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.
This is my new all time favorite salad! I have made it probably 10 times in the last month. I love it.
I love that, Gretchen!
Great salad thanks. I’ve made this a few times and my guests always love it.
I’m happy to hear that, Stacey!
It’s apple season, and this salad fit the bill. Huge family hit! Will use this as my go-to easy and delicious salad recipe.
Love to hear that, Stephanie! Thanks for sharing.
I needed a quick idea for a salad to take to my grow group at church. I found your recipe, grabbed the ingredients that I didn’t have from the grocery store, and whipped up the dressing, toasted the pumpkin seeds and chopped the apple and it was done in no time! It was such a big hit! I am making it again for my son and I tonight. Thanks for sharing!
Why isn’t there an option to PIN this recipe? Printing it is just a waste of paper.
Hi Sarah,
you can pin the recipe by hovering your mouse over one of the photos. The Pinterest symbol should appear in the upper left-hand corner.
Hi Sarah, are you still having issues? It looks fine from my end. It’s also in Pinterest so you can do straight there to get the recipe to pin.
I haven’t made this one yet. Just wanted to say granny smith apples are delicious mixed with puy lentils.
I think I found my salad for Thanksgiving and beyond! I like something simple but yet looks and tastes special. I love that you give other options. You must have been reading my mind this afternoon cause I was sitting at my desk at work thinking about changing up my usual Thanksgiving salad but still wanted something simple and festive. Then I got your e-mail post so I found my perfect salad. Thanks again Kate! You are the best!
This is a great salad for Thanksgiving! I hope it’s a hit for everyone.
Can I replace it with spinach? : )
Sure!
First of all, I love how simple this recipe is. Second, I have a friend who made a very similar recipe as a side for dinner last night & I absolutely loved it. The roasted pepitas & feta adds a lot of flavor! :)
Thanks for your review, Roxy!
Perfect. Wouldn’t change a thing.
I’m happy to hear that, Kim! Thanks for your review.
I made this green salad with apples, cranberries and pepitas as a main meal on a hot November day in Brisbane. It was refreshing and delicious.
I made this for a potluck at church this week; I doubled the recipe, so I used a pear and an apple. I also substituted feta for the goat cheese and walnuts for the pepitas since I had them on hand.
I got three requests for the recipe and shared the link to your site with each person. My family has requested it be served the next time we get together as well.
The dressing was wonderful too. Thanks for such a delicious recipe.
Pear and apple would be a great combination! Thank you for sharing, Lee Ann.
This salad/dressing is delicious! It will definitely be on the Thanksgiving buffet table this year. Thanks, Kate….. Another winning recipe from your book, Love Real Food. Great recipes….. Great pictures….. Great job!
You’re welcome! I’m happy this will make an appearance at your holidays this year.
Loved it. The dressing is awesome as well. Thanks so much
Thanks for sharing, Lea!
Such a great combination, YUM!! This is so simple to make on a busy weeknight, gotta love that :) My non vegetarian husband was skeptical but absolutely loved it as well. I used feta because that’s what I had and cut back a bit on the salt since feta is salty. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Thanks for sharing! I’m happy you all loved it, Kelly.
So I know this is a vegetarian salad recipe, but I added some shredded chicken for some extra protein. It was fantastic.
Made this last night as an antidote to the Thanksgiving indulgences. SO easy and delicious.
I made this for Thanksgiving it was delicious and simple to make. THANK YOU!
This was a yummy, easy salad for a potluck. The dressing was amazing! Thank you.
You’re welcome!
Made this on Christmas And had it With dinner and it was amazing! Thank you
A great salad for the holidays! Thank you for your review, Lauren.
Made your “favorite green salad” to go with our Christmas dinner. Added a couple different items but loved the dressing and it was a hit.
That’s great! Thanks for sharing, Sandy.
Made this salad for my dad and brother’s family on New Year’s Eve. Everyone liked it, even those that don’t eat many vegetables! I’ve since made the recipe multiple times. I used almonds or pecans instead of pumpkin seeds a few times, and substituted the goat for feta cheese. I also soaked the apples in salt water so they would stay pretty for longer. I like that this is a flexible and versatile recipe that ends up tasty no matter what you put in it!
Such a tasty salad! Love the textures and the flavors of the various ingredients. Wonderful to make for a party too!
I’m glad you love it, Christine!
I made this , but swapped the goat cheese for feta, and added a few sliced strawberries for color!! It was a hit!!
Just made this for the second time! It is a lovely salad! Thank you for your great recipes, they make my life, as a brittle diabetic, easier.
I’m happy you can enjoy this one, Eileen! Thank you for sharing.
