Apple Walnut Salad

This Apple Walnut Salad is the perfect way to enjoy peak apple season. Bring it to a holiday party, or enjoy it as a delicious lunch topped with your favorite protein.

This salad requires minimal prep work and tastes impressive!

Homemade salad dressing tastes 100% better than anything you can buy at the store, and when you pair it with creamy feta cheese, crisp apples, and walnuts for crunch, this quickly becomes a salad you’ll crave. 

If you need an easy salad for Thanksgiving or Christmas, you can stir together the dressing up to 5 days in advance. Chop the apple and onion right before serving, and it’s ready to place on the table in less than 10 minutes. 

Ingredients You’ll Need

You can use any variety of apples for this recipe, such as Gala, Fuji, or green apple. (I used Honeycrisp apples in these photos.)

You can also add Fall toppings you love, like dried cranberries or sliced figs. 

If you don’t have walnuts, you can easily swap them for pecans or sliced almonds. You can also use another cheese, such as goat cheese or blue cheese, and any other salad greens you love, such as romaine or red leaf lettuce.

Top with baked chicken for a complete meal or baked tofu for a vegetarian option.

How to Make Apple Walnut Salad

First, prepare the dressing. To make your life easier, you can mix it 4 to 5 days in advance and store it in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature before serving.

In a small mason jar, combine:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teapoon fine sea salt

Use a small whisk or spoon to stir well until the dressing looks thicker and well-mixed. 

Note: I don’t add garlic to this salad dressing recipe because it can become pungent as it sits in the fridge, but feel free to add some if you’d like to.

When you’re ready to assemble the salad, the only things you need to slice for this recipe are:

• 1 sweet red apple
• 1/4 red onion (about 1/2 cup)

Thinly slice these ingredients for the best texture. Then, arrange the apple slices and onion on a bed of mixed greens in a large bowl.

(Use the store-bought mix that is pre-washed for the fastest results.)

The last ingredients you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup feta

Sprinkle them over the top, then drizzle on the balsamic vinaigrette right before serving.

This salad is best served immediately after you’ve added the apples and dressing. If you need the apples to last longer, try squeezing some lemon juice over them to prevent browning after slicing them.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

The sliced apple and red onion should be used within 24 hours for the best flavor & texture, but the salad greens, feta cheese, and dressing can be stored in separate containers in the fridge for up to 5 days, if you’d like to make this in advance.

Looking for more salad recipes? Try Greek Salad, Pear & Gorgonzola Salad, or Kale Feta Salad for more ideas.

Update note: This recipe was updated in October 2022 with a slight tweak to the dressing, in case you don’t always keep expensive balsamic vinegar on hand. The original recipe called for 2 teaspoons of honey, a 1/2 teaspoon of spicy brown mustard, and a pinch of salt, if you preferred that version. I think this updated recipe works even better for the holidays, though!

If you try this apple walnut salad recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!