Apple Walnut Salad doused with the most delectable easy sweet, tangy Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette and packed with a rainbow of harmonious sweet and tart blackberries, apples, and mangoes.
This Apple Walnut Salad Recipe might just turn out to be the best salad of your life. Can I say perfect for Easter?
To me, the perfect forkful of salad is fresh, crunchy, tart, sweet, and savory in every bite.
Thus, you will find only loaded salads here.
Usually with nuts, usually with cheese, usually with fruit and vegetables and always with an incredible drink worthy dressing.
This Blackberry Honey Walnut Salad is no exception. Sweet blackberries, mangoes and Fuji apples, tart Granny smith apples, creamy, salty Feta, and crunchy red bell peppers, cucumbers, and walnuts. But not just any walnuts. Walnuts tossed in honey then oven roasted and lightly sprinkled in sugar – so good. If you make nothing else, make these nuts.
And then there’s the dressing in this Apple Walnut Salad.
The vinaigrette in this Apple Walnut Salad recipe was inspired by the 12 case of sweet blackberry jam I’ve been whittling down since Christmas. Every year for decades my parents have gifted different jams to family at Christmas, accompanied by labels such as “Jam packed with love” and my personal favorite, “May this be the only Jam you get into.” This addicting jam was begging to be more than smothered on toast. More than consumed at breakfast. More than jam. So I blended this sweet, seedless blackberry jam with tangy balsamic vinegar and Dijon, a splash of orange juice, honey, olive oil and a kiss of basil to create a Blackberry Vinaigrette that you will want to drizzle pour on everything – and not just at breakfast.
The perfect dressing to bathe your blackberries, mangoes, apple deliriousness in.
Blackberry Honey Walnut Salad. May this be the only salad you get into.
Apple Walnut Salad with Easy Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
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Ingredients
Blackberry Salad
- 10 oz. spinach or spinach/spring green mix
- 6 oz. blackberries
- 1 honeycrip or Fuji apple, chopped
- 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
- 1 mango, peeled and chopped
- 1 small cucumber, sliced and quartered
- 1 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup feta or more to taste
Honey Roasted Walnuts
- 1 cup raw walnut halves
- 2 tabespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Easy Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons seedless blackberry jam
- 2 tablespoons quality balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1-3 teaspoons honey (optional depending on desired sweetness)
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1/2 cup quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon dry basil
- freshly cracked salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Easy Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, vigorously whisk ingredients together until combined. Taste and add additional honey for sweetness, or additional balsamic for more of a “tang” as desired. Store in the refrigerator to chill.*
- Roasted Honey Walnuts: Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Warm honey in a microwave safe bowl just until it liquefies then add walnuts and stir until evenly coated.
- Spread walnuts on the prepared baking sheet so they are not touching. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sugar and salt and stir until evenly coated. Separate walnuts on baking sheet and let cool completely. They will harden as they cool in 5-7 minutes.
- Salad: Add all of the Salad ingredients – including cooled walnuts – to a large bowl and toss until evenly combined. If you expect leftovers, reserve feta and add to individual servings. Whisk vinaigrette to recombine and either drizzle over entire salad (there will be leftovers) and toss or drizzle over individual servings.
Notes
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Leave a Review, I Always Love Hearing From You!
Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg says
I can never say no to a salad with fruit in it. This has it all. I will absolutely be making this for Easter and maybe every week up until April! Thank you. 🙂
Jen says
Hi Erin! You are a girl after my own heart! I hope you are loving this salad every week 🙂
Ivette says
I love fruit and salads! It looks like the perfect salad:) Thank you from the new spanish cooking blog;) !
Jen says
Thank you so much Ivette! I am excited for you to try it, hope you love it!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
I am all about loaded salads too! This is gorgeous, Jen!
Jen says
Thank you so much Anna! I like a salad that is sprinkled with lettuce and full of toppings 🙂
Laura says
What a great combination of ingredients! Looks so tasty. Now just need to find some blackberries:)
Jen says
Hi Laura, thank so much you! I hope you can find some blackberries soon 🙂 Just checked out your blog. What stunning photos you have!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Definitely making this vinaigrette to top my salads with – I have to admit I’ve never used blackberries in salad dressing before!
Jen says
If you love blackberries, I think you will love this! Blackberries and salad belong together – I’m excited for you to try it 🙂 Thanks for all your awesome comments Thalia, you always make me smile!
Christy says
This salad is amazing!! I made it tonight and I will absolutely be making it again…thanks for a great recipe!
Jen says
YAY! Thank you so much Christy, I am so happy you loved this salad so much! I hope you find more to love here!
Brittanne says
This salad was so good!
I made a typical salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, celery) and then added the recipe ingredients (mango, feta, apples, blackberries, nuts). I didn’t have blackberry Jam so I used raspberry.
I really liked the dressing in combination with all the fruit. Next time, I would skip the mango. It is expensive where I’m from (and also never fresh tasting), and we felt it didn’t add much value.
HINT: If you toss your apples quick with lemon juice, they won’t go brown by the time you serve.
Thanks for sharing, I will definitely try your pomegranate salad next!
Jen says
Hi Brittanne, I am so happy you enjoyed this salad and the use of raspberry jam instead sounds delicious! I hope you love the pomegranate salad too!
Missy says
Making this weekend for Easter dinner. Thinking goat cheese in place of feta? Think it will sub ok? Dressing us made and amazing!
Jen says
Thanks Missy! And yes, goat cheese will absolutely work!
Susan says
I served this salad as part of our Easter dinner. It tasted amazing and was very refreshing. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law both asked for the recipe. I left out the mango, but will add it in next time. Thank you!
Jen says
You are so welcome, Susan I’m so happy it was such a hit! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Julie says
Jen, I have used your recipes for years and I have loved all the ones I’ve used. I am part of a recipe group and I am always using the recipes from your website. I think I’ve shared your website with dozens of people. Amazing work you do in the kitchen!
Aside from gushing over you, I wanted to let you know that in this recipe your heading under ingredients, for the walnut instructions says, “HONEY ROASTED ALMONDS” – Keep cooking!
Jen says
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment Julie! I’m honored you’re loving my recipes and thank you so much for sharing them with others! Thank you also for pointing out the almond error- it’s amazing how many times you can read a recipe without catching everything!
Susan says
This is still the best salad. Thanks Jen!
Jen says
Thank you, Susan, I’m so glad you love it!