This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure form more information.
This easy harvest salad recipe has roasted sweet potatoes, honey crisp apples, goat cheese and candied pecans in a tangy maple apple cider vinaigrette dressing. The perfect salad for fall!
This delicious harvest salad is made with fresh greens topped with roasted fall produce, crisp apples, tart dried cranberries, nuts and cheese, all tossed in a simple maple vinaigrette.
I love serving this hearty salad as side dish for our favorite fall dinners. It’s also perfect for Thanksgiving or a Friendsgiving spread. We also like to serve it as a main dish salad topped with grilled chicken, steak, pork or fish!
Love salads? Try my broccoli apple salad or broccoli cranberry salad or this fresh spinach salad next.
Why you’ll love this easy fall salad!
- Comes together easily in about 30 minutes, especially when you use my shortcuts!
- Feeds a crowd
- A delicious blend of fall flavors and textures with plenty of crunch
- Easy to make ahead and serve when ready
Ingredients you’ll Need
- Fresh greens — I love arugula for it’s spicy, peppery flavor. You can use romaine lettuce or a blend of different greens
- Roast sweet potatoes — follow my roasted sweet potato recipe or use precut frozen sweet potatoes to make prep go faster
- Apples — I love honey crisp apples here, but use your favorite variety like gala or fuji
- Dried cranberries
- Goat cheese — or feta
- Beets — optional, but I love them in salads. Look for ready to eat beets in the refrigerated produce section in your local grocery store.
- Candied pecans — adds a delicious, sweet crunch. I usually find these in the produce section, but you can make your own.
- Dressing — apple cider vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning. I like to add a splash of apple cider if I have some on hand, but it’s optional.
How to Make Fall Harvest Salad
First, prepare the dressing so the flavors have time to blend. Just whisk the olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup and Dijon together. Then, stir in salt, pepper and seasoning, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Next, roast the sweet potatoes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in the oven. They take about 20 minutes at 425 degrees. While they are cooking, rinse and dry the salad greens, slice the apples and beets, if you are using them. Chop the pecans into smaller pieces.
Add everything to a large salad bowl, drizzle dressing over the salad, and toss to coat.
Time Saving Tips
The easiest way to cut down on prep time is to cook the veggies ahead of time or use pre-cut vegetables, either fresh or frozen. Most stores have these in the produce aisle or frozen foods aisle.
You can buy maple vinaigrette salad dressing or a similar harvest salad dressing instead of making your own.
Make Ahead and Storage
If you’re making harvest salad for a holiday dinner, you can prep the dressing several days in advance and many of the ingredients a day or 2 ahead of time. The apple needs to be sliced the same day or it will brown.
Store everything in separate airtight containers in your refrigerator. Then, assemble the salad right before serving. Store any leftover salad in the refrigerator. It’s best if consumed within the next day.
Variations
You can swap roasted butternut squash for the sweet potatoes.
Try spinach or kale instead of lettuce.
Add sliced pears and mandarin orange slices.
Make it a nut-free salad or try chopped walnuts, almonds or plain pecans. Sunflower seeds, pomegranate seeds or pumpkin seeds are more ways to add crunch.
Frequently Asked Questions
A harvest salad is fall vegetables and fruits, nuts and/or seeds and cheese served over fresh greens. An apple cider vinaigrette or maple vinaigrette provides the finishing touch. It’s basically all of the flavors of fall in a bowl.
This has many of the same ingredients are Panera’s harvest salad. Panera’s does include grains like farro and rice, which you can certainly add.
Harvest Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 medium honey crisp apple rinsed and thinly sliced
- 10 oz arugula rinsed and dried
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup chopped candied pecan halves
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1 cup sliced cooked beets optional
For the Dressing
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 3 teaspoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- â…› teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Dressing
- Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl, and store covered in fridge 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar ½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard 3 teaspoons maple syrup ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning ¼ teaspoon sea salt ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Salad
- Roast sweet potato cubes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil for 20-25 minutes at 425℉
- Cut apple into thin strips
- Cut beets into bite-sized pieces
- Chop pecans into smaller pieces
- Add arugula to a large salad bowl
- Add remaining ingredients to bowl, drizzle salad dressing on top of salad, and toss to coat
- Serve immediately
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sign up for the free weekly newsletter to receive more easy recipes by email.
