Apple Walnut Salad with Quinoa, Baby Spinach and Dried Cranberries

This apple walnut salad is crisp, fresh and full of fall crunch. With dried cranberries, cheddar and baby spinach, there is so much goodness in each bite. Quinoa makes the salad filling, so you can think of it as a side dish or a main. It’s also great for meal prep.

For another fall bowl of greens, try this kale salad with apples and grapes.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This is a hearty salad recipe that’s perfect for lunch or dinner. Quinoa does what quinoa does what quinoa does best. It adds protein and fiber, and that’s what makes a salad more substantial and entree-worthy.

If you are looking for a salad that works for meal prep, this one is it. Because it has a mix of ingredients and not just leafy greens, it keeps well in the fridge. This salad recipe works well for workday lunches.

You can go all in on apple season. While I can’t say no to homemade apple pie, for me apples are a fall fruit that I am more likely to eat in salads. Their mild sweetness plays well with savory ingredients, creating a nice balance. 

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Apples: For salads, I always use apple varieties that are crisp. Besides taste and texture, they are easier to cleanly slice. Choose a type that is slow to brown once it’s cut. Try Pink Lady, Fuji or Honeycrisp apples.
• Walnuts: It is very important that you toast the nuts. This is what brings out their flavor. Put them on a sheet pan in a 350-degree F oven for 5-7 minutes. Watch the nuts to make sure they don’t burn.
• Cheddar cheese and apples pair are meant to be together. I like an English aged cheddar. It’s a little bit crumbly. 
• Celery adds more crunch along with the diced apples. I finely dice the stalks, so the celery ends up well mixed in with the rest of the ingredients.
• Red onions give the salad something nice and sharp. Again, this is about layering in sweet and savory flavors.
• Dried cranberries tend to stick to each other, so pull them apart when you are measuring them.
• Baby spinach: Even though this is more of a quinoa salad, I still like to stir in greens. You can substitute with baby arugula.
• Parsley: With everything else, I also include chopped fresh herbs. 
• Quinoa: You can use white, red, black or a blend of all three. This comes down to appearance and what you have in your pantry. I simmer the quinoa in water.
• Red wine vinaigrette: I whisk together minced garlic, whole grain mustard, kosher salt, black pepper, fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar and olive oil. You can substitute with white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

Serving

As mentioned, you can treat this salad as a side dish or a main dish. If you want to serve it with something, I like eating the salad with a fall soup such as chickpea soup, chunky vegetable soup, roasted carrot soup or spicy butternut squash soup. Also, this can be a holiday salad for Thanksgiving.

Recipe Tips

You can make the vinaigrette up to 2 days ahead of time. Let it sit out for 15 minutes at room temperature before tossing it into the salad.

It’s best to wait to slice the apples until you are going to assemble the salad. Even though the recipe calls for apple varieties that don’t brown as much as others, you want them in peak form. If you are making the salad for meal prep, I recommend tossing the apples with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.

More Apple Salad Recipes

Cabbage Apple Salad with Blue Cheese
Fall Harvest Salad
Brussels Sprout Apple Salad