Enjoy this Apple Crisp Michigan Salad topped with sliced apples, dried cherries, red onions, feta cheese, and a homemade savory crisp topping. It's a refreshing salad, perfect for any season, complete with a homemade maple balsamic dressing.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Apple Crisp Michigan Salad
- Simple, but unique! This Apple Crisp Michigan Salad is so easy to make. It has simple, basic ingredients, combined for a unique twist, blending the best part of a warm apple crisp - the buttery crisp topping - with the components of a classic Michigan salad!
- Healthy and delicious! With fresh ingredients, this salad is the perfect healthy appetizer or side dish. It has tons of flavor from the apples and dried cherries, homemade salad dressing, and crisp topping, similar to this apple arugula salad.
- Great for the fall and holiday season! This salad can easily feed a crowd for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Size it up or down for the number of guests you plan to host. It pairs perfectly with all the other holiday foods, like sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, turkey, and stuffing.
Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Baby Spring Mix: I like to use a mix of baby spring greens, but you can use any lettuces you like. Romaine, arugula, spinach, or other leafy greens would work well.
- Honeycrisp Apples: I love honeycrisp apples for their crunchy texture and sweet/tart flavor. They add a great balance of flavors to the salad.
- Dried Cherries: Cherries add a slight tartness and are a great salad topping. If you don't have dried cherries, you can use other dried fruits.
- Unsalted Butter: Butter makes the topping extra rich and crispy. In a traditional apple crisp, it's essential for the buttery flavor and pieces of crunch on top.
- Oats and Pecans: Mixed into the buttery topping, the oats and pecans add some additional crunch to the salad, mimicking the apple crisp topping without added sweetness.
- Maple Balsamic Dressing: This homemade dressing gets thick and creamy from the avocado oil blended at the end. The maple syrup helps balance the acidity of the balsamic vinegar and mirrors some of the sweetness from the apples.
⭐️ See recipe card below for descriptions and quantities of each ingredient. Then, watch this brief tutorial on Instagram!
Instructions
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 2: In a medium bowl, add flour, oats, chopped pecans, brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Step 3: Add butter. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a pea-sized crumb.
- Step 4: Pour the crisp topping onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
- Step 5: While waiting for the topping to cool, make the maple balsamic dressing.
- Step 6: To assemble the salad: Add baby spring mix to a large serving platter or bowl. Top with sliced apples and red onion, then sprinkle dried cherries and feta over top. Drizzle with the balsamic dressing before adding the apple crisp topping on top.
⭐️ Tip: I like to rip the pieces of lettuce up with my hands before adding it to the serving platter. This helps turn it into bite-sized pieces without having to use a cutting board!
Substitutions and Alterations
- Baby Spring Mix - You can use any lettuce or greens you like best. Romaine, arugula, spinach, or even finely chopped kale can all be great options.
- Dried Cherries - If you don't have dried cherries, you can use other dried fruits, like cranberries, apricots, raisins, or blueberries.
- Apple Crisp Topping - The apple crisp topping is a great addition to this salad. However, if you prefer a more traditional topping, you can simply just add the pecans, make homemade croutons, or a pecan brittle.
- Maple Balsamic Dressing - Any dressing you like should work well in this salad. You can use this greek yogurt ranch or pumpkin salad dressing.
How to Store Apple Crisp Michigan Salad
To store: Store Apple Crisp Michigan Salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. If possible, store all toppings and salad dressing separate to prevent the salad from getting soggy.
To freeze: Freezing is not recommended.
Top tip!
You may not use all of the savory apple crisp topping. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container on your counter for up to 2 weeks. Use leftover topping on other salads, on top of baked sweet potatoes, or eaten straight out of the container!
Recipe FAQs
A traditional Michigan Salad is made of mixed greens, sliced apples, dried cherries, red onions, feta cheese, and nuts. It's also typically drizzled with a vinaigrette dressing.
This Michigan Salad is uniquely different because instead of nuts, it includes an apple crisp-like topping filled with butter, oats, and pecans for a delicious added crunch.
Instead of a sweet crisp topping filled with granulated or brown sugar, this topping has just 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar to balance the sweet and savory flavors of the salad. The garlic powder and pecans make it more savory too.
Related Recipes
Looking for more salad recipes? Try these:
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know. Leave a comment with a rating at the bottom of this page!
Apple Crisp Michigan Salad
Ingredients
For the Michigan Salad
- 5 ounces baby spring mix
- 1 honeycrisp apple, sliced
- ⅛ of a red onion, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup dried cherries
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- maple balsamic dressing
For the Apple Crisp Topping
- ¼ cup ½ stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup old fashioned oats
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, add flour, oats, chopped pecans, brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Add butter. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a pea-sized crumb.
- Pour the crisp topping onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
- While waiting for the topping to cool, make the maple balsamic dressing.
- To assemble the salad: Add baby spring mix to a large serving platter or bowl. Top with sliced apples and red onion, then sprinkle dried cherries and feta over top. Drizzle with the balsamic dressing before adding the apple crisp topping on top.
Notes
- You may not use all of the savory apple crisp topping. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container on your counter for up to 2 weeks. Use leftover topping on other salads, on top of baked sweet potatoes, or eaten straight out of the container!
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. If possible, store all toppings and salad dressing separate to prevent the salad from getting soggy.
Nutrition
Want more recipes like this delivered right to your inbox? Be sure to subscribe above and never miss a thing!
Comments
No Comments