Hello, I recommend downloading over 172 eBooks with recipes from around the world. Over 100,000 recipes on over 20,000 pages. Visit now: SunsProfit.net and enjoy the best recipes from around the world. Best Regards
This was so good. I really liked the dressing. I was concerned the vinegar flavor would be over powering. It wasn’t, it was delicious.
Thank you!
Tried this delicious salad yesterday Awesome flavours and freshness and good how to tips. Thankyou!
This is now one of my favorite salads. Thank you for sharing. I marinate the chopped apples in the salad dressing while I’m waiting to toss the rest of the salad with the dressing. The extra time in the dressing gives them a little zing and they Also don’t discolor.
Good! If you are vegan I think it needs a little something without the goat cheese. My choice next time will be to add some golden raisins for depth of flavor and go with the balsamic dressing option?
This salad was SO good! I could not stop eating it! Thanks for another great recipe!
There is nothing better than a good salad!!! Looks so delicious!!!!
Michael
I’m happy you love it, Michael!
My family loved this. Its now our go to at least twice a month if not more. Thanks.
You’re welcome, Vickie! A great salad to have on hand. I appreciate your review.
This is also my favorite salad ever. It’s so yummy. I’ll often add some roasted beets! They go well. Thanks for this staple for our family meals.
I made your vegan version and added some vegan italian sausage (I’m sure some kind of apple sausage would’ve been great too). It was amazing!!! I can’t believe this was so simple and still so delicious.
This salad was delicious! I used feta cheese instead of goat, but otherwise followed the directions exactly. A huge hit!
This is absolutely delicious! I didn’t think there would be enough dressing but there was plenty and the flavors complimented each other perfectly. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
You’re welcome, Charmin! Thanks for your comment and review.
Hi Dana, I’m sorry to hear you had a bad experience with a recipe. But this recipe is a salad recipe. Which one did you make? Did you make one of mine? I don’t have many pies on the blog so wondering if that is what you were trying to make but perhaps a difference blog?
That is strange – I posted the comment on this recipe: Peeta’s Goat Cheese and Apple Tart
Hi Dana, that is strange as no a recipe on my blog. Sorry for any confusion!
I totally screwed up! I had both recipes open and posted the review on the wrong one. So sorry! Can you delete this thread?
If it helps, I loved this salad recipe! It was a big hit with my family. :)
Yes! I’m glad you loved it.
Such a delicious refreshing salad and so easy to make. This will be a staple in our house, especially when entertaining.
I made this salad as a side to baked ziti tonight & my husband and I both agreed we could have done the salad alone as the meal! This will definitely be a staple in our home from now on.
Wonderful to hear! Thank you for your review, Morgan.
This was easy and delicious! I served it with butternut squash soup and gruyere toasts.
That sounds delicious, Jennifer! Thank you for takin the time to review.
This was so very good. Had it for lunch with my husband. He was a big fan as well. I used the raw pecans instead of pepitas and I added a chopped pear and halved red grapes. This will be a regular meal or side in our home. Thank you.
I’m glad you loved it, Annmarie! Thank you for your review.
Made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! I’ve made it twice since then and love it. Thank you so much!
I love how this recipe uses simple ingredients to make an amazingly fresh and delicious salad.
I did not have spring greens on hand, rather used a mixture of half organic baby spinach and half organic baby arugula. I also did not have a Granny Smith apple, rather used an organic Fuji apple. It still turned out delicious.
This will become a staple salad for me to have on a regular basis.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
That sounds like a great way to change it up, Bea! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
This was a big hit at my dinner table. My boyfriend is a 1000 Island salad dressing man. But on this night, I decided to try this recipe and was expecting some sarcasm reaction about the Apple Salad Vinaigrette dressing and to my amazement, he loved it so much he had seconds. He even said I stuck my foot into it. :-) The only thing different I did was used Feta Cheese because I’m not a big fan of Goat Cheese and it was delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I have saved it in my file as I definitely will be making it again.
Hello. I made the salad for the new years celebration, however did some substitution of ingredients since I couldn’t find pepitas and we don’t have pegaba here in Venezuela. I used sliced toasted almonds and red apples. The test of the recipe I could manage as written. Everyone loved the salad, combination of ingredients and the vinaigrette. Thank you for sharing.
I just found you! Can’t wait.
I hope you enjoy this one! Be sure to report back as you try recipes.
This dressing is sooooooo delicious! Thanks so much for sharing! What a delicious salad. I texted the recipe to my whole family
Love, love, love this recipe for your Fav. Green Salad with Apples, Pepitas & Cranberries and it is just delicious. It’s a winner everytime & I keep continuing to send the link to various friends, family as so many people ask for the recipe.
Thank you, Chris!
I made this recipe on Thanksgiving this year and have made the apple cider vinegar dressing for pretty much every salad I’ve made since. SO good!