Here’s another “Whole30” recipe I created while trying to escape the endless “egg and sweet potato lunches” I was consuming. But let’s be honest, I’m not mad about the sweet potatoes. I could kind of maybe eat sweet potatoes every day for the rest of my life and feel fine about it. 😉 Don’t judge. If you haven’t read about my Whole30 experience yet, check out this Paleo Coconut Curry post.
So, the story behind this salad.
Every Sunday, my hubby Pat and I go to dinner with either my family or his. This particular Sunday we were eating with Pat’s family, and I was assigned to bring a salad. I immediately started thinking through my go-to salads. Without being able to eat dairy or added sweeteners (even honey. gaaaah) I was pretty limited to dressing choices…
But then I started thinking about apples. Apples are 100% Whole30-approved, and are so deliciously sweet on their own. Why not use them to sweeten my dressing? I decided to give it a try, and was pleasantly surprised. I even got the Kyle stamp of approval, which is hard to do. (He’s my brother-in-law, who prefers ranch and sugar cereal to naturally-sweetend, “healthy” food.) So, with Kyle’s approval, I decided it was worthy of the blog. And there ya go. This Sweet Apple Salad was born!
Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed greens
- 1/2 red pepper
- 1 avocado
- 1 1/2 gala apples (you'll use the other 1/2 of the apple for the vinaigrette)
- 4 oz. bacon or turkey bacon
- Walnuts for topping
- 3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp. stone ground mustard
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1/2 gala apple (core and seeds removed)
- 1/2 cup walnut oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and dry the greens and place in a large serving bowl.
- In a skillet, toast the walnuts over medium heat until lightly toasted. Set aside.
- In the same skillet, cook the bacon. Drain the grease, cut into bite-sized pieces and set aside to cool.
- Chop red peppers into bite-sized pieces. Cut the apples and avocados into thin slices.
- Combine everything, toss with vinaigrette and top with toasted walnuts.
- Combine all ingredients except for the walnut oil in a food processor.
- Pulse until everything is blended. (The apple may still be a little pulpy. This is OK!)
- Slowly drizzle in the walnut oil, allowing it to emulsify. (The slower you drizzle, the better it will incorporate!)
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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18 Comments
Needed a salad for Tuesday ladies night. Perfect timing.
Candy, Glad we could help! Let us know how they like it!
This looks delicious!! I definitely want to try it. I’ve gotten into making my own dressings in the past year or so, and I think homemade is so much better than the kind from a bottle. Thanks for posting!
Michelle, I’m totally with you there. Homemade is always better and is so much healthier too!
How could I get through Whole 30 without you? You’re so awesome, Sarah! I just love your website 🙂
Whitney, you are so sweet! Truly, you need some serious support when you’re trying to do Whole30. We’re all in this together!
I am so sad I don’t have all these ingredients to make this for lunch! I know would have thought to have apples in with my avocado!
Angela, when you go to the store, let me know how you liked the salad 🙂 I’d love to hear if you liked the apple/avocado combo!
Wow ! Yes please… That looks to good to eat I would love this definitely trying this one saved for later !!!
Laci, I hope you get around to trying it! Enjoy 🙂
Very interesting. I’ve never considered mixing apple and avocado together.
Cori, Yes apples and avocados go surprisingly well together. If you give it a try, let me know how you liked it!
Using apples in a dressing is such a great idea! I can’t wait to try it. Your salad looks delicious too, I love the combination of apple and avocado.
Thanks Elsa! You have to get creative on Whole30 haha. If you end up trying it, let us know how you liked it!
YUMMM!!! This looks soo amazing!
Thanks Shelly!
This salad looks delish! Love the addition of the apple in the dressing – pretty creative! And I want to thank you for giving me another recipe that I can use my almond oil in. 🙂
Thanks Linda! You have to get pretty creative to survive the Whole30 haha. If you end up making it, let us know how you liked it!