Name: Candied Pecan Salad with Apples
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 12-14 cups baby spinach leaves (- or other greens); 1/2 cup red onion (- sliced thin); 1/2 cup feta cheese (- crumbled); 3/4 cup Craisins; 1 1/2 cup caramelized pecans (- see homemade recipe); 2 large honey crisp apples (- sliced thin); 1/2 large lemon (- freshly squeezed); 1/3 cup olive oil; 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar; 2 Tablespoons honey; 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard; salt and pepper (- to taste)

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Candied Pecan Salad with Apples is perfect for serving a big group of people. Baby spinach, red onion, feta cheese, Craisins, honey crisp apples, and candied pecans – topped with an apple cider vinaigrette! So good!

Choosing the right salad for your gathering can be difficult. Which is why I’m got choices for you! Next, try my Loaded Harvest Apple Salad with Balsamic Dressing or the best Spinach Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing!

Holiday Salad

I always make sure to have SOMETHING green on my holiday table. It’s a requirement, because after all the cheesy, buttery, sugary things, you need something on the healthy’ish list. You can prep most of it in advance, and just add the dressing right before serving.

Priorities here. Plan the salad, and then plan ALL the other things.

Let’s start with a Smoked Spatchcock Turkey, some Make Ahead Creamy Mashed Potatoes, the most delicious Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble, a colorful Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad, and some Soft Brioche Dinner Rolls.

And this salad. Make this salad!

A large salad, divided by ingredient with wooden spoons.

I can’t think of a better salad to make over the holidays. It’s got all the flavors of this time of year, and I love them all. Let’s cover what we’re using here.

Baby Spinach – I normally snap off the stems, but that’s optional.
Apple Slices (coated in lemon juice to prevent browning)
Feta Cheese – salty and delicious.
Craisins
Red Onion – sliced thin.
The BEST candied pecans
And a simple sweet and tangy Apple Cider Vinaigrette

If you aren’t spinach lovers like we are, you could go with a different mixture of greens. Any will work.

How to make this salad

Step 1
Make the easy caramelized pecans. These are the BEST part of this salad, and can be made ahead of time and frozen.

A pan of the pecans plus wet mixture added before baking.

One corner of the pan with candied pecans.

Step 2
Make the dressing. Combine the salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar, and shake well.

Step 3
Prep apples. Slice the apples, and add some lemon juice to prevent browning.

Step 4
Combine salad ingredients. In a large salad bowl, combine the baby spinach, sliced red onion, crumbled feta cheese, sliced apples, and candied pecans.

Step 5
Add dressing. If you are serving a large group, drizzle the salad dressing over the salad and toss. If you’re only eating a serving or two, add dressing to individual salads.

A hand drizzling the dressing over the holiday apple salad.

Expert Tips

Snap the stems off the spinach leaves. This isn’t a requirement, but I enjoy eating spinach salads better without those long stems.
Add lemon to the apples. If you skip this step, the apples will brown. The lemon actually adds great flavor to the apples as well!
Make the caramelized pecans in advance, and store them in the freezer. We like them straight out of the freezer!
Prep the dressing in advance as well. Before serving, shake the jar up vigorously. Use those muscles!

Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)

xoxo ~Sue