon honey dijon mustard
- ½ lemon juiced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine pecans, maple syrup, melted butter, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to coat evenly.
- Spread the pecans out on the prepared sheet pan and toast them in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes, watching carefully so they do not burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Add olive oil and shallots to a saucepan over medium low heat. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally so the shallots do not burn.
- Add the cranberries, vinegar, maple syrup, and dijon. Stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes to rehydrate the cranberries and allow them to soak up some of the dressing.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Allow to cool slightly.
- Wash and chop the romaine lettuce. Slice the apples and avocado.
- In a large, shallow bowl combine romaine and arugula. Top with apple and avocado slices, followed by the toasted pecans and feta.
- Drizzle the warm cranberry vinaigrette over top and serve immediately.
Storage
- To store: If you make the arugula salad and cranberry dressing ahead of time, store all of the components separately in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Store lettuces with a dry paper towel over top to absorb any extra moisture.To freeze: Freezing is not recommended.To reheat: You can reheat the cranberry vinaigrette in a saucepan over low heat until it is warmed through or simply serve any leftover dressing at room temperature.
Notes
- Use any greens or lettuce you like best.
- You can coat the apples and avocado in lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
- If serving as a side dish, place on 1 to 1 ½ cups of lettuce per person. If serving as a main dish, plan on about 2 cups per person.
- If you're planning on serving the warm cranberry vinaigrette dressing on the side, instead of adding it on top of the salad, you might want to double the dressing recipe. This will ensure everyone gets enough dressing to scoop onto their salad.
Nutrition
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Anne
Forgot to add the 5 star rating!
Alana Lieberman
Haha no worries! Thank you 🙂
Anne
I made this for Thanksgiving and am in love! It was delicious. This salad will definitely stay on my Thanksgiving menu and I will probably make it many times in between. Thanks for this healthy recipe Alana.
Alana Lieberman
I love adding a bright and fresh element to the thanksgiving table, so happy to hear your family enjoyed it as well!