Home / Recipes / Side Dishes / Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples

Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE SALES LINKS. PLEASE SEE OUR FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY FOR DETAILS

Free Email Series

5 Secrets To The Perfect Cookie

Tips & tricks to achieve the most delicious cookies of your life!

When it is time to think of a salad to make for Thanksgiving are you stumped like I am?  Everything else seems so easy because we know what to add to the menu.  The salad however, can’t be an ordinary run of the mill salad.  It needs to compliment the turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing but also look beautiful and be seasonal.  Today I am sharing my go-to and easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples!  It is fresh, sweet, salty, crunchy and the best part…it goes perfectly with everything else on the Thanksgiving table.

Do you love fun salads?  Try this Cozy Winter Salad recipe with roasted butternut squash!

Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples, a recipe featured by top US food blogger, Practically Homemade

A Fall Inspired Thanksgiving Salad

Loaded with awesome fall flavors, this Thanksgiving salad is perfect for holiday dinner.  Fresh apple slices and crunchy toasted pecans are added to store bought salad mix for the ultimate side dish.

Pair this fall salad with your favorite protein and enjoy all of the flavors that the season has to offer.

Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples, a recipe featured by top US food blogger, Practically Homemade

Salad Ingredients

  • Shaved Brussel Sprout & Kale Mix-This mix is called Sweet Kale salad kit and it has the poppy seed dressing included inside the kit.
  • Bacon-Sliced thinly and adding the perfect bite, bacon is also salty and delicious.
  • Butter Pecans-Toasted to perfect for awesome flavor.
  • Apple-I love to use a Honey Crisp apple because it is both a bit sweet and sour.  Sliced thinly it is such a great seasonal addition.
  • Pomegranate Seeds-Another awesome seasonal ingredient, pomegranate seeds and great texture and color to the salad.
  • Shaved Parmesan-For a sharp taste and fun texture, shaved parmesan is perfect.

How to make Harvest Apple Salad

  1. Remove the packet with the dressing and other ingredients from the Sweet Kale salad mix.  Keep the packet of poppy seed dressing and save the pumpkin seeds and cranberries for another time.
  2. Pour the salad mix into a large bowl.
  3. Top the greens with toppings {thinly sliced bacon, butter pecan halves, shaved parmesan cheese, pomegranate seeds and sliced apples}.  
  4. Pour the poppy seed dressing over the top of the salad and mix to combine.
  5. Serve and Enjoy.

Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples, a recipe featured by top US food blogger, Practically Homemade

Tips for the Best Thanksgiving Harvest Salad

  • Render the bacon and thinly slice it ahead of time.  Using cold bacon that has set up works much better than a warm bacon in this easy salad recipe. 
  • Don’t cut the apples into slices until right before serving.  Because the apples can turn brown easily, cutting them at the last minute keeps them super fresh and juicy.  If you need to cut them early, brush the apples with a small amount of lemon juice to keep them from oxidizing. 
  • Place all of the individual ingredients in separate zipper bags and then into the large bowl you are going to use to serve.  This allows you to combine everything quickly.

Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples, a recipe featured by top US food blogger, Practically Homemade

Recipe Variations

Cheese-There are so many different kinds of cheese that can be used in this fall inspired salad.  Goat cheese, bleu cheese, feta or even cubes of cheddar cheese would all be super tasty.

Apples-I love a good honey crisp apple and so that is what I reach for but you could use any kind of apple that you like.  If you want a sweet apple, a Fuji or Gala would be a great addition.  While a Granny Smith or even a braeburn would be a nice tart apple to use.

Nuts-In the fall I always want to add pecans to everything I make but there are so many different nut varieties that would work wonderfully.  Almonds, pistachios or even walnuts are all great options for this easy to make harvest salad.

Meat-Everything is better with bacon in my opinion but if bacon isn’t your favorite then substitute it with prosciutto or even chicken.

Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples, a recipe featured by top US food blogger, Practically Homemade

Make Ahead & Storage Tips:

Make your Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Ahead:

One of the very best things about this awesome Thanksgiving Salad is that it can easily be made ahead of time.

While the salad shouldn’t be put together completely, all of the elements can be prepped.  That way the salad will come together in minutes when it is time to serve. 

Salad Leftovers:

Cover the leftovers tightly with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

It will lose some of its fresh flavor and textures but for the most part this salad keeps well.

Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples, a recipe featured by top US food blogger, Practically Homemade

Do you need side dishes for your Thanksgiving?  Try these recipes…
Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples, a recipe featured by top US food blogger, Practically Homemade

Easy Thanksgiving Harvest Salad Recipe with Apples

This easy salad starts with bagged mix of salad but is made extra special when delicious harvest ingredients {including apples} are added making it perfect for Thanksgiving.
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 8
No ratings yet
Pin Print

Ingredients

  • 1-22.33 ounce bag Sweet Kale salad mix
  • 6 pieces bacon {thinly sliced}
  • ½ cup buttered pecan halves
  • ¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese
  • 1 large honey crisp apple {thinly sliced}
  • 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Instructions

  • Open bag of sweet kale mix and remove package of dressing, pumpkin seeds and cranberries. Pour the greens into a large bowl and set the dressing aside. We will not be using the pumpkin seeds or cranberries, so they can be used in another recipe.
  • Add thinly sliced bacon, buttered pecan halves, shaved parmesan cheese, thinly sliced honey crisp apples and pomegranate seeds. Top with prepared poppy seed dressing and mix until everything is evenly coated.
  • Serve and enjoy. Store leftovers covered for up to 3 days.
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @PracticallyHomemade or tag #practicallyhomemade!

Similar Posts