When fall hits, I start craving this crispy green apple salad recipe. It’s incredibly easy to make and has one of my favorite creamy salad dressings. It’s great throughout fall and absolutely perfect on the table for Thanksgiving. I cannot wait for you to try this easy recipe. For more fall salads, see our farro salad with apples, tahini kale salad, and this warm apple and cabbage salad.
Key Ingredients
Apples: I love tart Granny Smith apples for this salad, but any variety of crunchy apples works well. Celery and Fennel: If you aren’t familiar with raw celery and fennel in salads, hear me out. It’s delicious! You’ll quickly peel the celery, which removes any stringy bits, and then slice them thin for the salad. The fennel adds a light licorice (or anise) crunch. Seriously, it’s one of my favorite salads right here! Green Onion and Fresh Dill: I love tossing chopped fresh dill and sliced green onions for even more fresh flavor. You can also use chives or mint. Nuts: I use pecans in the photos, but pistachios, walnuts, and hazelnuts are great here. Toast them briefly first before you add them to the apples. Candied pecans would be amazing, too! Creamy Dressing: This salad dressing is zippy and creamy. I make it with Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, and crème fraîche. Crème fraîche tastes like a creamy, slightly less tangy sour cream. If you don’t have it on hand, mayonnaise, sour cream, and even plain yogurt will work in its place.
How to Make Apple Salad
It takes only about 10 minutes to make the salad, and it keeps surprisingly well in the fridge. I was worried the apples would not keep well, but since we add a healthy amount of apple cider vinegar to the dressing, they stay crisp for a day or two in the fridge. To bring this salad together, you’ll slice the apples, peel and slice the celery, and slice the fennel. When prepping the fennel, remove the core first, then thinly slice from there. Toss everything into a big salad bowl and toss with the creamy dressing I make by whisking the dressing ingredients until blended. And that’s it! Easy creamy apple salad that is perfect for tonight or served as a holiday side! It is especially good with pork, like our skillet pork chops or this roasted pork tenderloin. 3 celery stalks, peeled and sliced 1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced 1 scallion, finely chopped 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped 1/2 cup pecans, hazelnuts, or walnuts, lightly toasted 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon maple syrup 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons crème fraîche Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste 2Whisk in the crème fraîche, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of fresh ground black pepper. Taste and adjust with additional salt, vinegar, or maple syrup if necessary. 3Add the sliced apples, celery, fennel, scallion, dill, and the nuts. Toss well. 4If you have any fennel fronds (the wispy tops of the fennel stalk that look similar to dill), scatter a few over the salad, then serve.
