Healthy, attainable, feel-good recipes—those are my favorite. Take this simple green salad, which has been my go-to holiday salad for five years now.
I’ve brought it to too many Friendsgivings to count, and my family has enjoyed it at Thanksgiving as well. It’s beautiful, easy to make, and a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
This salad features fresh spring greens, tart Granny Smith apple, sweet dried cranberries and creamy goat cheese, tossed in a simple apple cider vinaigrette (recipe included).
I usually try to outdo myself when it comes to salads, but I kept this one simple. It’s the perfect side salad for all of your cool-weather meals.
Make it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any meal in between!
Green Salad Serving Suggestions
This is my favorite green salad to serve with heavier holiday/comfort foods. Consider pairing this salad with lasagna, baked ziti and stuffed acorn squash.
Serve this salad with a creamy soup to round out a light meal. It would go especially well with my creamy pumpkin soup, best butternut soup, and creamy roasted cauliflower soup.
Green Salad Tips
Spring greens wilt quickly once they’ve been tossed with dressing. If you are preparing this salad in advance, keep the dressing separate until you’re ready to serve. For best results, chop the apple just before tossing everything together, since apples brown when they are exposed to air.
For a salad with greater longevity, swap a big bunch of chopped kale (thick ribs removed) for the spring greens. Kale is a more hardy green that can withstand a long soak in dressing—in fact, it gets better as it marinates. At this rate, you could also add the apples—the vinegar will help keep them fresh.
Watch How to Make This Green Salad
Please let me know how this salad turns out for you in the comments! I’m always so happy to hear from you.
Looking for more healthy yet holiday-worthy salads? Check these out:
- Pomegranate & Pear Green Salad with Ginger Dressing
- Honey Mustard Brussels Sprout Slaw
- Farro and Kale Salad with Goat Cheese
- Arugula and Wild Rice Salad with Zippy Lemon Dressing
- Hearty Sweet Potato, Arugula & Wild Rice Salad with Ginger Dressing
- Autumn Kale Salad with Fennel, Honeycrisp and Goat Cheese
Favorite Green Salad with Apples, Cranberries and Pepitas
- Author:
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 side salads 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: By hand
- Cuisine: American
My favorite fresh salad featuring healthy greens, sliced apple, toasted pepitas, dried cranberries and crumbled goat cheese. Toss with my simple apple cider vinaigrette (recipe below) or use balsamic dressing in a pinch. Recipe yields 2 full-sized salads or 4 to 6 side salads.
Ingredients
Green salad
- 5 ounces (about 5 cups) spring greens salad blend
- 1 large or 2 small Granny Smith apple(s)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) or chopped raw pecans
- 2 ounces chilled goat cheese, crumbled (about ⅓ cup)
Apple cider vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Toast the pepitas: In a medium-sized skillet, toast the pepitas over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are turning golden on the edges and making little popping noises (if using pecans instead, warm them just until they are fragrant). Transfer the pepitas to a small bowl to cool.
- Make the dressing: In a cup or jar, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and salt until well blended. Season to taste with pepper.
- Just before serving, chop the apple into thin, bite-sized pieces. Place your greens in a large serving bowl. Top with sliced apple, dried cranberries and toasted pepitas. Use a fork to crumble the goat cheese over the salad.
- Drizzle the salad with just enough dressing to lightly coat the leaves once tossed (you probably won’t need all of it). Gently toss to mix all of the ingredients and serve!
Notes
Make it vegan: Substitute maple syrup for the honey and omit the cheese.
Storage suggestions: Spring greens wilt quickly once they’ve been tossed with dressing, so store dressing separately from the greens. Apples oxidize quickly once they’re cut open, so I chop them just before serving the salad. For a salad with more longevity, swap chopped kale for the spring greens (like this). Bonus? The dressing will keep the chopped apples looking fresh.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Suzanne Martinek
Absolutely delicious! The dressing was a perfect accompaniment to the salad. This is definitely a salad that I will make time and time again.
★★★★★
Carlan McBride
I love this salad! It’s so so simple yet delicious and pairs well with most any cool weather meals. It’s easy to add to and play around with as well. A great staple. Thanks Kate!
★★★★★
Kimberly
This salad is one of my new favourites! I’ve made it quite a few times over! All my kids love it! Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Kimberly! I appreciate your review.
Lisle
Just ate this for dinner at my aunt’s home and it was absolutely amazing!! Healthy and full flavor with just the right about of sweet! Highly recommend!!
★★★★★
Ruchi
Num..num!!!! My go to salad recipe when my sweet tooth kicks in. Toddler friendly as well.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review, Ruchi! I appreciate it.
Katie
I have made this countless times and it is fantastic every time! Friends ask for it when they come over!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m delighted to hear that! Thank you for your review.
gwendolyn hilton
Thank you for some of these recipes; I have made spring rolls before and have been unable to make the perfect peanut dipping sauce, therefore, can’t wait until I attempt to do this soon. Thanks.
I am looking forward for kidney-friendly recipes and the apple with cranberries, peppitas, appears to be what I have been wanting to try.
Thanks.
Melissa
This salad is a slam dunk. It’s seriously delicious, and because it’s quick and easy to prepare, I will often do it for lunch on work days, combining it with either the “seriously good veggie soup” or creamy carrot soup (both from C&K). That’s my definition of a perfect weekday lunch!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you loved it, Melissa! Thank you for your review.