Best Spinach Salad with Apple, Pecans and Gorgonzola Cheese

This is the best Spinach Salad recipe with apples, candied pecans, pomegranate and gorgonzola cheese! It’s drizzled with a champagne vinaigrette, making it fancy enough to serve as a holiday side dish. Plus it only takes 5 minutes to make! 

Looking for more salad recipe ideas? A few other must try salads are my Avocado Strawberry Spinach Salad with a Honey Mustard Dressing or my Detox Berry Quinoa Spinach Salad!

The Best Spinach Salad Recipe with Apples

When it comes to side dishes on our holiday table, salads are a must! After all, you are stuffing your face with turkey, gravy, all the starches and sugary casseroles so let’s make sure we get some greens too! You know, to balance things out. 

These easy spinach salad comes together in 5 minutes and is filled with (my favorite) honey crisp apples, candied pecans, mandarin oranges, sliced red onion, juicy pomegranates, gorgonzola cheese and then drizzled with a light champagne vinaigrette. You’ll absolutely love it and so will your guests!

Is Spinach Good for You?

Yes! It has lots of nutrients in it to restore energy, improve vitality and encourage overall health! Namely because it is rich in Iron, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and folate which helps with gut health. All in all spinach is a great leafy green to have daily!

How Many Calories Does Spinach Salad Have?

Let’s start with the basics. Spinach is a leafy green loaded with fiber and other nutrients but low in calories. In fact, one cup of spinach has only 7 calories. That being said, the more “extras” you add to the spinach salad the more the calories increase. Also keep in mind the calories for the dressing. 

How Do You Clean and Store Spinach for Salad?

The best way to clean spinach is to add it to a large bowl or sink of cold water, using your hands swish the spinach around. Then let the spinach sit for a minute in the water and lift into a colander to drain. Try tasting the spinach to see if you taste and grit, if you do wash the leaves again. Once you’re finished washing the spinach. Store spinach in an air tight containers wrapped in paper towels. The spinach should last for up to 10 days is stored this way.

How to Make Spinach Salad?

1. Make Homemade Dressing: To a small bowl add garlic clove, champagne vinegar, olive oil, fresh thyme, mustard, honey and salt. Whisk together until combined. Set aside.
2. To a large salad bowl add spinach, honeycrisp apple slices, red onion slices, mandarin oranges, pecans, pomegranate seeds and gorgonzola.
3. Drizzle dressing over the salad and gently toss to coat everything.
4. Serve.

I’ll be honest. As a family, we’ve made a Mandarin Orange Cranberry Kale Salad for years. Like it’s gonna be hard to break the tradition. But sometimes, traditions need to be broken to start new traditions, and this is one of those cases. 

Not only will everyone absolutely love all the flavors packed into this easy spinach salad but YOU will love how fast it comes together. You can’t beat a 5 minute recipe! 

Bon Appetit friends!

How to Turn Your Spinach Salad into a Main Dish

You can turn your spinach salad into a filling dinner by adding toppings like:

• Pan Seared Ribeye – this is the ultimate steak salad.
• Garlic Herb Roasted Shrimp – shrimp will keep this dish low calorie and flavorful.
• Easy Spice Rubbed Grilled Chicken – you can’t go wrong with chicken, it’s the perfect easy protein to turn this side into a main!

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Want More Holiday Side Salad Recipes?

Cranberry Apple Brussel Sprout Salad

Harvest Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad

Pomegranate Goat Cheese Candied Pecan Arugula Salad

DON’T MISS A RECIPE ->

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