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Home » Recipes » Salads

Apple Pecan Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Published: Dec 7, 2021 by Lexi

201 shares
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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.

Overhead view of apple salad with dressing drizzled over the top.
Jump to:
  • 🥗 Why We Love This Recipe
  • 🍎 Ingredients
  • 📋 Ingredient Notes
  • 🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
  • 💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
  • 🍽 Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Reviews

🥗 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:

Overhead view of salad ingredients, including apples, greens, and balsamic dressing.

📋 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.
Overhead view of SnapDragon apples on a wooden background.

🔪 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.

before and after baking pecan pumpkin seed brittle.

(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.

on the left: shredded brussels sprouts in food processor. On the right: close up of apple pecan salad in bowl.

💭 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!
What's the difference between pepitas and pumpkin seeds?


Pepitas are a certain variety of pumpkin seed that don't need to be shelled before enjoying. They have a much thinner skin, so they're easier to eat and
digest. You can find pepitas at just about any grocery store. Be sure to use unroasted and unsalted pepitas in this recipe.

What's the best way to prevent apples from browning?


We have actually had great success with these SnapDragon Apples not browning for several hours, which makes it much easier to prep this apple pecan salad ahead of time.

You can also toss the apple slices in a small amount of lemon juice to keep them from browning.

What should I serve with apple pecan salad?


A few of our favorite meal pairings include butternut squash mac and cheese, wild rice stuffed acorn squash, lentil shepherd's pie, mushroom stew, or butternut squash lasagna. All are delicious fall comfort foods that go well with a refreshing, crisp apple pecan salad!

Overhead view of salad topped with balsamic dressing.

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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.

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📖 Recipe

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Apple Pecan Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette


★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This apple pecan 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 weeknight.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Salad:

  • 6 cups mixed greens
  • 3 SnapDragon Apples, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups shaved brussels sprouts
  • ½ cup vegan or regular feta
  • ⅓ cup dried cranberries

Pecan Pepita Brittle:

  • ¾ cup raw, unsalted pepitas
  • ¾ cup raw pecan pieces
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Balsamic Dressing:

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 275˚F and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. 
  2. 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. Bake for 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
  3. Remove from oven and let the brittle cool completely before breaking into bite-sized pieces.
  4. 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. 
  5. Whisk together all dressing ingredients until well incorporated.
  6. Assemble salad with greens, brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, apple slices, feta, brittle and dressing. Enjoy fresh.

Notes

If you don’t want to 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 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: 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. 

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Category: Salads
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bowl
  • Calories: 390
  • Sugar: 28.6 g
  • Sodium: 514.4 mg
  • Fat: 23.9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 43.8 g
  • Fiber: 6.1 g
  • Protein: 6 g

Keywords: apple pecan salad, balsamic vinaigrette

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #crowdedkitchen

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Julie Flattery

    November 08, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    Love! But my brittle didn’t solidify. Has anyone else reported that?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lexi

      November 09, 2022 at 9:29 am

      Hi Julie! So glad you enjoyed. Did it solidify at all, or was it just a bit softer than you expected? Since we use maple syrup instead of regular sugar, it doesn't harden up quite as much as a brittle made with regular sugar. However, it still should have a good snap, so if that didn't happen, there could have been too much moisture, or perhaps it didn't cool long enough.

      Reply
    • Jeanne

      January 02, 2023 at 3:42 pm

      Made this for New Years Day
      Used Granny Smith apples
      It was a big hit, especially the brittle!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
  2. Rachel

    July 31, 2022 at 10:04 pm

    Delicious!!!! Didn’t change a thing

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Paula

    December 11, 2021 at 2:36 pm

    Hi, this salad looks delicious. I am unable to get snap dragon apples in or near the 16827 zip code in PA. What Apple can I substitute for this recipe and your apple tart? Thank you

    Reply
    • Lexi

      December 13, 2021 at 11:34 am

      Honeycrisp apples are a great substitute!

      Reply

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