Name: Spinach and Arugula Salad with Apples and Pecans
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2-4
Cuisine: Salad
Ingredients: 3 cups arugula; 1 cup of spinach; 2 apples, sliced; 2oz goat cheese, crumbled; 1/2 cup pecans; 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds; 2 tbsp maple syrup; 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 cup olive oil; 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 1 tsp dijon mustard; 1 tsp maple syrup; 1/4 tsp salt; black pepper

With a spinach and arugula base, the main star of the salad is the roasted cinnamon pecans. The flavor of the pecans with the apples and goat cheese makes this one of my favorite salads. It is a great fall flavored salad but you can make it year round.

Salad Ingredients and Substitutions

Arugula: Also known as rocket, arugula is the base to this salad. It adds a nice spicy flavor to the salad. If you don’t or don’t like arugula you can use all spinach.

Spinach: I like to mix spinach in with the arugula in this salad. You can also do all arugula or all spinach if you prefer.

Apples: This recipe uses a honeycrisp apple but you can really use any type of apple in the recipe.

Goat Cheese: The goat cheese adds a great creamy texture to the salad. If you don’t have goat cheese, feta is a great substitute in this recipe.

Pomegranate: Pomegranate seeds add a fun flavor and color to this salad. If you don’t have them, you can easily skip this step. I have made it with and without pomegranate seeds and it’s delicious both ways.

Pecans and Pumpkin Seeds: The roasted nuts and seeds are what gives this salad a real winter flavor. They are roasted with maple syrup and cinnamon. You can swap out the pecans for walnuts if you prefer.

2 salads next to a bowl of pomegranate seeds.

Arugula Salad Dressing

For this salad the dressing is an apple cider based flavor. What I love about this dressing is that you can add everything to a jar and just shake it up. No need for a whisk or blender.

How to store the salad?

If you want to store the salad, make sure the store the dressing separately. Add the dressing to the individual salad so it doesn’t get soggy in the fridge. If you place the salad in an airtight container, it should stay good in the fridge for about 3 days.

‍

What can you prep in advance

You can roast the nuts in advance. Just store them in a airtight container once they have cooler. You can also make the dressing in advance. Don’t cut the apples too far ahead of time or they will start to brown. If you have the nuts and dressing done, the salad comes together fairly quickly.