Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad
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A crisp, refreshing kale salad! With apples, crispy bacon, cranberries, and homemade (and easy!) candied pecans. A perfect holiday salad!
Featured Comment
The first time I made the was for Thanksgiving. Amazing!! The second time I didn’t make the nuts due to time and it was still really good. I used red onion instead of shallots. Yum yum!! Thank you!
Why you’ll love apple cranberry pecan salad
- Everyone’s favorite seasonal, festive salad. Whether it’s a family dinner or a holiday gathering, this salad is a seasonal favorite, featuring tender massaged kale, crispy bacon, fresh, crisp apples, chewy cranberries, a sweet and tangy dressing, and candied pecans.
- The homemade candied pecans is everything. This salad includes an easy recipe for homemade candied pecans. It makes more than you need for a salad, but they won’t stick around for long, and they keep so well!
- Quick and versatile. It only takes 15-20 minutes to put together and can easily accommodate added proteins such as grilled chicken or leftover rotisserie chicken.
types of kale to use
- Lacinato (tuscan/dinosaur) kale: has a mild, tender texture
- Curly kale: a much sturdier kale and slightly more bitter but is great for salads once thoroughly massaged to soften the fibers
- Baby kale: already comes pre-washed with small, soft leaves, and does not require massaging
How to make apple cranberry pecan salad
- Cook the bacon. Slice the bacon into small pieces. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the bacon pieces, stirring every few minutes until crispy and golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the grease onto a paper towel-lined plate.
- Prep the kale. Remove and discard the tough stems of the kale, then finely chop the leaves.
- Make the dressing. Combine the apple cider vinegar, shallot, and Dijon mustard. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
- Massage the kale. Stir the kale into the dressing and massage by hand until the leaves soften.
- Combine and serve. Add the crispy bacon, apple, celery, cranberries, feta cheese, and candied pecans, tossing to coat. Serve immediately.
How to make candied pecans
- Combine the ingredients. Whisk the egg white until frothy, then continue whisking with the sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cayenne pepper.
- Coat the pecans. Stir in the pecan halves and toss to combine until the pecans are well coated.
- Bake. Spread the coated pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring at the halfway mark (about 15 minutes) so they toast evenly.
- Let cool and store. Let the pecans cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature (1 week), in the fridge (3 weeks), or in the freezer for long term storage (3 months).
what to serve with apple cranberry pecan salad
Tools For This Recipe
Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad: Frequently Asked Questions
What type of kale should I use?
Lacinato (tuscan) kale is generally the gold standard for salads as it has a milder, sweeter flavor with tender leaves (than curly kale) and massages very easily to soften the leaves further.
What kind of apples are best?
Gala or honey crisp apples would work beautifully in this recipe.
What can I substitute for the feta cheese?
Halloumi, ricotta, goat cheese, or cotija cheese are all great substitutes.
Why do I have to massage the kale?
Massaging the kale will help soften the texture of the kale and help absorb the dressing.
Can I make the dressing ahead of time?
Yes! The dressing can be made 1 week in advance and stored in an airtight container (such as a mason jar) and placed in the fridge, letting it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes and shaking well before using.
Can I make the candied pecans ahead of time?
Absolutely! Candied pecans can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week, in the fridge up to 3 weeks and in the freezer up to 3 months.
Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad
A crisp, refreshing kale salad! With apples, crispy bacon, cranberries, and homemade (and easy!) candied pecans. A perfect holiday salad!
Video
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon, diced
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch kale, stems removed and leaves shredded
- 1 medium apple, diced
- ½ cup sliced celery
- ½ cup dried sweetened cranberries
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
for the candied pecans
- 1 large egg white
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 2 cups pecan halves
Instructions
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess fat; transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, shallot and Dijon; let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in olive oil and honey; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in kale and massage for 1 minute.
- Top with bacon, apple, celery, cranberries, feta cheese and candied pecans, and gently toss to combine.
for the candied pecans
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until frothy, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cayenne pepper.
- Stir in pecans until well combined and evenly coated.
- Spread pecan mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Place into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring at halftime. Let cool completely.
Equipment
Notes
- Prep ahead of time. Save time by making the dressing up to 1 week in advance, and prepping and dicing the vegetables 1-2 days prior and storing them in airtight containers in the fridge.
