Apple Pecan Salad with Homemade Balsamic

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Apple Pecan Salad is made with crunchy, salty, and sweet ingredients all tossed together with a homemade balsamic dressing. Apples + Bacon + Pecans + Garlicky Balsamic goodness = one heck of a party in your mouth. It’s the perfect salad for Fall. If you love a balsamic dressing, you’ll also love my Caprese Salad Recipe!

apple pecan salad in a bowl with large wooden spoon

Why You’ll Love This Salad

It’s so easy! This is a salad you’ll keep coming back to again and again. Made with your favorite salad greens, hickory smoked bacon crumbles, crisp juicy apple, toasted pecans and drizzled with my homemade balsamic vinegar dressing. It’s fancy enough to serve as a side dish to a holiday meal and easy enough to have on any night of the week.

How to Make Apple Pecan Salad

For full recipe details, including ingredients needed and measurements, see the printable recipe card down below. Here is what you can expect when putting together this salad:

Prep Salad Veggies

Place chopped or torn lettuce, cooked and crumbled bacon and diced apple into a large bowl.

Make the Dressing

Whisk clove, dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper together.

whisking balsamic dressing ingredients together in a bowl

Toss Dressing and Salad Together

Toss dressing with salad and serve.

wooden spoons tossing dressing and salad together in a bowl

Storing Leftovers + Make Ahead Directions

Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. As far as making this salad ahead of time, I would recommend making the dressing a day or two before, and do everything else the day of when you want to serve it. This will save you a little bit of time, but not a ton. Be sure to give the dressing a quick whisk to remix before adding to the salad.

Frequently Asked Questions About Apple Pecan Salad

What kind of lettuce should I use?

I used red leaf lettuce, but I also like to use romaine or other mixed greens.

What kind of Apples are the best in this salad?

I like fuji apples for this salad. You could also use gala or honey crisp. Use what you like.

Can I add cheese to this salad?

Absolutely! A little feta cheese crumbles, parmesan, blue cheese or goat cheese would be a great addition!

Other Salad Recipes to Try:

Pin it, print it, and bookmark this page, because you are going to want to have this recipe on hand. If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star review! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.