Harvest Apple Salad
Harvest Apple Salad combines lettuce greens with bacon, candied walnuts, goat cheese, red onion, and Honey Crisp apple slices with a delicious balsamic dressing. The perfect fall salad with bursts of flavor in every single bite!
Try our Candied Pecan Salad with Apples next!
Harvest Salad
What does fall harvest mean to you? In Iowa (where I spent my childhood), fall harvest is the process of removing the crops (that were planted in the spring or summertime) for consumption. It is a labor-intensive time, and farmers work overtime to get the corn and soybeans out of the fields before winter sets in.
In the realm of food blogging, fall harvest means fresh greens with a combination of fall flavors. To me, apples play a huge part in this because they are best in the fall. Using candied nuts is also a key component because they remind me of cooler weather and holiday salads.
FYI, these hand-crafted wooden bowls were recently purchased at the Holland Bowl Mill in Holland, MI. We vacationed in the area and visited their shop after a friend recommended them to us. So many beautiful items!
I had these engraved with my business name and the date of inception since it was a free service.
Why We Love This Fresh Salad:
- USES SEASONAL PRODUCE – Apple Season is the best. We prefer sweet apples but tart apples work fine too.
- IMPRESSIVE – This beautiful salad will be stunning on your holiday table! It’s a crowd-pleaser, for sure!
- PERFECT THANKSGIVING SALAD – This fall salad recipe is a perfect accompaniment to any main course for any time of year, but is our favorite salad for a Thanksgiving feast.
- GREAT TEXTURE – A yummy salad with wonderful textures and flavors will soon be your fall staple too. The best part is that you can make exra for delicious leftovers. Perfect for a light lunch after a big holiday.
Ingredients needed for Apple Harvest Salad:
- Lettuce Greens – For this salad, I used a combo of red lettuce, butter lettuce, and kale. These go great together and add more interest to an already delicious salad. Don’t forget to MASSAGE the kale! Feel free to use any combo of leafy greens.
- Red Onion – You must add onion to your salads. Red onion and green onions are my favs!
- Bacon – The saltiness from cooked bacon adds great flavor. A little bit goes a long way.
- Goat Cheese – Creamy goat cheese is one of our favorites. It adds creaminess to every bite. Feta cheese is a great alternative as well.
- Candied Walnuts – Follow my recipe for the BEST Candied Walnuts and just keep them in the freezer. They are great on this salad and just for munching on too.
- Honeycrisp Apples – Slice your fresh apples thin, and add some fresh lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.
- Balsamic Dressing – This homemade salad dressing is the perfect topper. Just a simple combo of extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
How to make the best Fall Harvest Salad Recipe:
Step 1
Make candied walnuts. Follow my recipe for the BEST Candied Walnuts. These are lightly sweetened and make a perfect salad topper. I make a batch and keep them in the freezer. You could also just use toasted walnuts (or another type of nut), but using the candied version spells FALL. 😀
Step 2
Cook bacon. You can cook the bacon in a variety of methods. I like to keep microwave-ready bacon in my refrigerator because it’s so easy. However, I often bake the bacon in my oven and keep a stash in the freezer. Just make sure you get it nice and crispy.
Step 3
Prepare lettuce. Choose some fresh lettuce for this salad (avoid those bags!) and tear it into bite-size pieces. We love red or green lettuce, romaine, butter lettuce, spinach, and kale. Add salad greens to a large mixing bowl or a large platter.
For kale, you’ll need to drizzle with some olive oil and a pinch of salt, and massage. You’ll see the kale go from pale to a bright beautiful green color. This makes the kale tender to eat too. You can use any type of lettuce you like, but a combo makes it so good!
Step 4
Prepare apples. Thinly slice the Honey Crisp apples and then toss with some fresh lemon juice to prevent browning. You can also use a different type of apple, if preferred.
Step 5
Arrange salad ingredients in a large bowl – the salad greens, red onion, goat cheese, crumbled bacon, candied walnuts, and apple slices.
Step 6
Make dressing. Combine the following ingredients in a mason jar – extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Shake vigorously.
Step 7
Add dressing to salad. If you are serving a large group, add SOME of the dressing to the salad to coat and toss. (You won’t need all of it unless you add extra lettuce etc.)
If you’re not serving a group, just add the dressing to individual servings.
Store leftovers in an airtight container for several days. Keep the harvest salad dressing in a separate jar.
Recipe Variations:
- Use whatever salad greens you like best. I love using a combo of a couple of different types.
- Instead of Honey Crisp apples, feel free to try another kind. Fuji and Pink Lady are other fall favorites.
- If you don’t want to use candied walnuts, you could use regular toasted walnuts or another type of nut. My Easy Caramelized Pecans would be a great alternative as well.
Kitchen Tools used for this recipe: (Affiliate Links)
xoxo ~Sue
Harvest Apple Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 8-10 cups red lettuce
- 8-10 cups kale – or butter lettuce
- 2 medium honeycrisp apples – sliced thin
- 1/2 large lemon – freshly squeezed
- 1/2 cup red onion – sliced thin
- 5-6 slices thick-cut bacon – cooked and crumbled
- 6 oz. goat cheese – crumbled
- 1 1/2 cup candied walnuts – see recipe on blog (or use toasted walnuts)
For the dressing:
This makes extra dressing. You most likely won't need it all unless you add extra lettuce, etc.
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
Instructions
- Make candied walnuts. Follow my recipe for the BEST Candied Walnuts. These are lightly sweetened and make a perfect salad topper. You can also use toasted walnuts, if preferred.
- Cook bacon. You can cook the bacon in a variety of methods. Bake it (my preferred method), microwave it, or buy the already cooked bacon at the store.
- Prepare lettuce. Choose some fresh lettuce for this salad (avoid those bags!) and tear it in bite sized pieces. We love red or green lettuce, romaine, butter lettuce, spinach, and kale.
- Prepare apples. Thinly slice the honey crisp apples and then toss with some fresh lemon juice to prevent browning. You can also use a different type of apple, if preferred.
- Arrange salad ingredients in a large bowl – the salad greens, red onion, goat cheese, crumbled bacon, candied walnuts, and apple slices.
- Make dressing. Combine the following ingredients in a mason jar – olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon dressing, honey, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Shake vigorously.
- Add dressing to salad. If you are serving a large group, add SOME of the dressing to the salad to coat and toss. (You won’t need all of it unless you add extra lettuce etc.)If you’re not serving a group, just add the dressing to individual servings.
Sue, we tried the salad yesterday, and it was oh so delicious! I loved the combination of pecans, apples and goat cheese!
And the bowl! Oh so cute!
Thank you!!!
Thank you so much, Lusine!
Truly dislike kale and goat cheese but changing out those two ingredients doesn’t change the deliciousness of this salad. Also another way to make the fruit: 2 Bosc pears sliced thin arranged singly in a foil wrapped 9×9 pan pour 1/2 c of port wine over pears then sprinkle with raw sugar, 1tbsp of butter cut into cubes and cover with foil. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees oven. After 10 minutes use a teaspoon to pour the pears with the sweetened wine sauce. Repeat a few times until pears are tender then take slices of pear out with a spatula. Drain the liquid into a small pot and reduce until syrupy. Drizzle over pears. Can make this a day before chilled in an airtight container. Blue cheese goes great with this change!
The best salad ever! Love it!
It really is delicious, and perfect for special occasions!
We made this salad for the second time last night, and there will be a third time fairly soon. It’s a hit with the whole family!