This refreshing Apple Cranberry Salad highlights beautiful autumnal flavors with a counterpoint of blue cheese drizzled with a delicious balsamic vinaigrette (recipe included).
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 7 minutesminutes
Total Time 17 minutesminutes
Servings 4servings
Ingredients
1cupwalnutstoasted
2crisp apples(such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Golden Delicious)
6cupsbutter lettuce(or red or green leaf lettuce, or a mix of both)
¾cupdried cranberries
1cupcrumbled blue cheese
For the vinaigrette:
¼cupbalsamic vinegar
1garlic cloveminced or grated
2tablespoonsgranulated white sugar
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonground black pepper
½cupextra virgin olive oil
Instructions
In a dry skillet over medium-high heat, toast the walnuts. Shake the nuts several times while cooking to prevent scorching. Set the walnuts aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Slice the apples lengthwise into thin slices.
Combine the apples, lettuce, walnuts, cranberries, and blue cheese in a large bowl. Toss the salad to combine.
Add the vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper to a small bowl.
Slowly add the olive oil while whisking constantly.
Serve the salad on individual small plates and pass the dressing for guests to drizzle over.
Notes
Watch the walnuts when toasting and remove them from the heat when they're nicely browned.
You can prepare the salad ahead, but may find that the apples turn brown if prepped too far in advance. To prevent browning, toss the apple slices with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.
Because the lettuce is quite delicate and the apples tend to turn brown, this salad has a short storage time. Leftovers can be placed in a covered container in the fridge and should be consumed within 24 hours.