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Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad

Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad with crisp apples, dried cranberries, candied pecans, and blue cheese tossed with a poppy seed vinaigrette. Built for quick assembly—drizzle the dressing right before serving for the best texture.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 360
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Salad greens
  • 6 cup baby spinach or spring mix Use washed and well-dried greens.
Fruit and toppings
  • 2 apples Thinly sliced.
  • 0.5 cup dried cranberries
  • 0.5 cup candied pecans
  • 0.5 cup crumbled blue cheese or feta
  • 0.25 small red onion Thinly sliced.
Poppy seed vinaigrette
  • 0.25 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp poppy seeds
  • 0.5 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 salt Pinch.

Method
 

Make the poppy seed vinaigrette
  1. Whisk olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, Dijon mustard, and salt until the honey dissolves and the dressing looks smooth.
Assemble the salad
  1. Place baby spinach or spring mix in a large bowl.
  2. Top with thinly sliced apples, dried cranberries, candied pecans, crumbled blue cheese or feta, and thinly sliced red onion.
  3. Drizzle the poppy seed vinaigrette over the salad just before serving.
  4. Toss gently to coat, then serve immediately.

Notes

Pro tip: Keep the vinaigrette off the greens until the last minute—this keeps the spinach crisp and prevents watery dressing. Store assembled salad (without dressing) in the fridge up to 2 days; add dressing right before eating. For a vegetarian swap, use crumbled feta (already vegetarian) instead of blue cheese. Freezing is not recommended.