This delicious Chopped Fruit and Nut Salad is going to be your new favorite side dish! The crisp apples, red grapes, and romaine lettuce are paired with a creamy cinnamon dressing that is out of this world! It's the perfect salad to serve at summer picnics, Easter, or family gatherings.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Delicious - This refreshing salad has the perfect mix of crispy fruit, toasted walnuts, and a light and creamy cinnamon dressing! It's perfect for serving at summer picnics, Easter, Thanksgiving, or any family gathering.
Healthy - This healthy salad recipe has crisp romaine lettuce for greens, walnuts for healthy fats, and fresh fruit for extra fiber and nutrients!
The simple dressing is made with only four ingredients! Plus, it's dairy-free and made with a Paleo friendly Miracle Whip alternative. (You can also swap for yogurt.) To lower the sugar content, just skip the dried cranberries!
🍴Ingredient Notes
- Chopped Romaine Lettuce - I would not swap for any other lettuce. Romaine lettuce is great for chopped salads and adds a fresh, crisp texture.
- Green Apple - I love adding diced green apples to balance out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
- Honeycrisp Apple - Or any crisp red apple variety!
- Red Grapes - Although it's a pain to cut grapes in half, I highly recommend it for this recipe. I used a smaller red grape variety, but any red or green grape will work.
- Toasted Walnuts - Toasting the walnuts bring out the flavor and gives them an extra crispy texture. You can also put them in raw.
- Dried Cranberries - To give this salad an extra touch of sweetness I used dried cranberries. If you would like to cut down on the sugar content, skip this ingredient.
Creamy Homemade Cinnamon Dressing
- Primal Kitchen Whip - This is a Paleo friendly Miracle Whip alternative and tastes amazing in this dressing recipe! You can also swap for a dairy-free plain yogurt or Greek yogurt.
- Lemon Juice - To lighten up the dressing, I added some fresh lemon juice. You can also use store bought lemon juice.
- Cinnamon - For a warmer flavor, I used cinnamon. It complements the fruit and pairs perfectly with this dressing.
- Salt - You don't need much salt if you're using Primal Kitchen Whip. If you swap for yogurt, you might want to add a little more.
🍴Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Making Creamy Cinnamon Dressing
Start by adding all of the dressing ingredients into a small bowl. Use a whisk to blend the dressing together until it's smooth and creamy.
Step 2: Toast Walnuts
Next, toast walnuts in the oven at 300 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.
Step 3: Mixing Salad
Then add the chopped romaine lettuce into a large bowl with the diced apples, grapes, dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts.
Pour the dressing on top of the salad ingredients and use tongs to mix the salad until everything is completely coated with the dressing. Chill until you're ready to serve!
Expert Tips
- Keep an eye when toasting the walnuts, they can burn easily!
- If you're not dairy-free, Feta Cheese or Goat Cheese would be delicious additions to this salad.
- When preparing the apples, do not peel them! The peel has fiber and nutrients that you don't want to miss out on.
- This delicious salad is best served fresh!
How to store leftovers
Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 4 days.
Meal Prepping
If you're planning to meal prep this recipe, do not mix the entire salad with dressing or the lettuce will get soggy after a few days. Add dressing into separate containers on the side!
How To Revive a Soggy Salad
To revive a soggy salad, I love adding freshly chopped crisp romaine lettuce into the old salad. You can also add some freshly toasted walnuts for a little more crunch.
More salad recipes!
After you make this Chopped Fruit and Nut Salad, make sure to leave a comment & rate the recipe!
Recipe Card
Chopped Fruit and Nut Salad with Walnuts
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Sharp Knife
Ingredients
- 6-8 Cups Chopped Romaine Lettuce
- 1 Green Apple, Diced
- 1 Honeycrisp Apple, Diced Or any crisp variety!
- 1 Cup Grapes, Cut in Half
- 1 Cup Toasted Walnuts
- ½ Cup Dried Cranberries
Creamy Homemade Dressing
- ⅓ Cup Primal Kitchen Whip
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Start by adding all of the dressing ingredients into a small bowl. Use a whisk to blend the dressing together until it's smooth and creamy.
- Next, toast walnuts in the oven at 300 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.
- Then add the chopped romaine lettuce into a large bowl with the diced apples, grapes, dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts.
- Pour the dressing on top of the salad ingredients and use tongs to mix the salad until everything is completely coated with the dressing. Chill until you're ready to serve!
Notes
Expert Tips
- Keep an eye when toasting the walnuts, they can burn easily!
- If you're not dairy-free, Feta Cheese or Goat Cheese would be delicious additions to this salad.
- When preparing the apples, do not peel them! The peel has fiber and nutrients that you don't want to miss out on.
- This delicious salad is best served fresh!
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 4 days. ** See full post for more information and step by step photos.Nutrition
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