- Cut in uniform size. Cut all of the salad ingredients in similar size pieces for a consistent bite.
- Use extra virgin olive oil. High quality extra virgin olive oil is ideal for salad dressings.
- Massage the kale. Massaging the kale softens the leaves, making them more tender and flavorful.
- Start with raw pecans. Raw, unsalted pecan halves are best to begin with to control the salt level and to prevent over-salting the nuts when baking.
- Stir at the halfway mark. Stir the pecans after 15 minutes of baking to help the nuts coat evenly and to prevent clumps.
- Cool completely. Let the candied pecans cool completely on the baking sheet. The sugar shell will harden and crisp up as it cools to room temperature.
- Store the candied pecans. The candied pecans can be made in advance and stored at room temperature or the freezer to extend shelf life even further.
Did you make this recipe?
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can I use a different green instead of the kale. It looks like a good salad for my next girls luncheon.
Hi Patricia! You can substitute any greens that you prefer. I would do a mix of romaine or butter lettuce combined with something heartier such as arugula or red frisée. I hope that helps!
So delicious!
Thinking about this for Thanksgiving . Can you make candied pecans a day or two before? I don’t think I’ve ever had them….
Lovely, refreshing salad! The little bit of extra work making the candied pecans is definitely worth it!
This salad is so delicious and easy to make. I used pomegranate instead of the cranberries for a nice light fresh change
This salad is delicious! I made it for New Years Eve dinner.
I replaced the kale with a mix of baby spinach and arugula. And I bought some candied pecans.
It was fabulous and I will make it again!
I want to make this for Christmas, but am a little concerned that my guests will turn their nose up at kale. Many of the comments refer to spinach, but spinach is not on the ingredient list. I’m confused. Can spinach be subbed for kale? Did the recipe used to call for spinach, but then changed to kale?
Hi Chery! The recipe has always listed kale but baby spinach, Swiss chard and arugula are all great alternatives.
Made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! We skipped the celery and used crushed praline pecans instead of making candied pecans.
The bacon-lovers might want a couple more slices crumbled, but it was good for all of us.
I made this for our family for Thanksgiving! Delicious!
This was delicious. Stayed good in the fridge for seconds the next day. The candied pecans were the star of the whole show. Thank you!
The first time I made the was for Thanksgiving. Amazing!! The second time I didn’t make the nuts due to time and it was still really good. I used red onion instead of shallots. Yum yum!! Thank you!
So delicious! I used red onion instead of shallots and cooked them in the bacon grease to mellow the flavour a bit. I also added fresh thyme sprigs to the cooking mixture and removed them before adding the onions and garlic to the dressing.
It was my first time making candied nuts and I was surprised by how simple and quick it was! They added a really lovely texture and flavour with the salad. I saved some for snacking later and they went very quickly!
That is definitely damn delicious! I love how you composed it.
Kinda like a mason jar salad–I make it by the ‘batch–mix it all together -minus the spinach and dressing -I get to eat my new favorite salad through the week —
Pears and various cheeses I have on hand have worked well in it…
The dressing was very sour even after I added more sugar, but loved all of the ingredients
Love the easy techniques and simple ingredients and directions.
Absolutely delicious just as written! Very festive and fun!!
I made this yesterday as a side for our mini-Thanksgiving feast and it was a hit! It was light and tart and made for a great contrast to rest of the herby, carb-heavy meal. Will definitely be making this again (thought I will try to find pomegranate seeds rather than doing it myself – I watched so many videos and it was still a pain!)
I am a huge fan of pomegranates, I can assure you that the ones already seeded don’t taste the same at all!
Here is an easier way to seed one: Use a wooden spoon to gently hit all around it, THEN cut in half in a bowl (to catch all the delicious juices) and the seeds will almost fall out into the bowl!
I set the bowl in the sink so the juices don’t get all over me!
I hope this helps!
Hi Chungah,
This is such a fantastic recipe- thank you for sharing it.
I’ve included it in my Recipe Roundup of recipes for 12 foods high in antioxidants.
Thank you so much for sharing your amazing recipes!
This was really yummy and the dressing smelled delicious.