Recipe

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The crisp apples, tender greens, pecan bits, and blue cheese crumbles are a mouthwatering combination -all tossed in a simple apple cider vinaigrette.

This Christmas salad is the perfect seasonal salad recipe to serve on your holiday table, and the 2-minute vinaigrette takes it over the top. It’s so good!

christmas salad with apples, pecans, greens and onion

Festive Christmas Salad

When it comes to Christmas side dishes, I love hearty salads that come together fast with no need to cook and are easy to make ahead, like this delicious Christmas salad!

I make an epic mix of greens and sweet fruit with crunchy and creamy ingredients. And if you add my ridiculously easy 2-minute apple cider vinaigrette, even better! It's the perfect side to serve with ham, turkey, beef tenderloin, or ribs.

Ingredients

This salad includes a mix of greens, apple (crunchy, crisp varieties are best for this salad), red onion or shallot, pecans (cashews, walnuts, and pine nuts are other great options), dried cranberries, and blue cheese crumbles. The final touch is a delicious apple cider vinaigrette (made with apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and olive oil).

How to Make a Christmas Salad

First, make the vinaigrette by shaking the ingredients in a jar (or in the blender for a creamier texture). Store in the fridge to chill it. To assemble the salad, I like to fluff the greens for better texture. Then, make a base with them and add the remaining ingredients.

Other Toppings for Christmas Salads

Some delish toppings you can add to make this Christmas salad even more epic are pomegranate seeds, clementines, tangerines, feta cheese, slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, cubed avocado, cubed pears, dried figs, and dried blueberries.

Make Ahead Tips

Save time making this salad up to 24 hours in advance. Place the greens, add onion, pecans, cranberries, and blue cheese, cover the salad bowl with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge. Add the apples and the dressing right before serving to keep the fruit from browning and the salad from getting soggy with the vinaigrette.

Christmas Salad with 2-Minute Vinaigrette

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 10

Total Time: 10

The crisp apples, tender greens, pecan bits, and blue cheese crumbles are a mouthwatering combination -all tossed in a simple apple cider vinaigrette.

5 from 5 votes

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Watch how it’s made:

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette:

¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt

For the salad:

10 ounces spring mix salad greens
1 large honey crisp apple, thinly sliced
¼ red onion or 1 small shallot, thinly sliced (can be omitted)
½ cup pecan halves
¼ cup dried cranberries
4 ounces blue cheese crumbles

Instructions

Make the vinaigrette:

Measure and place all the ingredients in a jar. Shake well to combine and refrigerate for one hour to chill or up to a week. For a creamy dressing texture, place all the ingredients, except the olive oil, inside a blender. With the blender on and on low speed, slowly pour in the olive oil to emulsify it. Pour it into a jar and refrigerate.

Assemble the salad:

In a large bowl or serving dish, make a base for the salad with the spring mix greens. For better texture, fluff them as you remove them from the clamshell.
Distribute the thinly sliced apples and the red onion (if using) or shallot over the top. Sprinkle the pecans, dried cranberries, and blue cheese crumbles. This salad can be assembled 24 hours in advance and kept refrigerated and covered with plastic wrap. Sliced the apples right before serving to prevent them from browning.