With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, if you’re anything like me you are finalizing your menu and starting to prep your shopping lists. I always like to have a salad as part of our menu, just something light and fresh to balance all of the heavy comfort food. This easy and delicious fall salad recipe is a favorite and will really just take minutes to put together, even with making the salad dressing from scratch!

This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

I allow myself to be a little lazier than usual when I am prepping big meals. Whatever I can buy ready to use I will. Onions that come diced…check! Pecans that are already candied? Yes, please! You get the idea!

For this easy and delicious fall salad recipe you only have to prep a few things before throwing it all together. 

Just a quick slicing of some apples, pears and red onions and everything that you need to go into the salad is ready to go!

I like to use a spring mix for this salad recipe because I like the texture and color it adds, but if you’re a spinach lover you can use baby spinach and it would be yummy too!

The salad dressing for this delicious fall salad is tangy and sweet with a hint of maple to really give you all the fall feels. 

Here’s what you’ll need for this delicious maple vinaigrette:

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Print

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup extra-light virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Whisk together the maple syrup, mustard and cider vinegar in a large bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until the vinaigrette thickens.

I like to make the vinaigrette ahead of time so I can stick it in the fridge and let it chill for a bit before I serve it on the salad.

As soon as you are ready to make your salad, here’s what you’ll need:

3-4 Cups of Mixed Greens

1 Apple, sliced (I like a Granny Smith or Honey Crisp)

1 Pear, sliced

4oz crumbled Goat Cheese

3 strips of cooked and crumbled bacon (or fresh bacon bits)

1/4 small Red Onion, sliced

1/3 cup of candied Pecans

1/4 cup of Dried Cranberries

These measurements can be adjusted if you like your salad even more loaded up with salty bacon, sweet and crunchy pecans, creamy goat cheese, and tart dried cranberries. I love the mix of the pears and apples because they are both such great fall fruits, but you can omit one or the other depending on your preferences. There really isn’t any way to mess up this salad. 🙂

Apple, Pecan & Goat Cheese Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Print

Ingredients

• 3-4 Cups of Mixed Greens
• 1 Apple, sliced (I like a Granny Smith or Honey Crisp)
• 1 Pear, sliced
• 4oz crumbled Goat Cheese
• 3 strips of cooked and crumbled bacon (or fresh bacon bits)
• 1/4 small Red Onion, sliced
• 1/3 cup of candied Pecans
• 1/4 cup of Dried Cranberries

Instructions

• Add the mixed greens to a large bowl or plate.
• Top with dried cranberries, candied pecans, goat cheese, sliced apples, pears, red onion and cooked bacon.
• When ready to serve, drizzle salad with the Maple Dijon Vinaigrette and toss.

This easy and delicious fall salad recipe makes the perfect compliment to all of your fall dishes and Thanksgiving menus! It is always a hit when I take it to a gathering. If you want to make this a complete meal, try adding some grilled chicken to this yummy salad. 

I get asked all the time about these bowls. They are my favorite! Here are a few pretty bowls, salad plates and serve ware that I am loving right now too if you are looking for a beautiful new serving bowl or something fun for entertaining. Just click on any image for more information about the product.

Need more Thanksgiving recipes? Here are some other yummy favorites that will be part of our Thanksgiving menu:

How to Make a Beautiful Charcuterie Board

Easy Roasted Vegetables

Amazing Orange Rolls

Best Cranberry Sauce EVER

Incredible Dutch Apple Pie

Best Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

My Favorite Pumpkin Dessert

Looking for more delicious recipes?  You can find even more in our recipe library.

Be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can download and print this fun and free Thanksgiving printable tag. It looks adorable paired with these cute cookies as a favor for your Thanksgiving guests. Sign up for the newsletter here to get access to our huge free printable library so you can get those cute tags!

Thanks for visiting the blog! Come and join me on social to follow along with all of my Design, Travel, DIY, Shopping Deals and other posts. You can find me here:

Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook | Like to Know It

Happy cooking!

Tammy