Sometimes you just need a salad to balance out all the other Thanksgiving dishes. 

But you don’t want the salad to be too much of a bore, you know? After all, it is a holiday.

Simple Apple Pecan Salad is the perfect option. 

It’s easy to make, packed with flavor, and tastes great leftover (…for that post-Thanksgiving meal when you only want to eat salad). 

It’s a crisp and vibrant salad that combines the earthiness of kale with the juicy sweetness of Honeycrisp apples. Add crunchy pecans, creamy hints of blue cheese, and sweet dried cranberries. All these flavors are brought together with a sweet and tangy salad dressing made with Dijon mustard and maple syrup. 

It’s an autumn salad perfect for a holiday or any other day of the year.

Apple Pecan Salad Ingredients

Kale (chopped)

Make sure to de-rib the kale to avoid the thicker, more bitter stalks. Kale is great because it keeps longer without the wilting you get with other greens. If you’re not into kale, you can use your favorite greens, like romaine lettuce or spinach.  

Honeycrisp apples (chopped)

Honeycrisps are a great balance of sweet and tart, with a firm texture. If you want to try out another apple, you could go for Fuji apples, Pink Lady Apples, or Gala apples. 

Pecans

For a little extra flavor, try toasting the pecans. If you like very sweet fall salads, you could do maple pecans or candied pecans. (But the salad dressing adds a nice sweetness, so you may prefer the pecans plain.) 

Blue cheese

The blue cheese crumbles add a nice tangy flavor to the salad. If you don’t love blue cheese, try some creamy goat cheese or feta instead. 

Dried cranberries

Dried cherries would also work in this fall salad recipe. 

Mustard Maple Dressing Ingredients

Shallot

Dijon mustard

Maple syrup

Extra virgin olive oil

Lemon juice

Salt

How To Make Apple Pecan Salad

In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients until combined. 

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

Pour the dressing over the prepared salad and toss to coat evenly. 

Yup. It’s that simple.