Simple Apple Cranberry Salad – 🍎🥗🙌 All the flavors of Fall in one gorgeous, hearty, and healthy salad! The easy, tart-and-sweet dressing is just bursting with flavor!
Table of Contents
- Apple Cranberry Salad Recipe
- Looking for more ways to use apples?
- Apple Cranberry Salad Ingredients
- How to Make This Cranberry Apple Salad Recipe
- What to Serve with an Apple Cranberry Salad
- Recipe FAQs
- Cranberry, Apple, and Blue Cheese Salad with Cranberry-Apple Cider Dressing Recipe
- More Fall Salad Recipes:
Apple Cranberry Salad Recipe
Say hello to the flavors of fall in this fast, easy, and healthy dried cranberry salad that’s loaded with textures galore. There are sweet honey crisp apples, chewy orange-flavored dried cranberries, salty blue cheese, and crunchy candied pecans made with Fisher Pecan Halves.
The apple cider vinegar salad dressing comes together in 30 seconds in the blender. It’s a tart-and-sweet blend of dried cranberries, apple cider vinegar, honey, and olive oil. So easy but packs so much flavor. It’s thick and coats the salad beautifully.
The salad is great for lunch, as a healthy and fast dinner, and would make a gorgeous side at holiday celebrations and parties for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Looking for more ways to use apples?
My apple cider chicken with caramelized apples is sweet, savory, tangy, and ready in just 30 minutes!
Any my roasted sweet potato and apple casserole is a healthier holiday side dish that’s so easy you’ll make it for weeknight dinners, too!
Apple Cranberry Salad Ingredients
To make this apple salad with dried cranberries, you’ll need:
- Butter lettuce – feel free to substitute any other greens such as Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, or arugula
- Honey Crisp apple – I love the sweet tart flavor of Honey Crisp apples, but you can experiment with whatever you like best. For a more tart taste, use Granny Smith apples instead of a sweet apple
- Orange-flavored dried cranberries – if you can’t find orange-flavored dried cranberries at your local grocery store, regular may be substituted. I found the orange-flavored ones at Trader Joe’s
- Blue cheese crumbles – you can substitute goat cheese or feta cheese if preferred
- Candied Fisher pecans (tutorial linked in recipe card below) – feel free to substitute walnuts, slivered almonds, or even toasted pumpkin seeds
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey – the exact amount of honey needed will vary based on how sweet or tart the cranberries are and on personal preference
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make This Cranberry Apple Salad Recipe
This cranberry apple salad comes together quickly and can be served as a side salad, or you can add your choice of protein to turn it into an entree.
Here’s an overview of how the salad is made:
- To a large salad bowl, add the lettuce, and top with thin slices of apples, cranberries, pecans, and cheese. Set aside.
- To the canister of a blender, add all the apple cider vinegar salad dressing ingredients and blend on high power for about 30 seconds, or until combined.
- Taste dressing, and make any necessary flavor adjustments.
- Drizzle the dressing over the apple pecan salad.
- Add more toppings, if desired, and enjoy!
What to Serve with an Apple Cranberry Salad
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can blend up the dressing in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
You’re welcome to mix and match the toppings on this cranberry apple salad as you see fit. Play around with different kinds of candied nuts, apples, dried fruits, red onion, bacon, etc.
Of course! You can add turkey, shredded rotisserie chicken, baked chicken, grilled chicken, shrimp, leftover pork, you name it!
Sure thing! This dried cranberry and apple salad would also pair nicely with:
Strawberry Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Mediterranean Vinaigrette
Homemade Chimichurri Sauce
Balsamic Reduction and Glaze
Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
If possible, I recommend enjoying the salad right away. Leftovers will become soggy in the fridge. However, if needed, you can store the salad in an airtight container for 1-2 days.
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Cranberry, Apple, and Blue Cheese Salad with Cranberry-Apple Cider Dressing
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
Salad
- 4 cups butter lettuce, romaine or your favorite blend of greens may be substituted
- 1 cup honeycrisp apples, diced (from about 1 medium apple; Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, etc. may be substituted)
- ¾ cup orange-flavored dried cranberries, regular dried cranberries may be substituted
- ¾ cup candied Fisher pecans (use this recipe
- ¾ cup blue cheese crumbles, gorgonzola or feta cheese may be substituted
Dressing
- ½ cup orange-flavored dried cranberries, regular dried cranberries may be substituted
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 to 4 tablespoons honey
- 2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
Instructions
Salad:
- To a large bowl, add the lettuce, and top with apples, cranberries, pecans, and cheese. Set aside.
Dressing:
- To the canister of a blender, add all ingredients, and blend on high power for about 30 seconds, or until combined. The cranberries won’t break down completely and having some texture retained is okay. The amount of honey needed will vary based on how sweet or tart the cranberries are and on personal preference. I prefer less oil rather than more, but add to taste.
- Taste dressing and make any necessary flavor adjustments (more salt, pepper, etc.).
- Drizzle over salad and serve immediately.
Notes
- All salad topping amounts are flexible, add more or less of each topping based on personal preferences.
- Extra dressing will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Fall Salad Recipes:
Apple, White Cheddar, and Spinach Salad with Honey-Apple Cider Vinaigrette — The flavors just POP in this fast, easy, and healthy salad!
