Apple Fennel Salad stars apples and fennel, along with celery, parmesan cheese, and pumpkin seeds atop baby greens. Finish with tangy apple vinaigrette dressing for the ultimate fall salad.
Looking for a nice green salad to go with the braised beef brisket I shared last week? This salad has great crisp texture from fresh fall apples, fennel, and celery, and it gets a nice crunch from pumpkin seeds. Peppery arugula and tender baby kale make up the leafy part of the salad. Shaved parmesan cheese complements the flavors in this salad, and the apple vinaigrette dressing ties it all together.
This crisp seasonal salad is great as an appetizer or side dish for a holiday meal. Bring some green color to your table! You can also bulk it up with protein like poached chicken or canned tuna and call it a light lunch.
Ingredients for Apple Fennel Salad
Here are the salad ingredients, before being prepped. This salad uses baby kale and baby arugula, shaved parmesan cheese, shelled pumpkin seeds, a whole head of fennel, two stalks of celery, and two apples. Note the photo below only shows a small portion of the greens used in the salad. If you don’t like kale or arugula, substitute your greens of choice.
Apple Vinaigrette Dressing
The ingredients for the apple vinaigrette are olive oil, apple cider vinegar, apple butter, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. The dressing is a little on the acidic side. When I tasted it by itself, I almost thought it was just a touch too sour. But when tossed with the salad, it was perfect. I like to shake everything together in a little shaker bottle. A mason jar also works, or you can mix it in a small bowl.
Shake shake shake.
How to Make Apple Fennel Salad
Ingredient prep is the most time consuming part of this recipe, but it still doesn’t take long. Here’s a photo of the ingredients after everything was prepped. Note I chopped up some of the fennel fronds and kept those on the side to top the salad with.
After you make the dressing, all that’s left to do is to plate or mix up the salad ingredients. For presentation, I like to serve the salad on a large platter or in a big bowl with the greens on the bottom and the remaining ingredients as toppings. You can then mix up the salad when you add the dressing.
Variations and Substitutions
I chose to use granny smith apples in this salad for their tart flavor and to give the salad a monochrome look. The salad would also be great with sweeter red apples, which would give you a color contrast. If you wanted to give the salad a red and green Christmas look, you could also add dried cranberries or pomegranate arils. This salad is very flexible. Don’t hesitate to swap out or add your preferred dried fruit or nuts as additional toppings.
Can you Make Apple Fennel Salad in Advance?
You can slice the fennel and celery in advance to cut the prep time for this salad. However, I would wait until right before serving to slice the apples to prevent browning, unless you know the apples you’re using don’t brown quickly. Definitely wait until right before serving to dress the salad. You want to keep the greens crisp and fresh.
If you make this recipe, please give the recipe a rating and/or leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!
Apple Fennel Salad with Apple Vinaigrette
Apple Fennel Salad stars apples and fennel, along with celery, parmesan cheese, and pumpkin seeds atop baby greens. Finish with tangy apple vinaigrette dressing for the ultimate fall salad.
Ingredients
Apple Vinaigrette Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons apple butter
- juice from 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
Apple Fennel Salad
- 3 ounces baby kale or mesclun mix
- 3 ounces baby arugula
- 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced, plus chopped fronds
- 2 apples, cut into quarters and thinly sliced
- 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese (or vegetarian alternative)
- 1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
Instructions
Make dressing. Mix all dressing ingredients together in shaker bottle or small bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
Combine baby kale and arugula in a large bowl or serving platter. Top with fennel, apples, celery, cheese, pumpkin seeds, and fennel fronds. Dress salad right before serving.
Bon Appétit!
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