Green Salad with Apples, Blue Cheese, Pecans, Mixed Greens, and Honey-Lemon Dijon Mustard dressing is an excellent addition to any menu! Easy enough to make on weekdays - fancy enough to share with family and friends for a special occasion! Serve it as a simple side salad, or lunch, or add protein (such as grilled or cooked steak or chicken) to turn this into a complete meal.
Simple green salad with apples and blue cheese
Apples work great in green salads (such as apple spinach salad or arugula apple salad). And, once you add blue cheese to the apples in any salad, it immediately elevates it to a new level! The pungent and distinctively salty flavor of blue cheese pairs exceptionally well with the sweetness of apples, the crispiness of mixed greens, crunchy pecans, and homemade honey-lemon mustard dressing. This recipe features simple, accessible ingredients that can be easily found in most grocery stores which means you can make this salad any time you like, year-round! Share it with your family and friends, and bring it to picnics, potluck parties, and barbecues.
The ingredients you need
Apple blue cheese green salad is made with fresh ingredients and is as simple as possible. It comes together quickly, in under 15 minutes. The salad features crisp apples, salty blue cheese, chopped pecans, and fresh mixed greens. My favorite apples to use are sweeter apples with a firmer texture, such as Honey Crisp, Gala, or Fuji. The homemade dressing is a combo of freshly squeezed lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, and olive oil. The recipe is very flexible - use your favorite ingredients. Add your favorite nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds) or seeds (sunflower or pumpkin), fresh fruit, or dried fruit, and use a variety of greens, such as spinach, arugula, butter lettuce, or mixed greens.
Green Salad with Apples and Blue Cheese
Ingredients
Salad dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 medium lemon juice freshly squeezed or more, to taste
Salad ingredients
- 6 oz mixed greens
- 1 large red apple such as Honey Crisp, Fuji, or Gala, cored and sliced
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- ⅓ cup Blue cheese crumbled
Instructions
Make salad dressing
- Combine all salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Whisk well with a fork, until emulsified. Or, close with the lid, and shake vigorously. Add more lemon juice to taste.
Assembly
- I prefer to arrange the salad in individual bowls for presentation purposes.
- Add mixed greens to each individual salad bowl. Nestle the remaining salad ingredients (sliced apples, chopped pecans, and blue cheese) on top of the green salad.
- Drizzle with the salad dressing.
- Alternatively, you can combine all the salad ingredients (except pecans and half of the crumbled blue cheese) in a large serving bowl, add the dressing, and toss to combine. Then, top the salad with chopped pecans and the remaining half of the crumbled blue cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Variations
My favorite thing about this green salad is that it's easily customizable with a variety of ingredients. Use what you have available and feel free to swap in your favorite fresh fruit, cheese, nuts, seeds, and a variety of greens.
- Fresh fruit. The next best substitute for apples is, of course, pears. You can also use peaches, nectarines, or apricots.
- Cheese. Blue cheese and gorgonzola cheese can be used interchangeably in this recipe. They have similar flavor profiles. If you want cheese with a tamer flavor, use feta or goat cheese instead.
- Greens. Use your favorite salad greens: mixed greens, baby spinach, arugula, or butter lettuce. Or, a mixture of any of these.
- Nuts. I love using pecans in salads, but you can also add walnuts, pine nuts, and sliced almonds.
- Seeds. If you don't like the idea of nuts, add sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
- Dried fruit. The sweetness of dried cranberries or Craisins will pair perfectly with the apple blue cheese green salad. You can also use dried figs, blueberries, or cherries. You can plump up the dried fruit by briefly blanching it with hot water.
Recommendations
- Use firm sweet apples, such as Fuji, Gala, or Honey Crisp. I did not peel the apples for presentation purposes.
- Toasted pecans. You can toast the pecans in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 5 or 10 minutes (depends if you toast pecan halves or crumbled pecans).
- Add protein. Apple blue cheese green salad tastes great with cooked meats, such as sliced grilled steak, beef, or chicken.
Other simple green salads you might like
- Strawberry Spinach Salad with Blueberries, Feta, and Pecans
- Arugula Salad with Pears, Apples, Cashews
- Cranberry Spinach Salad with Cashews and Goat Cheese and Lemon-Honey Poppy Seed Dressing
- Avocado Mango Salad with Arugula and Pine Nuts
- Apple Arugula Salad with Cranberries and Pecans
What to serve with it
- Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Spinach
- Pan-Seared Lamb Loin Chops
- Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Caramelized Apples
- Creamy Mushroom Pork Chops
- Creamy Spinach Chicken
- Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce
This salad caught my eye because we love Bleu Cheese, & apples, & have some type of a side salad almost every day with our dinner. I do a lot of cooking & baking, so I had all of the ingredients called for in my fridge & pantry. I made this salad exactly as posted & everyone loved it! Next time I'll try some of the variation options, to keep our daily salads interesting. Great recipes! Thanx Julia
Angela, you are so welcome! So glad you enjoyed this simple salad. This combo is one of my favorites - I make it often!