Apple Walnut Salad Recipe with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Autumn inspired apple walnut salad that comes together super quickly. It’s tossed in a delicious tangy balsamic vinaigrette and you can serve it with just about any of your favorite weeknight dinners!
Jump to:
- Reasons to Love this Apple Walnut Salad
- Apple Salad Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Apple Salad with Walnuts
- How Do You Easily Cut Apples?
- How to Serve This Salad with Apples
- How to Store This Recipe for Apple Salad
- More Fall Salads with Apples
- More Favorites from Little Broken
- Salad with Apples and Walnuts
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I have an easy weeknight salad for you all today! A recipe I’ve been making for years, this apple walnut salad is the perfect combo of sweet and savory. Made with crisp fall apples and the most delicious tangy balsamic vinaigrette.
Bonus…it’s made with a few staple ingredients. So you can easily whip it up for a simple weeknight side or bring a bowl to your next holiday gathering.
This is also a great salad to pair with a cozy soup, such as Sicilian Chicken Soup . The soup and salad combo is so comforting.
Reasons to Love this Apple Walnut Salad
One of the oldest and tastiest recipes on the site, this apple and walnut salad is the definition of easy! Made with sweet crisp apples that are tossed with crunchy walnuts and salty feta. I went with Gala apples for their mild and sweet flavor.
Feta adds the right amount of saltiness. Feel free to substitute goat cheese or even blue cheese. For the base, I used red-leaf lettuce. It’s insanely beautiful and the colors remind me of fall.
As far as the balsamic vinaigrette, it has only four ingredients: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey. It’s creamy, SO full of flavor, and pairs amazingly with this apple walnut salad.
Don’t just take my word for it though, with a five-star rating, readers love it, too! Take a look at some of their reviews:
“Seriously. THE BEST SALAD DRESSING. WOW. Will never buy bottled dressing again.”
“This is the salad I am always requested to bring to gatherings. Thank you! It’s just delightful. And it makes me seem like a rock star chef LOL”
This is also a great salad to pair with a cozy soup, such as Sicilian Chicken Soup . The soup and salad combo is so comforting.
Apple Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Lettuce – I love red leaf lettuce in this salad. It’s soft, yet slightly crunchy. But green leaf lettuce, spinach or romaine are all good substitutes.
- Apples – you can use your favorite type of apples. I love Gala apples for their crunch and mild flavor. Make sure to slice them right before serving so they don’t brown.
- Red Onions – shallots is a good substitute. They’re a little milder in taste but still work.
- Walnuts – don’t like walnuts? Try pecans, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.
- Feta – buy feta in a block and crumble it yourself. It’s so much tastier. Also goat cheese is a great swap for feta.
- Balsamic Vinaigrette – olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey.
Best apples for salad
To be honest, just about any variety of apples are going to work in this salad but certain varieties are more crunchy and don’t brown too quickly.
I personally love Gala apples for their crisp sweet taste but Honeycrisp, Fuji, Pink Lady, Piñata, Jazz, Envy, and Empire are all great for adding to salads.
How to Make Apple Salad with Walnuts
This apple feta salad is best when served immediately. The balsamic vinaigrette can be prepared in advance and refrigerated.
Step 1: Prepare the vinaigrette – in a small bowl combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey. Whisk until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. You can also do this in a mason jar.
Step 2: Assemble the salad – make sure all of your salad ingredients are ready to be assembled (chopped, sliced, etc). In a large bowl, layer the lettuce, apples, red onions, walnuts, and feta. Drizzle with desired amount of vinaigrette and serve immediately.
How Do You Easily Cut Apples?
My go-to method for cutting apples is incredibly easy, quick, and does NOT involve an apple corer. All you need is a sharp knife, a cutting board, and of course the apples.
- Place the apple in an upright position on a cutting board.
- Starting on one side of the apple, slice down as close to the core as possible. Continue to slice through all the sides of the apple until only the core remains. Discard the core.
- Place the flat side of each large slice face down and then cut it into thin slices.
How to Serve This Salad with Apples
You can easily enjoy this recipe as a light main course. However, it serves best as a side with recipes like:
How to Store This Recipe for Apple Salad
This salad is best enjoyed right away. However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
If you think you’re going to have leftovers, try to only dress individual servings instead of the whole salad. Then, you can store the salad dressing in a separate airtight container in the fridge for at least a week, and prevent the salad from becoming soggy.
When you’re ready to eat, add the dressing, toss the ingredients, and enjoy!
More Fall Salads with Apples
- Chopped Autumn Salad – amazing salad to take to work or school.
- Apple Crunch Salad – another easy + simple salad.
- Avocado and Apple Brussels Sprout Salad – I love the addition of Brussels sprouts in this salad.
- Kale, Butternut Squash, and Apple Salad – add this salad to your next holiday table. It’s so festive looking.
- Apple Walnut Chicken Salad – creamy chicken salad with crunchy apples and walnuts.
