Harvest Apple Salad

Side view of a wooden bowl with the Fall Harvest Salad.

5 from 6 votes

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!

Course Main Dish, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword balsamic dressing, Loaded Fall Harvest Salad

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 10

Servings large servings

Calories 491kcal

Author Sue Ringsdorf

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.
1 1/2 cup candied walnuts
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.
5-6 slices thick-cut bacon
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.
2 medium honeycrisp apples, 1/2 large lemon
Arrange salad ingredients in a large bowl - the salad greens, red onion, goat cheese, crumbled bacon, candied walnuts, and apple slices.
8-10 cups red lettuce, 8-10 cups kale, 1/2 cup red onion, 6 oz. goat cheese,
Make dressing. Combine the following ingredients in a mason jar – olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon dressing, honey, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Shake vigorously.
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
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.

Notes

If using kale in this salad, 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!

Nutrition