Roasted Squash Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette – A hearty, comforting, and satisfying salad that’s healthy and easy!
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad — Goodbye mayo-loaded, mushy, boring potato salad. Hello to a Mexican-inspired potato salad full of flavor and texture with corn, black beans, peppers, and cilantro!
Spinach and Artichoke Quinoa Salad – All the flavors of classic spinach and artichoke dip are in this HEALTHY salad! The only thing that’s missing is tons of fat and calories! FAST, EASY, naturally gluten-free, vegetarian, and tastes DELISH!
Roasted Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad – An EASY, healthy, lettuce-less salad with roasted curried cauliflower and chickpeas as the STARS! Topped with raisins, pistachios, cilantro, and a DELISH tangy Greek yogurt dressing!
Kale Caesar Salad with Fried Chickpeas — This isn’t a traditional Caesar salad and that’s what I love about it. I used kale rather than romaine and fried chickpeas instead of croutons.
Post is brought to you by Fisher. The recipe, image, text, and opinions expressed are my own. #ThinkFisher
Averie, I’m so in love with this gorgeous salad with all the fall ingredients. The candied nuts put this over the top! Pinned :)
Thanks for pinning! And I want to come in your suitcase on the next awesome adventure you take :)
What a beautiful salad! The dressing looks particularly delicious!
Mmmm what a delicious looking salad! Tons of lovely flavors, great job Averie :)
Oh I love the flavors and the textures in this perfect fall salad, I would only use feta cheese in mine since I hate blue cheese, lol as much as I tried to love it, it was never meant to me, but feta will rock my world in this salad.
Some people HATE blue cheese. I actually didn’t love it until maybe 10 years ago. Now, I’m obsessed. lol But yes, feta would totally work!
Love this beautiful salad and that cranberry blue cheese combo! Oh and pecans! Definitely a texture-filled dream :)
So much texture which I just adore in salads!
This is my dream salad. But…I’d add bacon. :) Love that dressing!!
I can totally see how some bacon would work well in here!
I love salads with nuts and fruit, that dressing sounds amazing I can’t wait to try it.
It was so good with the salad. Totally put me in the mood for Thanksgiving with the cranberries.
This salad looks so beautiful and delicious! You did an amazing job!
Paige
https://thehappyflammily.com
Candied nuts are a favorite of mine. It’s hard to stop with just a handful! This salad looks so delicious and the colors are great. And that dressing looks like an absolute winner!
When I think of fall-time foods, I don’t typically think of salads, but now I’m seeing the error of my ways – this salad is gorgeous! The cranberry apple cider vinaigrette sounds amazing. This would make a great addition to my family’s Thanksgiving table, since we’re always a little lacking in the veggie department.
It’s a perfect side for Thanksgiving because it has all the fall flavors and gives you some veggies and it’s pretty to look at!
Oh yummy! I can’t wait to try this. Thanks!
That dressing looks and sounds DIVINE.
It was SO good! You’d love it!
All the color you packed into this salad is seriously blowing me away right now! And that dressing! I think I just need a spoon and I’ll be good to go. ;) So gorgeous, Averie! Pinned.
Thanks for pinning and for the compliments! I love really colorful salads and have found that people tend to eat their veggies better when things are colorful and bright!
This looks like a super easy dish that would be perfect for the holidays! The cranberries and nuts make it beautiful and who doesn’t love apple cider?! Delish! Pinning :)
Thanks for pinning and agreed, totally perfect for the holidays!
Gorgeous salad Averie!! Jon and I had a little wine and cheese party for 2 over the weekend so the leftover Stilton went onto a salad nearly identical to this Monday (only difference was my balsamic dressing) and I subbed gouda in your spinach, apple, white cheddar salad yesterday. Today’s combo is your winter squash and cranberry salad.(I found delicata). I love blue cheese (and my neighbor has an apple tree) so I see many repeats of this salad. I am trying your cranberry dressing too–it looks awesome!
Thanks for making so many of my salads lately! That winter squash salad was so good, I need to remake that one :) Glad you found delicata! And gouda as a sub for cheddar sounds great to me in the other salad!
And you had a wine and cheese party with leftover cheese? I wish I could say that. Cheese is my thing and I have to restrain myself from polishing off a block myself…ha!
I splurged on a nice wedge of blue cheese and did this again today using your dressing this time. I love it–really tangy and perfect against the apple, sweet nuts and salty blue. I used to make blender dressings with various dried fruits but forgot about it–thanks for bringing me back!! I pretty much tripled the recipe and have a mason jar full of it for the week.?
I love a good wedge of blue cheese! I know you don’t have a Trader Joe’s super close but my favorite is the Castello Blue blue cheese. Maybe you can get it at other grocery stores besides TJs but their cheese is the cheapest I think! It’s so smooth and creamy, more like a brie in terms of softness at room temp than a harder blue cheese. If you need a new one to try, I go through at least 2 blocks a week of that one :)
And so glad you loved the salad and all the flavor pairings! Nice when you can remember something you used to make, too, like blender dressings! Glad you have a stash for the week! :)
This salad has all my favorite stuff. I’m obsessed with blue cheese, and then the apples and nuts are fantastic. Love the dressing, too! This is the best dinner.
Best dinner because it’s easy and it’s a salad so it’s automatically healthy, right! :)