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Yarod

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Easy Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Elevate your meals with this Easy Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette, featuring flavors of bacon, cranberries, and goat cheese.

Easy Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

This Easy Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette creates a beautiful balance of earthy greens, tasty additions, and a zesty dressing that evokes the essence of fall.

Colorful garden salad with mixed greens, feta cheese, and sliced almonds. Perfect for healthy dining.

Why You’ll 🫶🏻 this Salad

Crisp and invigorating, this Easy Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette is an ideal dish for any seasonal occasion. It features a lively, versatile combination of flavors. These include earthy greens, smoky bacon, sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds, and creamy goat cheese. The sweet and tangy apple cider vinaigrette captures the spirit of fall. The homemade vinaigrette adds a delightful, sweet-and-tangy flavor that enhances the whole dish. Whether you serve this salad as a main course or as a side dish, it is guaranteed to please your taste buds. It will also leave a memorable impression on everyone who tries it! ~Nicole

Key Ingredients for Easy Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

A variety of salad ingredients on a white surface, including leafy greens, radicchio, romaine, nuts, crumbled cheese, dried fruit, crispy bacon, a shallot, and small containers of vinaigrette, mustard, and dressing.

Mixed Greens make up the base of the salad. I use a combination of several varieties. Spring mix or mesclun provides sweetness and tenderness, Romaine adds crunch and structure that holds up very well to the vinaigrette, and Radicchio brings bold color and a mild spicy bitterness.

Toppings or Mix-ins for this salad are quite versatile. I use bacon that adds a rich, smoky flavor; dried cranberries offer a burst of sweetness, goat cheese lends a creamy, mild tangy flavor, while honey-roasted almonds provide another layer of sweetness and crunch.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette is the star of the salad. It is composed of fresh, sweet apple cider, tangy apple cider vinegar, and bold, sharp Dijon mustard. Minced shallot adds a slightly sweet flavor that is less pungent than onion. A pinch of sugar and freshly ground black pepper balance the vinaigrette.

Equipment Needed

  • Salad spinner
  • Salad dressing shaker
A head of radicchio cut in half sits on a wooden cutting board next to a small knife and a glass salad spinner.
A halved head of radicchio and thinly sliced radicchio pieces are on a wooden cutting board, with a glass bowl nearby.
Shredded radicchio leaves in a clear salad spinner, viewed from above, showing their deep purple-red and white colors against a light background.
A jar filled with a creamy, speckled dressing is shown from above, next to an open lid, a spoon on a small dish, and bowls containing salt and pepper on a white surface.

Tips for Making this Easy Autumn Salad with Cider Vinaigrette

  1. To tame the bitterness of the radicchio, cut the head in half from top to stem and remove the core.
  2. Thinly slice each half with the grain or side to side.
  3. Place the Radicchio in a salad spinner, fill with water, and allow the slices to soak for several minutes. Drain and thoroughly dry.
  4. To easily make the vinaigrette, I place all of the ingredients in a medium- to large Ball jar with a tight-fitting lid and give it a good shake. Use half of the vinaigrette to dress the salad right before serving, to prevent it from becoming soggy. Use the other half to serve on the side for guests who prefer a bit more dressing.

Substitutions

This salad is quite versatile, so the substitutions are endless.

  • Butterhead, Bibb, or Boston lettuce can be substituted for the Romaine.
  • Substitute red leaf lettuce for color, Belgian endive for texture, and thinly sliced red cabbage for texture and color instead of radicchio.

The toppings and mix-ins are versatile too, and if there are allergies, serve them on the side or completely omit them.

Some classic nut and cheese pairings are…

  • Goat cheese and almonds. (I used Fresh Gourmet Honey Roasted Sliced Almonds in this recipe.)
  • Goat cheese and hazelnuts (see my kitchen tip to skin them HERE).
  • Walnuts and blue cheese.
  • Pecans or pumpkin/pepita seeds (like my Candied Pepitas) and feta.

Use lean turkey bacon as a substitute for pork bacon. To keep it vegetarian, my Easy Sea Salt Roasted Chickpeas are a nice, crunchy, and protein-enriched option.

A fresh salad with mixed greens, goat cheese, bacon bits, sliced almonds, and dried cranberries is served in a white bowl with a gold fork on a brown napkin.

Serving Suggestions

As a main salad:

  • Add grilled or roasted chicken or turkey that has been diced, sliced, or shredded.
  • Add cooked grains, such as quinoa or farro, for a healthier option.

As a side salad:

  • Roast Chicken
  • Pork chops or pork tenderloin
  • Make it part of a trio with other salads being served.

Other seasonal salads you might enjoy…

A white plate with a salad of sliced pears, radicchio, parsley, crumbled feta cheese, and chopped pistachios, served with a silver spoon on the side.
Radicchio Salad with Pear, Parsely, and Blue Cheese
A fresh green salad with mixed leafy greens, sliced green apples, and crumbled cheese served in a white bowl, with another bowl and cutlery visible in the background.
Creen Salad with Apples and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
A close-up of a fresh salad in a white bowl, featuring leafy greens, red radicchio, roasted butternut squash, sliced apples, crumbled cheese, and chopped nuts, with another bowl blurred in the background.
Chopped Salad with Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, and Hazelnuts

Easy Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Prep: 10 minsTotal: 10 mins Servings: 6 -12 servings Colorful garden salad with mixed greens, feta cheese, and sliced almonds. Perfect for healthy dining. This delightful Easy Autumn Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette includes bacon, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and honey-roasted almonds, making it the perfect salad for fall!

Equipment

  • Salad spinner
  • Salad dressing shaker

Ingredients 

For the Vinaigrette

  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 6 tablespoons apple cider
  • 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cup Safflower oil or other neutral oil
  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad

  • 6 hickory smoked bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
  • ½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped if needed
  • 4 ounces mild goat cheese, crumbled
  • ½ cup sliced honey roasted almonds
  • 1 (5 ounce) container spring mix greens, washed, and dried
  • 1 large Romaine heart, cored, torn into bite-sized pieces, washed, and dried
  • 1 large head Radicchio, cored, sliced thinly on the grain, washed, and dried
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black peper to taste

Instructions 

For the Vinaigrette

  1. In a medium- to large-sized Ball jar or other container with a tight-fitting lid, add the shallot, mustard, sugar, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, oil, and a pinch of pepper. Tightly screw on the lid and shake the jar or container to mix the vinaigrette. Taste for seasoning. Vinaigrette can be made 1 day ahead, covered, and refrigerated.

For the Salad

  1. In a large bowl, toss the spring mix, romaine, and radicchio with half of the vinaigrette until coated well. Add the bacon, cranberries, goat chees, almonds, and gently toss to coat. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately, passing the remaining dressing on the side. Enjoy!

Notes

The vinaigrette can be made 1 day ahead, covered, and stored in the refrigerator for 
up to three days. The salad is best enjoyed right after it is dressed with the vinaigrette.  For longer storage, store the salad and the vinaigrette separately for 1-2 days. *Nutrition facts are for 12 side servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 223kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 132mg, Potassium: 116mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 1058IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 32mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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