Apple, Walnut & Feta Salad
by Amanda Keefer
Add some color and variety to your meal with this simple side salad. Crunchy apples and walnuts pair perfectly with tangy dried cranberries and creamy feta cheese. Drizzle with a tart, but sweet pomegranate vinaigrette to finish it off.
Nutrition Tip: Like all fruit, apples contain zero added sugar. Apples contain only the natural fruit sugar, fructose.
An apple, walnut, and feta salad is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, and is a nutrient powerhouse. It is also easy to prepare and can be made in advance. It contains fiber, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Easy to Make
If you’re in the mood for a salad, you’ve simply got to try this easy-to-make Apple Walnut and Feta Salad. It has all the right ingredients to make a great lunch or dinner. This salad is made with a spring mix of salad greens, apples (we used Honeycrisp, but Red Delicious or Jazz apples are both excellent alternatives), feta cheese, walnuts, and a pomegranate vinaigrette dressing.
If you choose to, you can prepare the dressing from scratch as well. For that, you will need one half cup of 100% pomegranate juice with pomegranate seeds, one cup of extra virgin olive oil, two tablespoons of dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste, and two teaspoons each of red wine vinegar and honey (or maple syrup if you’re trying to make this vegan-friendly). Speaking of vegan – if you’re trying to make this salad vegan friendly, swap out the feta cheese for vegan feta.
To combine the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Then, pour the mixture into a jar with a screw top and shake well to combine. Shake it again before serving to avoid the mixture separating. This recipe for the dressing will yield about a cup and a half. But, bottled dressing is also perfectly fine if you’re trying to save on steps and purchasing a lot of additional ingredients!
Contains Healthy Fats, Fiber, Vitamins, and Minerals
Apples are full of vitamins and minerals, and walnuts add protein and healthy fats. They also provide a good source of fiber. Walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for heart health. They also contain fiber and several vitamins, including vitamin A and vitamin K. In addition, they’re a great source of copper, phosphorus, and folic acid. It’s simply a nutrient powerhouse!
The ingredients in this apple, walnut and feta salad are a delicious combination of sweet and savory. It’s also the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of soup. However, if you want to make the salad into a meal you could serve it with grilled chicken breast, grilled shrimp, or even fried tofu on top.
All of The Elements Can Be Made Ahead of Time
If you’re looking for a delicious salad that’s healthy, tasty, and easy to make, this apple, walnut, and feta salad is your answer. You can put everything but the dressing together, and then when you are ready to eat, add a little of the dressing, and boom! Lunch or dinner is ready!
Just be sure to eat the salad before your spring salad mix starts to wilt. And, if you pre-slice your apples, spritz them with a little lemon juice to avoid browning.
Apple, Walnut & Feta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 5oz. package spring mix salad greens
- 1 Honeycrisp apple sliced
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 4 tablespoons chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened dried cranberries
- 4 tablespoons pomegranate vinaigrette dressing
Instructions
- Top salad with apple, cheese, walnuts, cranberries and dressing. Mix well.
