BEST Spinach Apple Salad (Easy & Delicious!)

This Spinach Apple Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette is so easy and so good, it’ll become your new favorite meal! No one will believe it took minutes to set it up.

Salads are a must in our house. But Alex and I often fall into the trap of thinking the salad is the “easy” part and saving it until the last minute. When it’s too late, you realize there’s more prep work than you imagined! So when it comes to our favorite salads, they are super easy. Introducing our new favorite reference that will become your favorite too. Spinach Apple Salad! It has a savory balsamic vinaigrette and crunchy walnuts (or pecans) with a maple glaze. No one will believe that it only took a few minutes to assemble! It is so good.

What Makes This a Great Apple Spinach Salad?

There are so many boring spinach salads out there, and this one is anything but! It doesn’t have any fancy ingredients or flavors, but it has seriously Great taste and you can prepare it in minutes. It’s a healthy, plant-based side dish that goes with everything from pizza and macaroni and cheese to salmon and lasagna. Here are the things that make this salad great:

• Best Balsamic Vinaigrette: This bandage is our reference! It’s tart and sweet, and we often use it in green salads with fruit, like strawberry salad or blackberry salad.
• Maple Glazed Walnuts or Glazed Pecans: This is Alex’ genius: A few minutes in a hot pan with maple syrup makes the nuts shiny and slightly sweet. (You don’t have to confide in them!)
• Apple pear : Instead of a pure apple, we added a pear for a deep sweet taste.
• Spinach and baby leaves: A plain spinach salad can be overwhelming. We like to pair our spinach with mixed baby greens for a variety of textures and flavors. (Any left? Check out our best spinach recipes!)

Personalize!

Of course, there are tons of ways to customize this Spinach Apple Salad! You can use whatever ingredients you like and have on hand. Pro tip: We added Manchego cheese in cubes and served it at a party and it was a smash hit. Here are some other options to consider:

• Bandage: Try our honey mustard vinaigrette or our lemon vinaigrette
• Nuts: Use pecans or almonds instead: they would work just as well in the maple glaze.
• Fruit: Skip the pear and use a green apple variety with the red apple, like Granny Smith and Honey Crisp
• Other adders: Add crumbled feta or goat cheese, chopped shallots, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.

How to make this spinach and apple salad ahead of time

Whether you make it ahead of time or for entertainment, here are some pointers on how to make this Apple Spinach Salad ahead of time:

• Make the dressing ahead of time and keep it cool. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before serving.
• Make the glazed maple nuts in advance. Lay them in a single layer on parchment or wax paper and let dry for 20 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature until ready to serve.
• Wait to cut apples and pears just before serving, as cut fruit can turn brown. If you want to slice it beforehand, toss the slices with a little lemon juice to keep them from browning.

Serve this salad!

It’s easy to make, but this Apple Spinach Salad is a real hit. Serve with your favorite pasta or stuffed peppers. It also goes really well with baked salmon or even homemade pizza. This spinach and apple salad is especially tasty during the cooler months because it’s loaded with fall products. But works in every season! However you serve it, we’re sure you’ll fall in love with it. We promise.

This spinach and apple salad recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free.

Looking for more salad recipes?

Aside from this spinach and apple salad, here are some of our favorite salads at A Couple Cooks:

Last update: November 2019