Apple Pecan Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

This apple pecan salad has all of my favorite components: crunchy apples, a sweet and salty pecan pumpkin seed brittle, thinly shaved brussels sprouts, leafy greens, tart dried cranberries, feta, and a simple balsamic vinaigrette! It makes for a beautiful addition to your holiday menu or any busy weeknight.

This post is sponsored by Crunch Time Apple Growers. All opinions are our own.

🥗 Why We Love This Recipe

• Super fresh: With plenty of texture from crunchy apples, mixed greens, and shaved brussels sprouts, this salad tastes incredibly crisp and fresh.
• Crunchy pecan brittle: We used a made-from-scratch brittle to add extra crunch and a bit of sweetness to this apple cranberry pecan salad. It's my favorite part, but if you don't have time to make it, you can easily sub with pre-roasted nuts!
• Homemade vinaigrette: We think our homemade balsamic vinaigrette tastes better than store bought. Plus, it's super easy to whip together in less than 5 minutes!
• Perfect for the holidays: this apple pecan salad makes for a delicious (and beautiful) addition to your holiday menu. It's easy to make and you can prep the brittle and vinaigrette up to several days ahead of time!

🍎 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this apple pecan salad:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• SnapDragon Apples: These delicious apples are perfectly suited for a fresh salad. They’re super crunchy, juicy, and have just the right amount of sweetness! We also find that they don’t brown as quickly as other varieties, so you can prep this salad ahead of time.
  • Not familiar with SnapDragon Apples? They're a relatively new variety grown by over 150 family farmers in New York State, and they're born from the seeds of Honeycrisp apples. SnapDragon is an all around apple that's equally delicious on its own as it is in baked goods, salads, savory recipes, or paired with cheese (or peanut butter – my favorite!). You can see where to find them in a store near you here!
• Brussels sprouts: You can typically find these pre-shredded at the grocery store, but you can also buy whole ones and use the shredder attachment on your food processor. You can also hand slice them thinly, but it's not a quick process.
• Feta: We used vegan feta, but you can opt for ordinary crumbled feta if you don't have a dairy allergy/aren't vegan.
• Greens: we used mixed salad greens here, but feel free to use another variety like arugula, baby kale or spinach.
• Dried cranberries: we prefer to use a low sugar variety, especially in this apple pecan salad since there's already plenty of sweetness from the brittles and apples. You can also substitute with golden raisins, chopped medjool dates, or dried tart cherries.
• Pecans and pepitas: I love these two nuts/seeds paired together in a brittle – it's crunchy (but not in a break-your-tooth kind of way), nutty, and so delicious. That being said, just about any nuts work in this apple pecan salad. You can also sub in walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, or another nut or seed of choice.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

PREP: Preheat oven to 275˚F and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.

(1) In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir in the pecans and pumpkin seeds until well coated. Spread into an even layer onto a baking sheet.

(2) Bake for 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Remove from oven and let the brittle cool completely before breaking into bite-sized pieces.

(3) Brussels sprouts: you can either purchase pre-shredded brussels sprouts, or if you have a food processor with a shredder attachment, use that to shred them thinly. You don't want any big pieces, otherwise they will overpower the other ingredients.

(4) Whisk together all dressing ingredients until well incorporated. Assemble salad with greens, brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, apple slices, feta, brittle and dressing.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• If you don’t want to/don't have time to make the brittle, sub with 1 cup of salted, roasted nuts of choice (we love pepitas in this salad).
• Brussels sprouts: since we're keeping them raw in this salad, you'll want them to be shredded very thinly, otherwise they will overpower the other flavors in this apple pecan salad. You can buy the brussels sprouts pre-shredded at most grocery stores, or use the shredder attachment on your food processor. If you don't have access to either option, a mandoline or a sharp knife (and some patience!) will do.
• Storage: for best results, we suggest storing the dressing separately from the rest of the apple pecan salad. If you are making this salad for meal prep/not eating right away, we also suggest waiting to add the apples until just before serving to avoid browning.
• Prep ahead of time: you can easily make the balsamic vinaigrette and pecan brittle up to 3-4 days before serving this salad. Store both in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the salad.
• Make it a full meal: to make this apple pecan salad into a full meal, consider adding your favorite protein (we like lentils, but if you're not vegan, try grilled chicken), and a grain like quinoa, farro or wild rice. With those additions, this well-balanced salad will keep you full for hours!

🍽 Related Recipes

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.