Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
This Apple and Goat cheese salad is a great option if you are craving a little crunch. It’s also the perfect way to add a little maple syrup to an amazing salad. Right now (February to April) is the time of year when Maple Syrup is produced, and being from Quebec…Maple Syrup is one of my favourite ingredients. The combination of goat cheese, red onion and apple is a match made in heaven. The apple goat cheese salad is then topped with some toasted pumpkin seeds and then drizzled with a tangy balsamic dressing. Perfect for lunch, starter salad/side dish or add a protein for a perfect full meal / main dish.
If you love Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad or Spinach Apple Salad with Crunchy Walnuts, then you will love this one. If you are a big salad lover (like myself) check out my other favourites…
What do you need for this apple goat cheese salad…
Firstly, you’ll need some fresh greens. I particularly love using mixed salad greens since it adds a variety of colours and textures to a fresh salad. But, this easy salad recipe is quite versatile so you can use fresh spinach, kale, or even romaine lettuce.
Next, you’ll need some apples. Go with whatever variety of apples that are in season near you. Honeycrisp apples, gala apples, pink lady, and granny smith apples are great choices. This recipe works great with sweet apples or tart apples, so don’t wreck your head about which one to go for. You’ll also need half of a lemon. To prevent the apples from browning, you’ll toss them in the juice of half a lemon.
Then, to complete the salad you’ll need about half of red onion, pumpkin seeds (which will be toasted) and then some crumbled goat cheese. If you don’t like goat cheese, you can use feta cheese or sharp blue cheese. This is a great substitution if you are a fan of blue cheese (also if you love blue cheese, you have to check out this salad). Feta cheese is probably my favourite substitution since the salty feta works so well with the vinaigrette, which we will get to now!
Let’s make the Maple & Balsamic Vinaigrette…
No great salad is complete without a delicious (but easy) salad dressing. If you have been following my recipes for a while now, you know that I don’t like buying my salad dressings from grocery stores. It is so simple to make them homemade and you probably already have all of the ingredients that you need at home. You also avoid all of the fillers that many large brands add to their products to extend shelf life.
For this easy balsamic vinaigrette, you’ll need some extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard and some (Canadian) maple syrup.
Putting the apple goat cheese salad together…
This goat cheese apple salad comes together really easily and because of that, it’s perfect to make for a dinner party. The vinaigrette can be made in advance and stored in the fridge until you are ready to assemble. The best part about this apple and goat cheese salad is that it only requires a few staple ingredients. Simply combine the olive oil, maple syrup, balsamic vinaigrette, dijon mustard and mix well. As for the pumpkin seeds, you can add them in raw or toast them. This step can also be done in advance as well.
How to toast the pumpkin seeds…
In a small pan on medium heat, add 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds and toast for about 5 minutes, shaking constantly. Once you hear a lot of crackling, they are in the process of browning and about to be ready.
Pro Tip: Elevate this dish with candied pumpkin seeds…
If you want to add a little extra somethin’ to this dish and easily elevate it, just add one tablespoon of brown sugar to your pan while you are toasting the seeds. Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the sugar melts and coats the seeds (about 6-7 minutes).
So now that those two steps are completed, we can throw the rest of the salad ingredients together by doing a little chopping. Slice your apple into wedges or thin slices using a sharp knife. Add to a small bowl and squeeze the juice of half of the lemon and toss in the apple slices. This will keep them from browning until you are ready to serve. Slice your red onions as thin as possible and now we combine the rest of the ingredients.
Add a handful of greens to a plate, top with some of the red onion and apple slices. Crumble little goat cheese on top and drizzle with the homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Sprinkle some of the toasted pumpkin seeds and serve immediately.
Variations for this dish…
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Instead of pumpkin seeds, you can use sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans
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Replace goat cheese with feta, blue cheese or shaved parmesan
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For extra crunch, add some croutons. Find an easy recipe for homemade ones here
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Top with some crispy bacon as an extra garnish
Apple and Goat Cheese Salad with the best Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 6 cups greens (of your choice)
- 2 apples cut in wedges or thinly sliced
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup goat cheese crumbled
For the Vinaigrette…
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Add the greens, apples slices, onions to each plate or a large bowl.
- Top with the toasted pumpkin seeds (see the blog post for directions) and crumbled goat cheese.
- Add all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette into a small bowl and mix to combine.
- Drizzle over the salad and serve immediately.
Christopher is a food and lifestyle expert, recipe developer and the content creator behind May Eighty Five. With over 6 years of creating recipes for your favourite food brands, he also shares tips, tricks and how to’s that he has learnt over the years. Every week, he shares quick, simple and mostly healthy recipes along with some home and entertaining tips. You will find flavorful cocktails, delicious appetizers, tasty mains and some indulgent desserts.
