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Apple Cranberry Spinach Salad

Apple cranberry spinach salad filled with greens, crisp apples, dried cranberries, walnuts, feta cheese and a delicious honey dijon dressing. An easy salad recipe that’s full of flavor!

Spinach salad on a white plate.
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Spinach Apple Salad

When I’m craving a healthy homemade salad, this spinach salad with cranberries always comes to mind. It’s so tasty and the honey dijon dressing really takes it over the top! I also love to make my winter saladmandarin orange salad and pear salad.

If you’re looking for an easy and delicious salad recipe to make when entertaining, this apple cranberry spinach salad needs to be on your list! It’s so quick to whip up and you probably already have a lot of the ingredients on hand. The flavors in this spinach salad blend together so nicely and make the perfect sweet and savory mix.

I like to use baby spinach as the base of this salad and add in a spring mix if I have some on hand. Then it’s topped with sliced apples, dried cranberries, walnuts (pecans also taste great), feta cheese and a honey dijon dressing. If I’m feeling extra fancy, I’ll throw in some candied pecans, which are a real treat.

I constantly crave this recipe and often make it for dinner and lunch, too! I like to add some shredded chicken or leftover steak with my steak marinade for extra protein. If you’re a fan of seafood, grilled salmon would taste delicious on this salad too!

Bowl of apple cranberry spinach salad.

Spinach Salad Ingredients

This recipe is super easy to throw together and can be customized based on what you have on hand. Don’t have walnuts? Use pecans or even almonds. No feta on hand? Try using goat cheese instead. You can even substitute pears and pomegranates for the apples and cranberries if you prefer.

  • Spinach or spring mix
  • Apple
  • Cranberries
  • Walnuts or pecans
  • Feta cheese
  • Honey dijon dressing (Extra virgin olive oil, honey, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, S&P) or dressing of choice

How to Make a Simple Spinach Salad

Scroll down for the printable recipe.

  1. Whisk together the honey dijon dressing ingredients in a small bowl, then store in fridge until serving.
  2. When ready to serve, add spinach to large bowl and then top with remaining spinach salad ingredients.
  3. Stir the dressing, then drizzle on top of spinach salad. Toss until combined.
Spinach salad with cranberries.

The Best Dressing to Use

The homemade honey dijon dressing is what really takes this recipe over the top. I love to use this dressing on so many different salads, like my strawberry burrata salad and mandarin orange salad. It is so yummy and only takes a couple minutes to whip up.

All you need for this honey dijon dressing is olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. To make things easier, you can toss the ingredients in a mason jar, shake it up and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve it. It will keep in the fridge for about a week. Before serving, just make sure to shake up the dressing before drizzling it over your salad.

Quick Tips

  • To make a complete meal, add extra protein like chicken, steak or fish.
  • I like to mix in some spring mix to give the salad more depth.
  • Feeling extra fancy? Make your own candied pecans to give this salad a boost!
  • If prepping ahead of time, add apples and honey dijon dressing right before serving.
  • Feel free to make swaps based on what you have on hand, like pears instead of apples or pomegranates instead of cranberries.
  • Store the dijon dressing in an airtight container or mason jar for up to 1 week in fridge.
Honey dijon dressing in a glass jar.

More salad recipes to try include this Waldorf salad recipe, cobb salad or Caesar salad.

Delicious Salad Recipes

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bowl of apple cranberry spinach salad

Apple Cranberry Spinach Salad

5 from 13 votes
↑ Click stars to rate now!
Author: Jamielyn Nye
Apple cranberry spinach salad filled with greens, crisp apples, dried cranberries, walnuts, feta cheese and a delicious honey dijon dressing. An easy salad recipe that's full of flavor!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients 

Honey Dijon Dressing:

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper

Spinach Salad:

  • 6 to 8 cups prewashed spinach or spring mix
  • 1 large apple , cored and thinly sliced
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ½ cup walnuts or pecans
  • ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve and stir before serving. The dressing stays good up to one week.
  • When ready to serve, place the spinach in a large bowl. Top with apple slices, cranberries, nuts and feta cheese. Drizzle with the dressing and toss until combined. Serve immediately.

Notes

*If prepping ahead of time, make sure to add the apples and dressing right before serving. *Pears and pomegranate seeds make a great alternative to apples and cranberries.

Nutrition

Calories: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 294mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 1.4mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 0.6mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.

Course: Salad
Cuisine: American

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