Description
A vibrant and hearty fall salad featuring crisp romaine, tart apples, dried cranberries, crunchy pecans, smoky bacon, and creamy feta all tossed in a sweet-tangy apple cider vinaigrette. A celebration of autumn on a plate.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Autumn Salad
- 8 cups chopped romaine or green leaf lettuce
- 2 medium tart red apples, cored and diced (e.g., Fuji or Honeycrisp)
- 1 cup dried cranberries (or pomegranate seeds)
- 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 4 oz crumbled feta cheese (or Gorgonzola)
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette: Add olive oil, vinegar, syrup or honey, mustard, salt, and pepper to a jar. Seal and shake until emulsified.
- Chop salad ingredients: Dice apples, chop lettuce, toast pecans, cook and crumble bacon.
- Combine salad: In a large bowl, add all salad ingredients.
- Dress: Drizzle about 2/3 of the dressing over the salad and toss. Serve extra dressing on the side.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Toast nuts just before assembling for best aroma. To keep apples from browning, toss them in lemon juice or a bit of vinaigrette. Store undressed components separately and consume within 24 hours once dressed. Vinaigrette lasts 2-3 days refrigerated.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 390mg
- Fat: 26g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 15g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 7g
- Cholesterol: 20mg