Favorite Apple Spinach Salad Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (2024)

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This classic apple spinach salad is easy to make with fresh ingredients, tossed with a quick apple cider vinaigrette, and easy to customize with your favorite add-ins!

Favorite Apple Spinach Salad Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (1)

Crisp fall days call for crisp fall salads like this one!♡

I’ve been making some version of this apple spinach salad for over a decade now and it’s about as simple as it gets, yet somehow stands the test of time and still always tastes so comforting and delicious. It’s made with a base of tender baby spinach, crisp sliced apples, toasted crumbled walnuts, tangy goat cheese (or feta or gorgonzola), tart dried cranberries, sliced red onion, and a quick apple cider vinaigrette. Perfect served as a side salad, or it can also double easily as an entrée (especially if you toss in some grilled chicken or chewy farro to make it a bit more hearty).

Feel free, of course, to use whatever variety of tart or sweet fresh apples that you love best. And by all means, go ahead and swap in whatever kind of nuts, cheese, or dried fruit that you have on hand too. This recipe is endlessly flexible, so make it your own and enjoy, enjoy!

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Apple Spinach Salad Ingredients

Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few quick notes about the ingredients you will need to make this spinach apple salad recipe…

  • Spinach:I love using fresh baby spinach for this salad, but any of your favorite salad greens will work.
  • Apple:Feel free to use whatever variety of crisp apple that you love best! I typically use a combination of sweet Pink Lady and tart Granny Smith apples, which are some of our favorites this time of year.
  • Red onion:I also like to add in some very thinly sliced red onion to give the salad a bit of bite. However, feel free to briefly rinse the sliced onion in cold water before adding it to the salad, if you would like to mellow out its flavor a bit.
  • Walnuts:I typically make this salad with toasted walnuts or pecans. But just about any variety of nuts or seeds that you prefer will play well in this salad, preferably toasted (if they are not already) to bring out their best flavor.
  • Dried cranberries: A sprinkling of these always adds great color and a hint of extra sweetness.
  • Goat cheese:I love the flavor of tangy goat cheese in this recipe, but feel free to swap in crumbled feta, gorgonzola, or a shredded sharp cheddar if you prefer.
  • Apple cider vinaigrette:Quick and easy to make with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon, garlic, salt and pepper. I highly recommend making a double batch, while you’re at it, to use on another salad later in the week!

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Possible Recipe Variations

As I mentioned above, this recipe is endlessly customizable. So please feel free to swap in whatever ingredients you love best and make it your own! For example, you could also…

  • Add farro:We sometimes cook a quick batch of chewy farro to toss into this salad to make it a bit more hearty.
  • Add a protein:Grilled or baked chicken, shrimp or crispy tofu would all be delicious additions to this salad.
  • Add sweet potato:Roasted diced sweet potato also pairs beautifully with this salad and is in season this time of year.
  • Use different fruit:This salad would also be wonderful made with fresh pears, mandarins, or pomegranate arils in place of (or combined with) the fresh apples.

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More Favorite Salad Recipes

Looking for more salad recipe inspiration? Check out our full collection of salad recipes here on Gimme Some Oven, or here are a few of my personal faves…

  • Everyday Salad
  • Caesar Salad
  • Fattoush Salad
  • Grilled Halloumi Salad
  • Pear Salad with Gorgonzola and Candied Walnuts

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Favorite Apple Spinach Salad Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (6)

Apple Spinach Salad

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.9 from 79 reviews

  • Author: Ali
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x
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Description

This classic apple spinach salad is easy to make with fresh ingredients, tossed with a quick apple cider vinaigrette, and easy to customize with your favorite add-ins.

Ingredients

Scale

Apple Spinach Salad Ingredients:

  • 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
  • 2 small apples, cored and thinly sliced
  • half of a small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 3 ounces crumbled goat cheese

Apple Cider Vinaigrette Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced
  • a generous pinch of salt and black pepper

Instructions

  1. Make the vinaigrette. Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a bowl and whisk vigorously (or shake them together in a mason jar) to combine.
  2. Toss the salad. Add spinach, apples, red onion, walnuts, dried cranberries, andhalf of the goat cheese to a large bowl. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, and toss to combine.
  3. Serve. Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining goat cheese, and enjoy!

posted on September 29, 2016 by Ali

American-Inspired, Gluten-free, Salads, Vegetarian

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Favorite Apple Spinach Salad Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients for spinach salad? ›

What are the best apples for salads? ›

For salads, you'll want a nice crunchy apple that doesn't brown too quickly when sliced or chopped ghostwriter referat. The best apples for adding to salads are: Honeycrisp, Fuji, Pink Lady, Piñata®, Jazz, Envy, and Empire.

What makes spinach taste good? ›

Spinach is ultra mild, making it versatile. It also means that it's important to season it well. Some great flavors to add to spinach are garlic, Parmesan, lemon, and red pepper flakes.

What are the top 3 best apples? ›

10 Most Popular Apple Types—and Which Ones Are Best for Baking and Snacking
  • 01 of 10. Granny Smith. undefined undefined / GETTY IMAGES. ...
  • 02 of 10. Golden Delicious. liaminou / GETTY IMAGES. ...
  • 03 of 10. Red Delicious. LiveFree / GETTY IMAGES. ...
  • 04 of 10. McIntosh. ...
  • 05 of 10. Honeycrisp. ...
  • 06 of 10. Gala. ...
  • 07 of 10. Pink Lady. ...
  • 08 of 10. Fuji.
Oct 6, 2023

What is the best kind of apple for baking? ›

For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

How to prepare apples for salad? ›

Why it works:
  1. Mix ½ teaspoon honey with 1 cup water. Add apple slices and soak for five minutes. Rinse and store until ready to serve.
  2. Soak apple slices in lemon-lime soda for five minutes. Rinse and serve.
  3. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice per cup of water and soak apple slices for five minutes. Rinse and serve.
Sep 24, 2018

How should spinach be prepared? ›

Best to trim or de-stem them and at least double wash them by dunking them in a sink full of cold water. No need to de-stem baby spinach. You can cook the bunches stems and all. However, with more mature spinach, you'll want to trim off most of the large stems, since they can be stringy.

How is spinach prepared? ›

Generally, the best way to cook spinach is on the stovetop. Sautéing spinach is an especially quick and easy way to cook spinach, which also evaporates excess moisture in the leaves. However, you can also boil or steam spinach in just a few minutes.

Is it OK to eat raw spinach in a salad? ›

The milder, young leaves can be eaten raw in a salad, while the older ones are usually cooked (spinach has one of the shortest cooking times of all vegetables).

Is raw spinach good to eat in a salad? ›

While eating raw spinach is good, it's better to chop it in a blender — for instance, by making a smoothie — or in a juicer, as this releases more lutein from the leaves, according to the researchers. When adding spinach to a salad or sandwich, cut it into strips to get the same effect.

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