Spinach and Apple Salad with Sweet Italian Dressing

Spinach and apple salad is an inexpensive yet absolutely delicious salad that you are sure to make again and again. Dressed with a homemade sweet Italian dressing, red onions, apples, feta cheese, and seeds, this salad is anything but boring.

Salads often fall in one of two camps. They are either boring and an obligatory way to get in your veggies or they can be absolutely amazing and full of flavor and texture. I’m going to teach you today how to make a great tasting salad, perfect for your holiday table or a weeknight side dish. No more boring salad in your future.

Building a Spinach and Apple Salad

The base of this particular salad is simple spinach, but you could totally use a mix of greens like a spring mix. I just like the ease of the spinach and how inexpensive a bag of it is at Aldi.

The dressing is a delicious sweet Italian vinaigrette. It’s simply olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. All of these ingredients are pantry staples in my home, so I am never far away from a delicious salad dressing, freeing me from having to run to the store when I’m out. Simply add all of the ingredients to a mason jar with a lid and shake shake shake.

Every good salad needs a little salt and fat. This particular salad gets its saltiness and fat from the feta cheese. It adds a great salty and tangy bite to the salad that contrasts with the sweetness of the dressing.

Then apples and sweet red onions are thinly sliced and added to add a sweet note to the salad. I love how well the sweetness of the fruit pairs with the sweetness of the dressing. Dried cranberries or raisins would also be a nice addition if you have them on hand.

Lastly, I love adding a crunchy element to the salad to give more texture and interest. I’ve chosen sunflower kernels because that’s what I had on hand, but I have used slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, or pecans and they are all fantastic.

Here’s to making delicious salads. If you make this dish and enjoy it, I would love for you to leave a review!

Print

Spinach and apple salad with sweet Italian dressing

Spinach, apples, red onion, feta cheese, and sunflower kernels all dressed in a sweet Italian dressing

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword spinach and apple salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 5

Ingredients

Salad

• 8 oz spinach
• 1 apple, chopped I used gala
• 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
• 1/4 c sunflower kernels pecans, slivered almond, or pepitas could be subbed
• 4 oz feta cheese crumbled

Dressing

• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
• 4 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

1. Place all of the dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake until well combined.

2. In a large bowl add salad ingredients.

3. Toss well with half of the dressing and taste to see if it is well dressed. If you need more, add a little at a time until salad is lightly coated but not drenched.

4. Serve immediately.

More salad recipes

• fresh cranberry salad
• Asian cabbage salad
• Greek quinoa salad