This salad is perfect for holiday entertaining. It can complement both a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner incredibly well. The apples, the roasted nuts, the dried cherries…woof. It’s incredibly simple and all of the components can be made in advance so you can just quickly assemble it on the day of!

Thanksgiving Apple Salad

Sarah Mikulski

This blend of end of year ingredients is the perfect complement to any holiday meal.

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Prep Time 15

Ingredients

Roasted Pecans

6 T brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
½ t salt
½ t vanilla extract
2 T water
2 cups pecans

Dressing

½ cup canola oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup apple juice
2 T honey
1 T lemon juice
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper

Other

2 apples
16 oz. mixed greens
1 cup dried cherries
5 oz. blue cheese

Instructions

Roasted Pecans

In a pan over low/medium heat, add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla extract, and water. Stir until it is all combined and melts into a sauce with a light bubble. This should take about 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the pecans so that they're completely coated in the sauce. Continue cooking them for 2-3 minutes while you're still stirring so that nothing burns.
Transfer the pecans to a separate dish to cool. For easy clean up, I would line whatever dish you use with parchment paper.

Dressing

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together.

Assembly

Thinly slice or dice your apples. I leave the skin on, but you can peel them if you'd like. If you're not serving immediately coat the apples in lemon juice so they don't go bad.
In a large salad bowl, add the mixed greens, apples, roasted pecans, dried cherries, and blue cheese.
You can either toss the salad in the dressing or leave it on the side. I prefer to leave it on the side so that each guest can get their desired amount.

Thanksgiving Apple Salad