Easy Apple Pecan Salad [With Cranberries]

This fantastic fall apple salad combines crisp apples, leafy greens, sweet cranberries, and crunchy pecans in a vibrant vinaigrette to enjoy all fall and holiday season!

Quick and Flavor-Packed Cranberry Apple Salad with Pecans

With holiday tables loaded with family favorites like candied yams, green bean casserole, and cornbread stuffing, it’s easy to bypass the salad during the holiday season. No fear of that happening with this cranberry apple pecan salad.

We actually have several vegan fall/Thanksgiving salad recipes you might love – like our pumpkin salad, butternut salad, and beet ‘feta’ salad – with the latter two already containing apple. For those who love the sweet-tart addition of a fall salad with apples, though, why not make them the key ingredient?

This fall apple salad combines crisp, tart Granny Smith apples (or other crisp apples, sweet or tart) with fall favorites like cranberries and pecans (or walnuts/pepitas), mixed leafy greens, spinach, or kale, and vibrant maple/brown sugar Dijon vinaigrette. The result is a salad mega-loaded with flavor, color, and texture in every bite. Looking for more fruity-based salads? Try out this pear salad or apple cucumber salad!

Not only do the flavors and textures hit all the right notes and brighten up any holiday/potluck table, but it requires minimal prep work, takes minutes to throw together, and it’s easy to customize, too!

The Ingredients and Substitutions

• Leafy greens: We love using whatever salad mix we can get our hands on, though lettuce (like butterhead) would work, too, or make a peppery arugula apple salad.

Increase the nutrients further by making spinach apple salad or apple and kale salad. For the latter, massage the leaves with the dressing to tenderize them.

• Apple: Use crisp, sweet-tart, or tart apples (or a combination of both). We used tart Granny Smith apples, but honey crisp, fuji, pink lady, or gala also work.
• Tofu: (optional) Use extra-firm or super-firm tofu and crumble it to combine with the dressing for a vegan tofu ‘feta’ or buy vegan feta cheese.
• Nuts/Seeds: Apple pecan salad or apple walnut salad are particularly popular, but feel free to use sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds/ pepitas, almonds, etc.
• Cranberries: (or raisins) To add color, chew, and bursts of tangy sweetness. Alternatively, make the salad with pomegranate and apples for extra juiciness.

The Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing

• Olive oil: Use a light extra-virgin olive oil, so the flavor isn’t too robust.
• Brown sugar: Or unrefined coconut sugar/ maple syrup – add to taste.
• Vinegar: We used apple cider vinegar this time, but adding some balsamic vinegar would also work.
• Dijon mustard: Or regular yellow mustard, in a pinch, for tangy heat.
• Water: To bring the simple vinaigrette to the correct consistency.
• Garlic: We used garlic powder, but use minced garlic if preferred (2-3x amount).
• Salt & pepper

For a dressing similar to Wendy’s pecan apple salad, replace the water with a blend of pomegranate juice and orange juice, use white wine vinegar and/or balsamic vinegar, and add some orange zest.

What Could I Add to an Apple Fall Salad?

• Cinnamon: Adding cinnamon to the dressing makes the pecans taste candied.
• Beet apple salad: Beets’ earthy, slightly sweet flavor pairs wonderfully with apple. Use thinly diced, sliced, or shredded roasted, boiled, or steamed beets.
• Broccoli apple salad: Add blanched or roasted broccoli florets for texture/flavor.
• Roasted vegetables: This fall salad with apples is perfect for tossing in any leftover Thanksgiving roast veg, like making a Brussels sprout apple salad, adding pumpkin/butternut squash, sweet potato, etc.
• Grains: Make a heartier meal with cooked quinoa, millet, farro, couscous, etc.
• Avocado: For creaminess, healthy fat, and antioxidants. Add when serving.
• Red onion: Thinly sliced for the burst of flavor in this apple lettuce salad.
• Lentil apple salad: Turn this apple and pecan salad into a heartier meal with canned lentils, chickpeas, or cannellini beans.
• Shaved fennel: To add extra crisp texture with a mild licorice-like flavor.

How to Make Apple Pecan Salad

• First, combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar and shake/mix well.

• Then, crumble the tofu into a bowl and add two tablespoons of the dressing. Mix well and set it aside to marinate.

• Meanwhile, wash, dry, and prepare the apples by dicing half and thinly slicing half.

• To assemble the cranberry apple salad, first combine the leafy greens and diced apples and toss. Then garnish the apple salad with cranberries, sliced apples, nuts/seeds, and the tofu ‘feta.’ Enjoy immediately, only adding the dressing when serving.

FAQs

Pro Recipe Tips

• Use crisp apples: The texture is best for salads. Other than that, you can decide if you’d prefer a more sweet or tart flavor.
• For more flavor: Toast the walnuts/pecans in a dry skillet until fragrant.
• Tweak the dressing to taste: Prepare it first, then leave it to sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Before serving, taste and adjust any of the elements to your liking.
• Leave the ‘feta’ to marinate: While it will taste okay if prepared and eaten immediately, it’ll be even better if given at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld and marinate.

Storage Information

This cranberry walnut apple salad is best on the day it’s made. However, any leftovers of the assembled salad may last a further day in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The dressing can be made 4-5 days in advance (and the tofu ‘feta’ will store for 3-4 days, too).

If you want to plan for leftovers, store the salad and dressing separately and combine the two when serving. If you only add the apples when serving, the remaining salad ingredients will store for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.

More Vegan Fall Apple Recipes

• Mulled Apple Cider
• Easy Vegan Apple Muffins
• The Best Vegan Apple Crumble
• Stuffed Baked Apples
• Apple Cranberry Crisp
• Apple Cinnamon Waffles

Photos by Alfonso Revilla