Apple Cranberry Spinach Salad with Cashews and Balsamic Vinaigrette – healthy, delicious, easy-to-make salad! With lots of good for you ingredients, this recipe is packed with fiber, and it’s gluten free! It’s a great salad to make whenever you have spinach and apples, any time of the year. But this salad is definitely a great choice for the holidays, too, especially for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve.
I love using nuts in fresh salads, and cashews are often my favorite choice, as in this Cranberry Spinach Salad with Cashews and Goat Cheese and Lemon-Honey Poppy Seed Dressing or in this Strawberry Spinach Salad, with Blueberries, Mango, Avocado, and Cashew nuts. Cashews add so much flavor and a nice crunch to any salad.
Tips
- Grind half of cashews into smaller bits, and keep the other half of cashews whole. This adds more texture to the salad and make a pretty presentation.
- Use 1 green apple and 1 red apple, for color. In this recipe I use 1 sliced Granny Smith apple and 1 sliced Gala apple.
- Use store-bought or homemade balsamic dressing. Creamy balsamic dressing will work as well as balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Here is a good recipe for homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
How to make apple cranberry spinach salad
Just slice up the apples (one Gala apple and one Granny Smith apple). Then combine with other salad ingredients, such as spinach, cashew nuts, and cranberries. Do not add the salad dressing yet.
Next, add the Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (the creamy kind) right before serving:
Apple Cranberry Spinach Salad with Cashews and Balsamic Vinaigrette - healthy, delicious, gluten free, easy-to-make salad! Great choice for the holidays, too, especially for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Eve.
- 6 oz baby spinach
- 1 Granny Smith apple sliced
- 1 Gala apple sliced
- 1 cup cashew nuts
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette , store-bought or homemade
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In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients, except for the salad dressing.
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Drizzle the salad with the dressing and toss. Serve immediately.
There are many new “healthy nut and seed mixes on sale for Christmas 2020. Perhaps 1 of those would work. Was buying stocking stuffers for Hubs on Amazon, when I came across pages of them, by entering nut mixes. I agree on the cranberry issue too. A serving of a lightly sweetened Cranberry Orange Relish, or Cran-Raspberry Relish would provide a flavor contrast to the sweet fruit and earthy nuts and seeds. A Vinaigrette from a Cranberry Juice of choice, or Cranberry Wine, would work. Or leave the Cranberries out and use Pomegranates instead. Then you could use the fruit Vinaigrette or a Cranberry Wine. You could also serve it with a Sweet Riesling, or even a Sweeter Champagne. Mandarin sections, skinned or un skinned would work, or pineapple. Blueberries, or Raspberries as a colorful garnish, Citrus Zest Curls. These salads have infinite possibilities. Merry Christmas.
MaryAnn, I just love your feedback! So many great ideas! I myself like to use nut and seed mixes in salads. I think many of those flavored nuts and seeds go really well in salads. My recent favorites are caramelized pecans. Love the idea of using cranberry relish, as well. Pomegranates are a great addition, too!
How do you keep the apples from turning brown?
I would slice and add the apples right before serving the salad.
Apples, pears, peaches stay fresh using FruitFresh. Find it in the grocery near canning supplies.
You can also dip them in orange juice and they will not turn brown!
Janet, excellent advice! Thank you!
I like to make this salad in the winter.
Perfect salad for the cold season!
Perfecto!
Hi Julia, this is the perfect salad for the holidays, everyone loves spinach and this combination of add-ons sounds delicious.