Want to add this salad to your holiday table? Serve it alongside our:
More Favorites from Little Broken
Salad with Apples and Walnuts
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Autumn inspired apple walnut salad that comes together super quickly. It’s tossed in the most delicious tangy balsamic vinaigrette!
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped red leaf lettuce, about 1 large head
- 1 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced (I used Gala apple)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
- 3/4 cup walnut halves, toasted + roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp. honey or maple syrup
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the vinaigrette: in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and honey. Whisk until blended. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Assemble the salad: in a large bowl combine the lettuce, apples, red onions, walnuts, and feta. Drizzle with desired amount of vinaigrette and serve immediately. You’ll have leftover vinaigrette, which can be refrigerated in an airtight container for at least one week, if not more.
Notes
- Lettuce: Red leaf, green leaf, romaine, or spinach are all good greens to use in this salad.
- Apples: I used Gala apple for this salad but pretty much any crunchy variety of apples work.
- Walnuts: don’t like walnuts? Try pecans, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.
- Make Ahead: prepare the vinaigrette and assemble the salad without the apples. Refrigerate separately and right before serving, add the apples and vinaigrette. Once the salad has been drizzled with the vinaigrette it does not hold up well in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 270
- Sugar: 7.4 g
- Sodium: 115.5 mg
- Fat: 24.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.9 g
- Protein: 4.3 g
- Cholesterol: 7.4 mg
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Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
This was SOOO amazing … thank you for sharing!
I made the salad today for my friends. It was delicious and finished in a few minutes. I added some pistachios and sesame seeds too. Thank you for the recipie. Pri
Omgosh this salad is so lit!!! Definitely making this again!! Thank you thank you!!
This was a very simple but a very very delicious recipe ! I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a homemade salad this much before!
That makes me happy to hear! Thank you.
Easy and delicious
I just made this, and it’s delicious!!!
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that.
This is SOO good! I replaced feta with blue cheese crumbles and used candied walnuts. This will become a staple- so delicious and easy
That sounds delicious! Thank you for your feedback.
This is amazing! I make this for company and they rave over it. So simple, so good!!!
That’s so great! Thank you Stephanie.
Beautifully fresh and rich salad
Thank you!
OMG can’t wait to have this AGAIN. Had an abundance of apples and stumbled upon this recipe. Thank you so much! Both hubby and I wanted more after we finished a whole head of lettuce between us two. I’ve sent this recipe to so many people. Used one Cortland apple, sliced it really thin and halfway into slithers of squares, and used a shallot instead of red onion. Easily prepared beforehand, just slice apples and toss before serving. Toasted the walnuts on a frying pan drizzled with a little olive oil for a couple of minutes, makes a difference! This is definitely giving me something to look forward to.
Thank you! So happy to hear you enjoy the salad.
Delicious salad! The vinaigrette was exceptional. My husband and I actually made single serving portions of this salad and your Apple Crunch Salad to compare flavors since both the salads and dressings are very similar. We liked the Apple Crunch Salad dressing which was sweeter in taste, but the balsamic dressing brought more overall flavor (and not as sweet) to the salad. A keeper for sure! Also the salad itself can certainly handle substitutions like you suggested: sunflower seeds, blue cheese, romaine lettuce, dried cherries, etc.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the salad! Thank you for the feedback.
I made this for my mom and myself. It was incredible. It was quite decadent, as I went overboard with the olive oil and the feta, but this is a great filling salad and could go with a light vegetable soup or just plain broth like I like it.
Thanks for the sweet recipe.
Thank you !
Delicious! I made this for my family’s Christmas get together because their is always a lack of “green stuff” and everyone really enjoyed it! I enjoyed it so much that I made it again another day and plan to make it again tonight for dinner. The dressing is so easy to assemble as well! I added some halved grapes in it the last time and that was also a tasty addition! Thanks!
Thank you Kristin! So glad you enjoyed the salad.
Hi. I just recently discovered your website and recipes. I am so glad I did. I made this salad using red onions that I pickled and mixed salad nuts. Yummy. I will be making this for Christmas. I am going to try it with spinach instead of the lettuce next time. So easy, so good.
Thank you Brenda and welcome! So glad you’re loving this salad and I think it will be delicious with spinach.
hi, can we substitute mustard with anything else!!
Hi Tanvi: you could try some horseradish but honestly it’s so hard to say how it will taste without giving it a try first.
Can you add quinoa to this?
Hi Rebecca: You can give it a try! It’s hard for me to say without trying it out first but I would add chilled quinoa or it will soak up all of the dressing and salad will be dry. Let me know how it turns out.
I made this tonight to go with pizza and it was my favourite salad ever.I can’t really cook but the recipe was so easy to follow.My partner said it was the best salad she’s ever had,going to check the rest of your recipes out now ????
That’s so great Gary! Thank you so much. I’m glad you guys loved the salad.
Could you use almonds or sunflower seeds instead of walnuts?
You definitely can!
I’m saving this one to make later. 🙂
Hope you enjoy it! Thanks!
So good! I added chicken and dried cranberries too!
Thank you!