I am declaring this the summer of incredible, simple meals!! With a cross-country move from Long Beach, CA to Atlanta, Ga in the very near future I am looking for easy meals that are customizable to my family’s needs and that don’t take a ton of time like this Spiralized Apple Salad!
There are 2 ingredients that I like to keep on hand at all times for my kids to snack on; apples and celery. They both taste amazing, they eagerly eat them, and they’re really good for them too. Plus, those ingredients do double duty in one of our new favorite summer dishes, this Spiralized Apple Salad!
This salad is not only easy to make, with ingredients that I typically have on hand, but unlike some salad’s this one is super kid-friendly too. My kids love all of the ingredients, even the apple cider poppy seed dressing, and they love when I add sliced grilled chicken breast on top of it too!
Salads like this one don't have a lot of rules that apply when you are making them, but I do have a couple of tips to keep your salad bright and crisp!
No spiralizer, no problem. || Spiralized noodles are super fun for my kid’s to make and eat, but you don’t have to own a spiralizer to make this salad! All you have to do is serve this salad with thin slices or matchsticks of apple instead.
Browning apple noodles would be a pity. || Whatever way you slice your apples though be sure to toss your apple noodles with 4-5 tablespoons of the dressing before you pile them onto the greens. This will keep your apples from oxidizing and will actually ensure a perfectly dressed salad with nice crisp greens and lots of flavor!
Want to mix it up? || This salad is customizable in so many ways!!! Which basically means this recipe will never ever become boring to your kids or to your tastebuds. While I am sure there are a bazillion ways to swap up the flavors in this Spiralized Apple Salad, I thought I would also share a few flavor swaps that are on our "to-try" list with this salad over the summer.
1. Add goat cheese or even chunks of good sharp cheddar cheese.
2. Substitute shaved fennel for the celery to add a fun licorice scented twist.
3. Add herbs!! Seriously, nothing takes a recipe to the next level quite like fresh herbs. I'm thinking basil, thyme, or even a bit of mint in this salad instead of the celery leaves. I promise you won't regret it!
If you’ve tried this Spiralized Apple Salad Recipe, I would be so grateful if you would rate it. Let me know what you think in the comments below. I just love hearing from you and your reviews and comments really help others that visit This Mess is Ours!
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PrintSpiralized Apple Salad
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 as a side 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Spiralized
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
2 large sweet apples, spiralized or chopped into matchsticks
1 head butter or Bibb lettuce, torn
½ cup red walnuts or regular walnuts, toasted & roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced thin
2-3 tablespoons chopped celery leaves, optional
1 tablespoon bee pollen, optional
flaky sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup apple juice, look for a cloudy juice not clear if possible
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
¼ teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
black pepper to taste
Instructions
To make the dressing:
Put all the dressing ingredients in a mason jar or similar-sized wide mouth jar and use an immersion blender to blend to a creamy consistency.
To assemble the salad:
In a large bowl toss the spiralized apples with 4 tablespoons of the poppy seed dressing, completely coating the apple noodles. Set aside
Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter and top with the dressed, spiralized apples. Sprinkle the walnuts, celery, and celery leaves over the top. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle on bee pollen if using.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: as a side dish
- Calories: 177
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 102.4 mg
- Fat: 16.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 6.9 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: spiralized, apple salad, spiralized apple, salad for Thanskgiving
Want to see what else we have been cooking up with apples? Click on the links below for the recipes!
Apple Halloumi & Labneh Flatbreads|| I chose to use Piñata Apples in these flatbreads because they are literally a flavor explosion for the taste buds. They have a bit of a sweet meets tart tropical vibe to them that we just love. And they bring a much needed crispness to these flatbreads.
Quick Pickled Apples || Pink Lady apples are the perfect apple for pickling because they are very firm and dense in texture and have a wonderful tart flavor that I just love!
Apple Chai Monkey Bread || This Apple Chai Monkey bread comes from a recent cooking session with my daughter and I think it might just be the most delicious thing we have ever made together.
Apple Ginger Sangria || When the weather starts to heat up I like to put my favorite Fall forward flavor combination of apples and ginger on ice with this super easy sangria for summer!
What are the health benefits of apples?
The apple, especially with the skin left on, is packed with necessary nutrients that reduce risks of heart disease and diabetes and improve gut heath. The high fiber and water content in apples can also help with weight loss because they are so filling.
Click here more information about the health benefits of apples.
Frequently Asked Questions
Suzanne says
I love salads... I really do LOVE them (I could eat them every day, truly). The one thing I struggle with is differentiating them. This apple salad is definitely a new one for me, and I cannot wait to try it!
Thank you!!!
thismess says
I agree, salads are great, but sometimes its easy to get stuck in a salad rut! I hope you love this spiralized apple salad as much as we do, its definitely a fun way to swap things up.