Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is probably my FAVORITE salad! I use the basic ingredients and throw in different fruits, nuts or cheeses–whatever I feel like at the moment! It is SO delicious! This salad has all the right combinations of sweet and salty or savory. It also only takes a few minutes to throw together. Even the dressing takes less than five minutes to make.

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It’s just amazing. The best way to serve Winter Fruit Salad is to put the dressing on the whole salad. However, that only works if you have company and all of the salad is going to be eaten at once. So I usually put the apples and pears in lemon juice to protect them from turning brown. This way the salad will be okay for a few days (just adding the dressing on individual portions instead of the whole).

The homemade poppy seed dressing is also fantastic. It is one of my favorite homemade dressings too.  While the original version uses sugar, most of the time I substitute honey instead. I have also tinkered with the dressing and used different oils and vinegars. It’s truly a salad you can play around a lot with and still enjoy.

I got this recipe years ago from Gina Wooten when she brought it to one of our Christmas parties for our Sunday school class. Her salad was the hit that night. Everyone wanted more and even though she made a really large batch of salad, the bowl was scraped clean–even more than the desserts were!

It’s that great of a salad. Thankfully, Gina graciously shared the recipe and it has been very well used over the years since Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is quite scrumptious!

This salad is healthy, low calorie and gluten free. You can easily make this vegan by removing the Swiss cheese or substituting a soy cheese instead. It’s a great salad to eat a lot of if you’re trying to lose weight!

I posted this salad last year and have made it several times since then.  I finally decided to retake some of the pictures (June 2013). The first ones I took when I began my blog were so horrible that they needed updating.

Hopefully, these pictures will give you a little better appreciation for this luscious salad and you will want to try it out with your family and friends, too. While the “Here’s What I Did” section still has the old pictures, all the presentation pictures are new. Enjoy.

When I was looking through this recipe a couple of weeks ago (May 2018), I realized this post still had old presentation pictures from the first year. I recently remade the recipe for our neighbors. He recently had a kidney transplant and the donor was his wife! (That’s a one in 100,000 chance of donor compatibility). I served the salad with Amish Chicken and Noodles, Rapid Rise Italian Herb Bread and a Blueberry Dessert. This is still our favorite salad. I hope it will become yours, too.

Winter Fruit Salad With Poppy Seed Dressing is a wonderful refreshing salad that’s low in calories and gluten free!

This tasty salad can easily be made vegan by substituting soy cheese for the Swiss cheese in the recipe. Once you taste this amazing salad you will want to go back for more and more!

Doesn’t this salad look scrumptious? There are lots of cashews, craisins, apples, pears & Swiss cheese along with a little romaine lettuce! You can add other fresh fruits or change out the dried fruits for others. Same with the nuts and cheese. All variations work wonderfully.

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients. Normally I would use bagged Romaine lettuce that’s already washed and cut into pieces. However, currently there is an e-coli scare from that bagged lettuce so I used a regular head of romaine lettuce instead.

Cut lettuce and place in a large salad bowl.

 Add craisins and cashews.

Add Swiss cheese.

Dredge apple and pear pieces in lemon juice. Drain on paper towels and pat dry.

Add apples and pears to the salad. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I used these ingredients to make the Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing. Avocado oil is my favorite oil. I have also used honey instead of sugar with great results.

Place all of the salad dressing ingredients in your blender or food processor.

Puree about 10 seconds so that the ingredients emulsify. 

Transfer salad dressing to a dispenser.

This amazing salad is terrific for holiday or company dinners.

Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is quite wonderful. This is a great salad to make up for people when you take them a meal. Everyone always loves it.

I couldn’t wait to dig into this marvelous salad. I make some version of this salad all the time! Because I had really large apples and pears, I only needed to use one of each this time. Usually, I have to use two pears and two apples for the salad.

Here’s the recipe.

WINTER FRUIT SALAD WITH LEMON POPPYSEED DRESSING

(Recipe from Gina Wooten, when we attended Hillcrest Baptist Church, Cedar Hill, TX; source: All Recipes)

Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Teresa Ambra

This is a wonderful tossed green salad with fruit. The savory flavors of cashews and Swiss cheese work really well with the sweet dried cranberries, fresh pears and apples. The homemade poppy seed dressing is absolutely mouthwatering. This gluten free recipe is terrific for company or holiday dinners like Easter, Mother's Day or Father's Day.

No ratings yet

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Salads and Salad Dressings, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Calories 346 kcal

Equipment

• 1 large salad bowl with tongs
• 1 sharp knife to cut fruit
• 1 blender
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• 1 small bowl

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

SALAD:

• 1 head Romaine lettuce rinsed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 4 oz. Swiss cheese shredded (1 cup)
• 1 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
• 1 Gala or Fuji apple unpeeled, cored and cubed (I use 2)
• 1 pear unpeeled and cubed (I use 2)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice or as needed

POPPY SEED DRESSING:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar or honey
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp. onion diced or one green onion (I have also used dehydrated onion)
• 1 tsp. Dijon-style prepared mustard
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2/3 cup avocado oil
• 1 tbsp. poppy seeds

Instructions

 

SALAD:

• In a large serving bowl, combine the romaine lettuce, shredded Swiss cheese, cashews, and dried cranberries.
• Place cubed apples and cubed pears in lemon juice and swirl to prevent discoloration.
• Add apples and pears to salad.
• Refrigerate until read to serve.
• When ready to serve, toss salad to mix, then pour dressing over salad just before serving and toss to coat.

