Favorite Green Salad with Apples, Cranberries and Pepitas
Fresh green salad recipe featuring sliced apple, toasted pepitas, dried cranberries and crumbled goat cheese. Apple cider vinaigrette recipe included.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 3, 2024
Healthy, attainable, feel-good recipes—those are my favorite. Take this simple green salad, which has been my go-to holiday salad for five years now.
I’ve brought it to too many Friendsgivings to count, and my family has enjoyed it at Thanksgiving as well. It’s beautiful, easy to make, and a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
This salad features fresh spring greens, tart Granny Smith apple, sweet dried cranberries and creamy goat cheese, tossed in a simple apple cider vinaigrette (recipe included).
I usually try to outdo myself when it comes to salads, but I kept this one simple. It’s the perfect side salad for all of your cool-weather meals.
Make it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any meal in between!
Green Salad Serving Suggestions
This is my favorite green salad to serve with heavier holiday/comfort foods. Consider pairing this salad with lasagna, baked ziti and stuffed acorn squash.
Serve this salad with a creamy soup to round out a light meal. It would go especially well with my creamy pumpkin soup, best butternut soup, and creamy roasted cauliflower soup.
Green Salad Tips
Spring greens wilt quickly once they’ve been tossed with dressing. If you are preparing this salad in advance, keep the dressing separate until you’re ready to serve. For best results, chop the apple just before tossing everything together, since apples brown when they are exposed to air.
For a salad with greater longevity, swap a big bunch of chopped kale (thick ribs removed) for the spring greens. Kale is a more hardy green that can withstand a long soak in dressing—in fact, it gets better as it marinates. At this rate, you could also add the apples—the vinegar will help keep them fresh.
Watch How to Make This Green Salad
Please let me know how this salad turns out for you in the comments! I’m always so happy to hear from you.
Looking for more healthy yet holiday-worthy salads? Check these out:
- Pomegranate & Pear Green Salad with Ginger Dressing
- Honey Mustard Brussels Sprout Slaw
- Farro and Kale Salad with Goat Cheese
- Arugula and Wild Rice Salad with Zippy Lemon Dressing
- Hearty Sweet Potato, Arugula & Wild Rice Salad with Ginger Dressing
- Autumn Kale Salad with Fennel, Honeycrisp and Goat Cheese
Favorite Green Salad with Apples, Cranberries and Pepitas
My favorite fresh salad featuring healthy greens, sliced apple, toasted pepitas, dried cranberries and crumbled goat cheese. Toss with my simple apple cider vinaigrette (recipe below) or use balsamic dressing in a pinch. Recipe yields 2 full-sized salads or 4 to 6 side salads.
Ingredients
Green salad
- 5 ounces (about 5 cups) spring greens salad blend
- 1 large or 2 small Granny Smith apple(s)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) or chopped raw pecans
- 2 ounces chilled goat cheese, crumbled (about ⅓ cup)
Apple cider vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Toast the pepitas: In a medium-sized skillet, toast the pepitas over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are turning golden on the edges and making little popping noises (if using pecans instead, warm them just until they are fragrant). Transfer the pepitas to a small bowl to cool.
- Make the dressing: In a cup or jar, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and salt until well blended. Season to taste with pepper.
- Just before serving, chop the apple into thin, bite-sized pieces. Place your greens in a large serving bowl. Top with sliced apple, dried cranberries and toasted pepitas. Use a fork to crumble the goat cheese over the salad.
- Drizzle the salad with just enough dressing to lightly coat the leaves once tossed (you probably won’t need all of it). Gently toss to mix all of the ingredients and serve!
Notes
Make it vegan: Substitute maple syrup for the honey and omit the cheese.
Storage suggestions: Spring greens wilt quickly once they’ve been tossed with dressing, so store dressing separately from the greens. Apples oxidize quickly once they’re cut open, so I chop them just before serving the salad. For a salad with more longevity, swap chopped kale for the spring greens (like this). Bonus? The dressing will keep the chopped apples looking fresh.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Wow this was so good! Restaurant quality!! I didn’t have any pepitas so I used shelled pistachios but stuck to the recipe otherwise and we loved it!
Thank you for sharing, Ashley! I appreciate your review.
Love your recipes! Love your book! My question–do you have a favorite brand of goat cheese. I haven’t found one at my supermarket that I love.
I try to buy organic when I can. Whole Foods has a good option.
I love this salad, and the dressing is my new favorite dressing! I added some chicken chunks and it was the perfect lunchtime meal.
I make this salad year round. The festive colors are perfect for a holiday table and the salad is light and goes well with heavy foods. It’s a great summer salad too. The colors also look pretty on July 4th. I never bring any home. Everyone loves it! And, it’s quick to prepare.
I love to hear that! Thank you for sharing, Nancy.
Absolutely delicious. Used a platter rather than a bowl for a very attractive presentation.
Made this for a baby shower. It was absolutely delicious, and everyone loved it. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Marie! I appreciate your review.
Delicious! Question – do you roast the pecans too if using those instead? Its unclear.
To enhance the flavor, sure!
