Apple Spinach Avocado Salad with Sweet Lemon Vinaigrette

I hope this apple spinach avocado salad reminds you of fall, as it does for me, because the summer months are behind us, and September is back in full swing. This time of year, there’s one main ingredient that I’m more than happy to start using everywhere: apples!

Only apples have the perfect crisp, sweetness, and tartness that is the ultimate “flavor of the season.” Crisps, cobblers, salads, and smoothies all can be infused with the tastiness of apples, apple spices, and more.Oh how I love fall!

Now that I’ve introduced the key ingredient, let’s talk about the rest of this salad. Spinach and avocado add in the most delicious flavors to balance out the sweetness of the apples. I wouldn’t recommend that you use granny smith apples, but rather pink lady or honey crisp apples. They are a good type of apple that adds sweetness perfectly to work with the vegetables. This salad is a great side dish to healthy dinners with the family this season. If you need a lunch to go, you can mix up this salad the day before and take the dressing to add in.

The formula to a perfect salad:

Believe it or not, the perfect salad can be created with a simple layout. This salad is a great example of that! Starting with fresh ingredients, you’ll need to start with a base of leafy greens: spinach, in this case. You can switch out spinach for arugula if you’d like, but spinach balances well with apples, our next component. Apples are the crunch, the natural sweetness, and the fruit of the salad. Their fresh tartness and sweetness is then combined with avocado and red onion, which help to create the savory portion of the salad.

With smoothness and tartness in flavors, both the avocado and red onion work together as the main vegetable components. Finally, we’re at the nuts. The perfect small pieces in the salad that add a nutty flavor are pecans, hazelnuts, or walnuts. When enjoyed with apple and spinach, they create a trio of flavors in your mouth that makes you want to enjoy this salad over and over again. Your first batch won’t be your last. When the dried fruit is added in, every flavor and component is accounted for. The autumn salad flavors are complete and you can enjoy healthy eating this season!

This delicious salad is one you won’t forget!

A large bowl of apple spinach salad with a sweet lemon vinaigrette includes some of my favorite ingredients for this time of year. Crisp fresh apples, crunchy toasty pecans, chopped red onion, creamy avocado, sweet dried cranberries all on a bed of green baby spinach. Drizzled with simple ingredients you most likely already have in the kitchen. Takes about 10 minutes to put this fresh spinach salad together.

Cooking for one? This healthy spinach salad is perfect for a a light weeknight dinner just for you. Maybe add some salmon or grilled chicken for more protein. But also can triple the recipe and serve as a side salad for the whole family.

Spinach Salad Ingredients:

Salad ingredients are straight forward, and can be found pretty much in any grocery store.

Spinach: I love to use baby spinach leaves and apples together, but if your favorite greens are different, in place of spinach you can use arugula.

Apple: I use the honey crisp apple or pink lady apples, but you could use any. Keep in mind that the taste may change depending on what kind of apples you will use.

Avocado: Ripe.

Onion: Red onion makes the perfect crunchy addition.

Nuts: Although crunchy pecans is my favorite nuts for this salad, hazelnuts or walnuts are also a great option.

Dried fruit: Cranberries. The perfect autumn addition.

The dressing ingredients for spinach apple salad recipe:

Oil: Extra-virgin olive oil is what I like to use in all my salads.

Lemon: Little lemon juice adds a tangy flavor to the dressing.

Mustard: Whole grain Dijon mustard, also the blended one will also work well.

Maple syrup for a little sweetness.

Herbs: Fresh mint leaves

Also, don’t forget the sea salt and black pepper! You can add these in to your taste.

Other Ingredients you can Add-On

Some additional ingredients you can add on to this salad:

• sunflower seeds, for that extra crunch!
• feta cheese (or goat cheese) which will be a great salty addition. If you’re a cheese lover, don’t skip over it!
• add a different type of apples if you prefer ones that are more crispy or less sweet.
• pumpkin seeds, which can add a great crunch too.

Other Easy Recipes for One:

Healthy Caramel Smoothie Recipe

Summer Berry Salad With Goat Cheese And Almonds