POPPY SEED DRESSING:

• In a blender or food processor, combine granulated sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard, oil, poppy seeds and salt.
• Process until well blended.
• Pour over salad before serving; or drizzle over individual servings.

Notes

NOTE: I prefer Gala or Fuji apples.

 

 

NOTE: Swiss cheese seems to work better than any other kind for this recipe.

 

 

NOTE: Butter Bliss lettuce and Spring Mix also work well for this salad.

 

 

NOTE: Many times I add blueberries to this recipe, sometimes pineapple, and sometimes omit the apples and pears altogether and use strawberries, blueberries, mandarin orange segments and pineapple. Feel free to exchange the lettuce, cheese, nuts, or fruit for other ingredients, while using the main idea.

 

 

NOTE: If you are not serving the salad immediately, or you will not be eating all the salad in one sitting, it is recommended to drizzle dressing over individual salad bowls rather than combining the salad with all of the dressing.That way the salad will not decompose so quickly.

 

 

NOTE: Although I've tried using stevia and xylitol sweeteners I haven't been able to get the right combination of flavors to make the dressing taste well. So I recommend using honey or maple syrup. But, feel free to experiment.

 

 

NOTE: You can leave this dressing to sit out until you're ready to eat the salad. When you do refrigerate coconut or avocado oil, it will harden and you will have to bring it to room temperature (about 75 degrees) to get it to liquid form again. Or microwave for a few seconds.

 

Recipe adapted from All Recipes.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 346kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 7gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 130mgPotassium: 329mgFiber: 3gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 5563IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 153mgIron: 2mg

Keyword apples, cashews, chef salad, dried cranberries, pears, swiss cheese, tossed salad, tossed salad with fruit

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is also good with fresh blueberries added to the mix! I like eating Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing as a Meatless Monday option and serving it with some fresh baked homemade rolls or bread.

Every bite of Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is so delectable you will think you’re eating dessert! 

Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is sure to be a hit with your family or guests. It is just an incredibly terrific salad.

You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!

Spinach Pomegranate Salad

Tossed Salad with Tropical Fruit

Spring Mix with Peaches, Walnuts and Feta

Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Teresa Ambra

This is a wonderful tossed green salad with fruit. The savory flavors of cashews and Swiss cheese work really well with the sweet dried cranberries, fresh pears and apples. The homemade poppy seed dressing is absolutely mouthwatering. This gluten free recipe is terrific for company or holiday dinners like Easter, Mother's Day or Father's Day.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Salads and Salad Dressings, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Calories 346 kcal

Equipment

• 1 large salad bowl with tongs
• 1 sharp knife to cut fruit
• 1 blender
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• 1 small bowl

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

SALAD:

• 1 head Romaine lettuce rinsed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 4 oz. Swiss cheese shredded (1 cup)
• 1 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
• 1 Gala or Fuji apple unpeeled, cored and cubed (I use 2)
• 1 pear unpeeled and cubed (I use 2)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice or as needed

POPPY SEED DRESSING:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar or honey
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp. onion diced or one green onion (I have also used dehydrated onion)
• 1 tsp. Dijon-style prepared mustard
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2/3 cup avocado oil
• 1 tbsp. poppy seeds

Instructions

 

SALAD:

• In a large serving bowl, combine the romaine lettuce, shredded Swiss cheese, cashews, and dried cranberries.
• Place cubed apples and cubed pears in lemon juice and swirl to prevent discoloration.
• Add apples and pears to salad.
• Refrigerate until read to serve.
• When ready to serve, toss salad to mix, then pour dressing over salad just before serving and toss to coat.

POPPY SEED DRESSING:

• In a blender or food processor, combine granulated sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard, oil, poppy seeds and salt.
• Process until well blended.
• Pour over salad before serving; or drizzle over individual servings.

Notes

NOTE: I prefer Gala or Fuji apples.

 

 

NOTE: Swiss cheese seems to work better than any other kind for this recipe.

 

 

NOTE: Butter Bliss lettuce and Spring Mix also work well for this salad.

 

 

NOTE: Many times I add blueberries to this recipe, sometimes pineapple, and sometimes omit the apples and pears altogether and use strawberries, blueberries, mandarin orange segments and pineapple. Feel free to exchange the lettuce, cheese, nuts, or fruit for other ingredients, while using the main idea.

 

 

NOTE: If you are not serving the salad immediately, or you will not be eating all the salad in one sitting, it is recommended to drizzle dressing over individual salad bowls rather than combining the salad with all of the dressing.That way the salad will not decompose so quickly.

 

 

NOTE: Although I’ve tried using stevia and xylitol sweeteners I haven’t been able to get the right combination of flavors to make the dressing taste well. So I recommend using honey or maple syrup. But, feel free to experiment.

 

 

NOTE: You can leave this dressing to sit out until you’re ready to eat the salad. When you do refrigerate coconut or avocado oil, it will harden and you will have to bring it to room temperature (about 75 degrees) to get it to liquid form again. Or microwave for a few seconds.

 

Recipe adapted from All Recipes.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 346kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 7gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 130mgPotassium: 329mgFiber: 3gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 5563IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 153mgIron: 2mg

Keyword apples, cashews, chef salad, dried cranberries, pears, swiss cheese, tossed salad, tossed salad with fruit

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!