Easy Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad

This Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad includes a Mixed Green Spinach Salad with Green Apples, Dried Cranberries, Walnuts, and Gorgonzola Cheese. This salad explodes with flavor.
The cranberries in this salad are very different than my other Cranberry Salad, called Cranberry Fluff.  That Cranberry Salad is sweet, almost like a dessert.

However, this Apple, Walnut Cranberry Salad is savory with a slightly sweet and tart combination, combined with nutty and salty flavors.

Suffice it to say, your salad bowl will be filled with flavor when you make this salad.  It combines the sweetness of the green apples and cranberries with the saltiness of the gorgonzola while the walnuts add a bit of crunch.  Yum!

To dress this salad, I made my Apple Cider Vinaigrette.  I rarely buy bottles of salad dressing any more because it is so easy to make my own, especially vinaigrette.  This one starts with olive oil and adds apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic powder, dried oregano, black pepper, and basil.  Easy!

This salad is easy yet impressive…my favorite combination.  Go ahead and make this salad.  Impress your friends.  Just don’t tell them how easy it is to make. Don’t worry. I won’t tell!

Easy Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 1 red apple , quartered, seeds remove, finely sliced
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 red onion , finely sliced (wedge way, not half moon)
• 120 g/4 oz mixed salad leaves (4 to 5 big handfuls)
• 2 tbsp feta or goats cheese , crumbled (garnish, optional)
• Squeeze of lemon juice (to stop apple browning)

    Candied Walnuts (or other nuts):

• 1 tbsp butter , salted
• 1 cup walnuts or pecans
• 1/4 cup white sugar

    Dressing:

• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1.5 tsp white sugar
• 1.5 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Candied Nuts:

1. Place butter in a small non stick skillet over medium heat. When melted, add sugar. Stir briefly, then leave until the sugar mostly melts.
2. When it starts bubbling a bit, add nuts.
3. Stir 2 minutes. Pour out on parchment paper lined tray.
4. Spread nuts out, allow to cool. Roughly chop half, leave some whole.

Plump Cranberries:

1. Place in a bowl, pour over freshly boiled water. Leave to soak 10 minutes then drain.

Apple:

1. Drizzle with lemon juice and toss (stops apple from browning).

Dressing:

1. Place Dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well. Adjust to taste - more oil to make it creamier, sugar for sweet, vinegar for tart.

Assemble:

1. Place salad in a large bowl with half the apple slices and all the onion. Drizzle with half the dressing then toss.
2. Scatter over the cranberries, desired amount of walnuts, remaining apple slices and feta. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve immediately!

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