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If you love fall flavors, then you will absolutely adore this Apple Walnut Salad with dates and brie. Crispy mixed greens are tossed with tart Granny Smith Apples, creamy brie, crunchy walnuts and a tangy apple cider vinaigrette for the perfect side dish or light lunch! Ready in just 15 minutes, delicious and healthy too!Apples are one of those fruits that are available year round, so it's easy to forget that they actually have a season. And that season happens to be late summer & fall! Which is why, when I was trying to come up with the perfect fall salad, I had to include apples in the mix 🙂 This satisfying apple walnut salad with dates and brie will be a star at your dinner table. I topped it with an Apple Cider Vinaigrette, which has sweet notes of apple, fruity olive oil, tangy apple cider vinegar and spicy cayenne in it. It's super versatile, satisfying and has a nice balance of sweet and savory flavors to round out any meal.
How to Make this Apple Walnut Salad with Dates and Brie - step by step
Step 1: Combine apple jelly through cayenne pepper in a blender. Cover, blend until smooth (this will become your salad dressing)
Step 2: Combine salad, apples, dates, walnuts, onion and Brie in large bowl. Toss with dressing until coated as desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Kitchen tool and equipment you'll need:
You don't need a ton of kitchen tools for this recipe. The main thing is to use a good blender to mix your salad dressing - it comes out really smooth that way!
What makes this Apple Walnut Salad with Dates and Brie Healthy?
This salad is packed with nutrition thanks to the greens and vitamin rich fruit! The mixed greens provide a healthy dose of vitamin A, C, K and folate and potassium. You'll get additional Vitamin C, Potassium and fiber from the apples; and the dates are rich in choline, Vitamins A, B, Folate, E, K and Iron. All of the ingredients have a healthy amount of fiber, and the brie and walnuts bring some good fats and protein to round out the meal.
What are dates?
Dates are a sweet and wonderfully textured tropical stone-fruit, that come from the date palm tree. All dates, fresh or dried, contain different types of antioxidants. Fresh dates contain anthocyanidins and carotenoids, while dried dates contain polyphenols - just like green tea. You'll find dates in the refrigerated section of the grocery store - that's because they are only partially dried and still contain a good amount of moisture (so they need to be refrigerated). Dates are also naturally very high in sugar which makes them a perfect natural sweetener for many dishes - including this salad! They taste like a sweeter prune, or softer fig.
What is the Best Apple to use For This Apple Walnut Salad?
For salads, you'll want a nice crunchy apple that doesn't brown too quickly when sliced or chopped. I choose Granny Smith for this salad for that exact reason! Other apples that will work well are Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Pink Lady.
Ways to serve this Apple Walnut Salad
This salad works well as a side dish for just about any entree, or as a light lunch with some crusty bread. It'll go well with any potluck or holiday meal spread as well. One way I like to use leftovers is as a filling for a sandwich: just spread some of the vinaigrette on two slices of sprouted wheat bread, add 1 slice of brie and top with this salad - and you've got an amazing sandwich ready in just 5 minutes!
Top Tips for this Apple Walnut Salad with Dates and Brie
- Choose an apple that is crunchy and doesn't brown easily.
- Make sure your brie is at room temperature before serving.
- Opt for toasted walnuts, for extra flavor.
- Use the salad as a healthy and delicious sandwich filling!
- If you don't have apple jelly, you can use honey or maple syrup (if you make that substitution, I'd use just 1 tbsp instead of 2 since honey/maple syrup will be sweeter than the apple jelly).
- Instead of mixed greens, try using a shredded cabbage blend or coleslaw base for this salad to mix things up.
- Additional add-ins that would be delicious include: Radishes, Carrots, and Green Onions
- To make it vegan, just omit the cheese
- Tips for storing: Greens tend to wilt pretty quickly once they have been dressed, so if you plan to use this salad as leftovers I'd recommend tossing the dressing with all of the salad ingredients except the greens and cheese. Then, right before you serve it, you can add the greens and cheese to the prepared mixture and toss one more time. Adding the dressing to the apples ahead of time will help to make sure they don't oxidize in your fridge!
