If you like your salads fresh, crisp and full of texture, this Green Apple Salad is a very good place to start. It is deliciously simple, comes together without much fuss and has the sort of crunchy, colourful ingredient list that makes you feel like you have your life together. At least for the duration of lunch.
The base of this crisp green apple salad recipe is made with Granny Smith apples, celery, cucumber, avocado, peppery rocket and roasted pecans. Each ingredient brings something different to the bowl, from the sharp crunch of green apples and celery to the creamy avocado and buttery, nutty pecans. The rocket adds a little bite, while the cucumber keeps everything fresh and hydrating.
One small but important detail? Cut everything into bite-size chunks. There is something about those chunky pieces of crisp apple, cucumber and celery sitting alongside creamy avocado and crunchy pecans that makes the salad look slightly dramatic. And we are very much here for that. It also means you get a little bit of everything in each forkful, which is exactly what a good salad should do.
The green apple salad dressing is deliberately simple and is one of my go-to salad dressing recipes. It is fresh, tangy and light enough to let the ingredients do most of the talking. You do not need a complicated dressing when the salad itself already has so much texture and flavour going on.
What makes this easy green salad recipe particularly useful is that the base is excellent on its own but leaves plenty of room for additions. Think crumbled Danish feta or South African feta, thinly sliced red onion, spring onions, homemade croutons or even a few extra toasted nuts. You can easily turn it into a more substantial side salad depending on what you are serving.
This healthy green apple salad recipe works beautifully alongside grilled meats, roast chicken, sandwiches or a simple weeknight dinner. It is crisp, colourful, adaptable and wonderfully uncomplicated — basically, the sort of salad you can make once and then happily build your own version around.
Crisp Green Apple Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples cored and cubed
- 1 large avocados peeled and cubed
- 1 medium cucumber peeled, halved and sectioned
- 1 small red onion peeled, halved and sliced
- 50 grams roasted unsalted pecans
- 100 grams wild rocket wash and drained
Salad Dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp honey or sugar
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- If you're using store bought roasted pecans then you can skip this step. Preheat the oven to 180 ℃ / 356℉. Spread the pecans on to a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until fragrant. Allow to cool before adding the whole nuts to the salad.
- Add the salad dressing ingredients together, mix and set aside.
- Wash and prep all the salad ingredients and add to a large bowl.
- Mix the dressing again and add to the bowl. Gently toss using two large spoons or clean hands. Transfer to your serving dish and serve immediately.