This classic apple spinach salad is easy to make with fresh ingredients, tossed with a quick apple cider vinaigrette, and easy to customize with your favorite add-ins!
Crisp fall days call for crisp fall salads like this one! ♡
I’ve been making some version of this apple spinach salad for over a decade now and it’s about as simple as it gets, yet somehow stands the test of time and still always tastes so comforting and delicious. It’s made with a base of tender baby spinach, crisp sliced apples, toasted crumbled walnuts, tangy goat cheese (or feta or gorgonzola), tart dried cranberries, sliced red onion, and a quick apple cider vinaigrette. Perfect served as a side salad, or it can also double easily as an entrée (especially if you toss in some grilled chicken or chewy farro to make it a bit more hearty).
Feel free, of course, to use whatever variety of tart or sweet fresh apples that you love best. And by all means, go ahead and swap in whatever kind of nuts, cheese, or dried fruit that you have on hand too. This recipe is endlessly flexible, so make it your own and enjoy, enjoy!
Apple Spinach Salad Ingredients
Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few quick notes about the ingredients you will need to make this spinach apple salad recipe…
- Spinach: I love using fresh baby spinach for this salad, but any of your favorite salad greens will work.
- Apple: Feel free to use whatever variety of crisp apple that you love best! I typically use a combination of sweet Pink Lady and tart Granny Smith apples, which are some of our favorites this time of year.
- Red onion: I also like to add in some very thinly sliced red onion to give the salad a bit of bite. However, feel free to briefly rinse the sliced onion in cold water before adding it to the salad, if you would like to mellow out its flavor a bit.
- Walnuts: I typically make this salad with toasted walnuts or pecans. But just about any variety of nuts or seeds that you prefer will play well in this salad, preferably toasted (if they are not already) to bring out their best flavor.
- Dried cranberries: A sprinkling of these always adds great color and a hint of extra sweetness.
- Goat cheese: I love the flavor of tangy goat cheese in this recipe, but feel free to swap in crumbled feta, gorgonzola, or a shredded sharp cheddar if you prefer.
- Apple cider vinaigrette: Quick and easy to make with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon, garlic, salt and pepper. I highly recommend making a double batch, while you’re at it, to use on another salad later in the week!
Possible Recipe Variations
As I mentioned above, this recipe is endlessly customizable. So please feel free to swap in whatever ingredients you love best and make it your own! For example, you could also…
- Add farro: We sometimes cook a quick batch of chewy farro to toss into this salad to make it a bit more hearty.
- Add a protein: Grilled or baked chicken, shrimp or crispy tofu would all be delicious additions to this salad.
- Add sweet potato: Roasted diced sweet potato also pairs beautifully with this salad and is in season this time of year.
- Use different fruit: This salad would also be wonderful made with fresh pears, mandarins, or pomegranate arils in place of (or combined with) the fresh apples.
More Favorite Salad Recipes
Looking for more salad recipe inspiration? Check out our full collection of salad recipes here on Gimme Some Oven, or here are a few of my personal faves…
- Everyday Salad
- Caesar Salad
- Fattoush Salad
- Grilled Halloumi Salad
- Pear Salad with Gorgonzola and Candied Walnuts
Apple Spinach Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x
Description
This classic apple spinach salad is easy to make with fresh ingredients, tossed with a quick apple cider vinaigrette, and easy to customize with your favorite add-ins.
Ingredients
Apple Spinach Salad Ingredients:
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 2 small apples, cored and thinly sliced
- half of a small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 3 ounces crumbled goat cheese
Apple Cider Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced
- a generous pinch of salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette. Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a bowl and whisk vigorously (or shake them together in a mason jar) to combine.
- Toss the salad. Add spinach, apples, red onion, walnuts, dried cranberries, and half of the goat cheese to a large bowl. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, and toss to combine.
- Serve. Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining goat cheese, and enjoy!
i made this salad yesterday, it was delicious. thank you for sharing. I will keep making it. I never liked salads and I realized you have to add interesting ingredients to make an interesting salad and one that bursts in your mouth with flavour. Adding the apples to the salad was so good. Thank you again. I can’t thank you enough.
Marcella from Toronto Canada.
I am so impressed with this salad, it’s absolutely delicious. It tastes fresh, easy to make, it pairs well with pasta or as an appetizer or snack. And i find it pretty original
Looks really beautiful and tasty. Can’t wait to try it ☺
Absolutely spectacular balance of sweet and tangy ingredients. Rich, savoury flavours exploding with sweet and sour notes made this the best salad I’ve ever had. I even went back for a second helping.
We used golden delicious apples and a cheese made with fig and mango for this recipe and it formed the perfect counterpoint to the tangy cranberries and the bite of the lemon in the vinaigrette.
Hands down my favourite salad. Will make again.
Really turned out well didn’t add any cheese but still whole family enjoyed it. Thanks❤️
Delicious and refreshing salad. My new favorite!
Made the spinach, cranberry, Apple, bacon, pecan and red onion salad today for 8 people at our bridge club. It was a success. I used honeycrisp apples and people commented onhow good they were, we also had ham. Beef, capresse and potato salad for Valentine’s say. I will certainly make the spinach salad agaain. Thank you.
One of my favorites too! It always gets rave reviews.
This is my absolute FAVORITE go-to salad! I follow the recipe exactly when I make it and it comes out perfect every time. I love the dressing – so tangy and delicious. I always throw some grilled chicken in there too, and it’s perfect for a week of lunches. Thanks for this great recipe!
I made the salad for a neighbourhood New Year day gathering & everyone really liked it. (& requested the recipe so you know they mean it).
My notes: After reading comments I used just 1 T lemon juice, 1 T maple syrup. I used both dried cranberries & pomegranate for more freshness & colour pop. I was short on walnuts so made up w some toasted sliced almonds which I sprinkled with some cheese on serving.
I will definitely make again