Fresh, chopped Autumn salad with apple cider dressing has crunchy candied cinnamon pecans, apples, pears, bacon and feta cheese, all tossed in a sweet and tangy dressing.
This is how I’m getting myself geared up for the end of Summer. With the Fall salad of my dreams. It’s chock-full of apples, pears, BACON, feta cheese, dried cranberries, and a sweet and tangy apple cider dressing.
I’m seriously not ready for the seasons to change, but it’s happening, and I’ve got to get on board with it whether I like it or not. Along with the batch of mini pumpkin chocolate chip bread loaves my mother made last week, this salad is helping immensely.
And did I mention the candied nuts?? Use pecans or walnuts, whatever your preference is. My top pick would probably be pecans but when I made this batch you see in the pictures here, I had used up the last of a large bag of pecans and had a handful of walnuts hanging out in my pantry so I used them up and they were DE to the lish.
The apple cider dressing is one of my very favorite homemade salad dressings. It has a sweet and tangy flavor and comes together in about two minutes with just five ingredients. Feel free up to crank up the amount of black pepper you’re using. Freshly cracked black pepper is definitely my preference but use what you’ve got!
You’re going to love how quickly and easily this fresh Autumn harvest chopped salad comes together, and how well it pairs with all of your favorite Fall dishes. I’m just gonna say it now, this salad needs to grace your Thanksgiving dinner table.
I know! Can’t even think about Thanksgiving yet! But this salad is so Fall-y, so delicious, so perfect and tasty, it’s got me imagining how fast it will disappear at our family Turkey Day gathering.
What people are saying about this Autumn Salad with apple Cider Dressing
“I served this salad for Thanksgiving and everyone LOVED it! I can’t wait to make this again.” – Sarah
“I can’t say enough good things about this recipe! I’ve made it three times as is, and like to make it a main dish and serve it with a seasoned, baked chicken breast over the top. Thank you for the beautiful dish, I really love it!” – Ashley
Chopped Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Dressing
Ingredients
- 6-8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 red apple - diced
- 1 anjou - or bartlett pear, diced
- 3-4 strips bacon - cooked til almost crisp, crumbled
- ½ red onion - chopped
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
Nuts
- ⅔ cup pecans - or walnuts
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Dressing
- ⅓ cup apple juice
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- 1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar, cover, and shake well. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine lettuce, apples, pears, bacon, onion, cranberries, and feta cheese.
- Add walnuts to a medium pan and stir over medium heat on the stove for 1-2 minutes until toasted. Add brown sugar and cinnamon and continue to stir until sugar is dissolved and walnuts are coated in the sugar mixture. Transfer to a glass plate or a metal serving pan to cool. Once cooled, roughly chop and add to the salad.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
This salad is so amazing!! Made it for dinner tonight and we couldn’t get enough! Definitely a keeper. Thank you for sharing this amazingness!!!
You are so welcome! So thrilled to hear how much you enjoyed this recipe!
Made this at latest family gathering and it was a hit! really delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing.
what can inuse instead of feta cheese? which other cheese would work? thanks
Sub any cheese you’d prefer more- no big deal!
This sounds delicious! Can any parts be made ahead of time? Thanks!
You can assemble the salad and add the dressing, made beforehand, when you’re ready to serve!
My new favorite salad!
Plan on making it for our next family get together!
So happy to hear that!