Awesome salad and so easy to put together! Thank you Kate for another awesome recipe!
I made this for a Paddy’s Day get together and everyone loved it and asked for the recipe. Was so simple to put together too. Will be my go to salad from now on
I love to hear that, Nat! Thank you for your review.
It looks so delicious, but how would you make the dressing diabetes friendly?
Kate, thanks for the delicious recipe. I hope to make it someday but with a few tweaks. Example, I may use Feta cheese instead, as I don’t like goat cheese (wish I did, though). Thanks again.
To fellow reader, Thea:
My hub is diabetic, so I understand. Maybe cut back on the amount of dried cranberries (which have sugar), or put them in a separate bowl along side the salad so they can be added according to taste & dietary considerations. Ditto, the apples, if that concerns you. Also, for the dressing, maybe consider using agave (a low glycemic sweetener), or sugar free maple syrup (if you don’t mind the artificial sweetener or sugar alcohols in it). Or simply cut back on the amount of honey used. If so, you may have to adjust how much vinegar & oil you use, since it won’t be as sweet if you cut back on the honey. Just a thought, & no doubt Kate can advise you re ratios for the other dressing ingredients if you cut back on the honey, since it’s her recipe. Hope it helps.
I’m excited about this flavorful salad you’ve put together! Making it for ‘in-laws’ for Easter Dinner!
Blessings to you and your family on this celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection
Thank you for your review, Megg!
I never have leftovers with this salad. This time I added sliced strawberries. Such a perfect combo with the oven baked chicken and rice. I’ll come back to recipe many times over. Thank you!
Great to hear, Joe!
Absolutely delicious. I substituted the pepitas for walnuts though. And instead of goat cheese I used gouda. Plus added some thin sliced red onion. And used Paneras Fuji Apple dressing. 5 stars! Could eat this everyday
I make this salad often. I have cranberry fatigue, so I swap in pomegranate seeds.
This salad is so amazingly simple and delicious!
The creamy goats cheese is a must.
I make the dressing as per the recipe and find it makes 6 salads for 2 people. Keeps well in the
Thank you for your recipe. Everyone loves it!
I love love love this salad. I make it a lot for company and it’s always eaten up. Thanks!
Great to hear, Lisa! I appreciate your review.
I made this apple/cranberry salad for a luncheon at church, dressing and all. It was delicious! It was easy to make and the instructions were clear and simple. I cut the apple and put the slices in water cut with lemon juice, then removed and added to the salad just before leaving for church. The apple slices still looked good two hours later when the luncheon began. The vinaigrette was also delicious. Nice blend of flavors. Thank you for sharing!!
I made this salad for a work potluck. I was going to be in a meeting before the potluck and was concerned that the apples would be brown. I cut up the apples at home and added them to the dressing. Right before the potluck began, I added the apples and dressing to the salad. The salad got good reviews!
Simple and delicious! I was just apple picking and this was a perfect way to use one. Thank you!
I’m glad you loved it, Natalie!
I’ve made this salad several times and personally love the goat cheese, but I’d like to serve it this weekend to a group and some people don’t care for it. Is there another cheese you’d recommend using instead? Thanks!
You can serve the cheese on the side and let the guests choose! Cheddar could be nice.
This salad was just what I was looking for I do a group call primetimers at my church and needed a green pretty salad to go with smoked turkey can’t wait to try it thank you Jonie smith
Would feta, rather than goat cheese, work with this salad?
Sure, if you prefer that! Let me know what you think.
Can you give me this recipe for 50 to 60 people. I don’t know how to figure it out. I think my community thanksgiving dinner would like this.
I keep coming back to this salad – especially the dressing!! It is so variable and takes to additions/substitutions so well. This is my absolute, most favorite salad ever. Period. Thanks Kate!!
You’re welcome, Nat!
This was so good! I love the dressing and all the toppings make the salad so easy to eat.
Made this tonight and it was delicious. Will definitely be making this again.
Great to hear, Chris! I appreciate your review.
The multiplying factor is wrong for the apples. For 2x it says 2 large or 2 small apples. For 3x it days 3 large or 2 small apples. I’m making 3x so 6 small ones?
Hi Cheryl, I will take a look!
Can’t wait to make again! I was shocked by how simple yet flavorful it all turned out! I bought a 1 lb log of cranberry goat cheese at Costco– no regrets there with using it in addition to the regular cranberries. Everyone at the Thanksgiving table loved it-thank you!
This sounds great but could you clarify? Is “goat cheese” chevre or feta?
Thanks!
I made this salad over the weekend. So delicious and simple. The dressing was just perfect. I used dried cherries and it was perfectly tart, creamy with the goat cheese and crunchy with the apples and pepitas. Will definitely make it again. Yum!
I made this for Thanksgiving and every adult there asked for the recipe. Delicious! Making again for Christmas Eve….
I served the salad with the vinaigrette on the side and also made a creamy gorgonzola dressing. About half of my Holiday dinner guests used the vinaigrette and half gorgonzola. I tried both dressings :). ALL said it was a great salad! I used one large Cosmic Crisp apple.