This delicious apple walnut salad is loaded with crisp apple slices, toasted walnuts, and crumbled feta. It’s topped off with an amazing homemade honey mustard vinaigrette.
This post is sponsored by Klarbrunn.
Apple Walnut Salad
This is one of my favorite salads – if you love strawberry spinach salads, and are looking for a new version, this is the salad for you! It’s light, a little sweet, and full of so many delicious flavors. It’s one of my favorite salads to serve when we have company because it’s always a hit with everyone.
I’ve partnered up with Klarbrunn to bring you this amazing salad recipe. The light flavors pair perfectly with a can of their Blueberry Passion Fruit sparkling water. I love having an ice cold can of it when I eat this salad. You can find out where to buy Klarbrunn here.
Ingredients
Salad: The base of this salad is made with red leaf lettuce (or romaine lettuce), feta, red onion, walnut, and apple.
Salad Dressing: The homemade honey mustard vinaigrette is made with olive oil, Dijon, honey, white wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper.
How To Make It
Start by washing and prepping all of the main salad ingredients. While you’re prepping everything else, soak the sliced red onion in a bowl of cold water (this helps remove some of the pungent flavor), and toast the walnuts in the oven. (See the recipe card below for the full printable recipe.)
Mix together the dressing ingredients until they’re fully combined.
Assemble the salad, and top it off with the homemade dressing. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
What Nuts Go Well In Salad
My favorite nut for salads is walnuts. Pecans, candied pecans, and slivered almonds are all great choices, too.
What To Put In Salad To Make It Filling
If you want to make this salad more filling, try adding some grilled chicken! You could also add some jammy hard boiled eggs. A little bit of protein would go a long way in turning this salad into a full meal.
What Type Of Salad Dressing Should You Use?
I think honey mustard dressing tastes the best with this salad, but a balsamic vinaigrette would also work well. I do think it’s best with a vinaigrette type of dressing, which is why I wrote it with a mayonnaise-free honey mustard dressing (instead of a creamy dressing).
Is It Gluten Free?
Yes! This recipe is naturally gluten free as it’s written.
How To Make It Vegan
You’d need to either omit the feta or replace it with a plant-based cheese. The honey in the dressing would also need to be replaced with maple syrup. This salad would taste great veganized!
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
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Salad Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out our entire salad recipes section! Some reader favorites are:
BEST Apple Walnut Salad Recipe
This delicious apple walnut salad is loaded with crisp apple slices, toasted walnuts, and crumbled feta. It's topped off with an amazing homemade honey mustard vinaigrette.
Ingredients
Apple and Walnut Salad:
- 3/4 cup raw walnuts
- 1/2 small red onion (thinly sliced into half moons)
- 1 medium head chopped red leaf or romaine lettuce (washed and dried)
- 1 medium apple (cored and thinly sliced, Gala and Granny Smith are my favorites for this recipe)
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Honey Mustard Dressing:
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar and freshly squeezed lemon juice also work)
- 1 Tablespoon honey (plus more if you like it sweeter)
- 1 small garlic clove (minced or pressed, 1/2 medium clove also works)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (plus more to taste)
- Freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
Honey Mustard Dressing:
- Add all the dressing ingredients to a small bowl, and whisk until combined. Taste and adjust to your preference.
Apple Walnut Salad:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Thinly slice the red onion into half moon slices and then submerge the onion slices in a medium sized bowl of ice cold water. Let the onions soak in the water until it’s time to assemble the rest of the salad (about 20 minutes of soaking is generally the perfect amount of time). Soaking the onions allows the pungent onion flavor to dissipate into the water.
- Roughly chop the walnuts and bake for 6-8 minutes, or until toasted. Be sure to keep an eye on them, because nuts go from toasted to burnt quickly. When you remove the nuts from the oven, transfer them to a dish (they’ll keep cooking if you leave them on the hot baking sheet).
- Wash and dry the lettuce using a salad spinner. Place the lettuce in an extra large mixing bowl.
- Wash, dry, and cut the apple into cubes. Add to the mixing bowl.
- Add the toasted walnuts, soaked onions, and crumbled feta to the mixing bowl. Top with as much dressing as you want, and toss to combine.
Notes
Wait to dress the salad until immediately before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 283Total Fat: 22.4gCarbohydrates: 17.3gFiber: 3.6gSugar: 11.1gProtein: 6.5g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Try making this apple walnut salad as the perfect side dish for your dinner!
