This bright, tangy, and nutty apple walnut goat cheese salad has crisp apples, toasted walnuts, tangy goat cheese, and a spicy ginger vinaigrette. Perfect as a side salad or main entrée!
My husband I just returned from a glorious trip to Cape Cod. For the first few days of our vacation I walked around with a big grin on my face. I kept remarking to Mr. K that something would inevitably go wrong on this trip since everything up to that point had been so perfect. He would simply respond by shaking his head at me. Whether slurping down raw oysters, savoring an IPA, or breathing in the smell of salty ocean air, I was in a kind of vacation trance, whereby everything we did seemed to be the perfect thing to be doing at that exact moment.
And, although all vacations must come to an end, I love recreating restaurant dishes that I enjoy while on vacation. It gets my creative juices flowing and allows me to reminisce. I ate a salad in Cape Cod that was so flavorful and yet so simple that I knew I wanted to develop my own recipe for something similar. This apple walnut goat cheese salad is the result, and I have been enjoying it all week. It’s crisp, slightly sweet and tart from the apple, tangy from creamy goat cheese, crunchy and nutty from the toasted walnuts, and it has a delicious bite from ginger vinaigrette. And it can be prepped in just 10 minutes!
Three Easy Steps!
- Wash spinach and pat it dry. Place spinach on 4 plates.
- Add goat cheese, walnuts, and apple, distributing evenly amongst 4 plates.
- Add olive oil to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in lemon juice, ginger, sea salt and black pepper. Dress salads, toss, and serve. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Variations & Substitutions
- Add 1/2 cup of cooked chicken, tofu, or chickpeas for extra protein.
- Substitute your favorite cheese in place of the goat cheese. Blue cheese would be delicious in this salad.
- If you are not a fan of ginger or don’t have it on hand, make a simple lemon vinaigrette in its place.
- Swap in your favorite nut in place of the walnuts. Toasted pistachios, almonds, or pecans would all work well.
Enjoy your week, and feel free to drop me a line in the comments – I would love to hear if you try this recipe! Or tag me on Instagram @maryannehoekstra to let me know how it turned out! Also, if you are enjoying my blog, please consider recommending it to your friends. They can subscribe here.
More Salad Recipe Ideas!
- Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad with Chickpeas and Avocado
- Tuna Steak Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette
- Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Arugula, Walnuts, and Gruyère
Apple Walnut Goat Cheese Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 5 oz. baby spinach
- 4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 1 Fuji apple, quartered and diced
Ginger Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsps lemon juice
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Wash spinach and pat it dry. Place spinach on 4 plates.
- Add goat cheese, walnuts, and apple, distributing evenly amongst 4 plates.
- Add olive oil to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in lemon juice, ginger, sea salt and black pepper. Dress salads, toss, and serve. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
This really sounds good! I will have to try this!
This salad is one for the record books! I loved the ginger vinaigrette and it has the perfect crunch. I can’t wait to make this salad again.
So happy you enjoyed it, Jacque!:-)
Crunchy nuts, crisp apples, creamy goat cheese, and an amazing dressing – this is my kind of salad!
A great combination for a salad. I have not tried goatcheese to be honest. I will surely try this today.
Love everything about this apple walnut and goat cheese salad! The flavor combination was amazing and the ginger vinaigrette paired perfectly with it. This is my new lunch time favorite, for sure.
So glad you love it, Anaiah! It’s definitely one of my faves!