Fruit and Feta Spinach Salad
Gluten Free Living – 2024
This is another delightful Tossed Salad recipe I’m sure you’ll enjoy. It features apple slices, grapes and dried cranberries along with toasted walnuts and feta cheese. The deep, rich, smoky flavor from the nuts and savoriness from the cheese balances the sweetness from the fruit extraordinarily well. Even the salad dressing is simple–an oil and vinegar dressing basically. If you prefer a sweet dressing you can always add honey or sugar.
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Back in April I ended up making two meals for new moms on the same day! So I made exactly the same meal for both since that was easier than making two separate meals. Those meals included Pork Chop Supper, Homemade Bread, this Fruit and Feta Spinach Salad and some Cream Cheese Streusel Bars. Both families were grateful to have meals brought in to them and not have to worry about preparing meals right out of the hospital.
I followed the original recipe pretty closely. While the salad dressing uses the simple whisking method, I would recommend putting the ingredients in the blender or food processor instead and emulsify the dressing. I would also add two tablespoons of honey to balance the flavors better. If you’re trying to eliminate sugar then consider trying Monk Fruit Sweetener or Stevia drops instead for a slightly sweeter flavor. Many will find that the sweet fruit in the salad itself is enough sweetener for them and not need any other additional sweetener. I leave this as an option, since it is good either way.
Fruit and Feta Spinach Salad is a light and refreshing Tossed Salad that’s perfect for summer meals. It’s great for lunch or dinner and quick and easy to toss together. The salad has a delectable blend of crunchy textures with savory and sweet tossed in. This enjoyable salad is perfect for company dinners, holiday menus or even potlucks.
Fruit And Feta Spinach Salad is wonderful for company or holiday dinners, but easy enough to make up for everyday meals.
Here it is with the tossed with the easy, homemade salad dressing.
This is a beautiful and festive salad that’s a real crowd pleaser.
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients for the salad.
Place walnuts on a small cookie sheet and toast for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees using either a toaster oven or the regular oven.
Bake about 5 minutes; remove from oven to cool.
Slice apples and swish in a bowl with lemon juice for about 3 times on each side, turning the apple slices over to get good coverage.
Place apple slices on paper towels to drain.
Place spinach in a large salad bowl. You can de-stem the ends, if desired.
Add red grape halves. I thought I had purchased seedless grapes but didn’t, so I had to remove seeds before adding to salad.
Add dried cranberries and diced green onions.
Add toasted walnuts.
Add apple slices.
Sprinkle with Feta cheese. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
I used these ingredients for the salad dressing. If you want a sweeter dressing, add two tablespoons honey or sugar.
Place avocado oil in a mixing bowl. Add apple cider vinegar.
Add salt, pepper and garlic and whisk to combine. If desired, add 2 tablespoonfuls of honey or sugar.
NOTE: You can also put all the ingredients in a blender and emulsify the ingredients for about 20-30 seconds.
Pour the salad dressing ingredients into a dispenser to serve.
Fruit and Feta Spinach Salad is light and refreshing making it a perfect salad to serve on hot, summer days.
If you enjoy Tossed Salads with Fruit, this one is terrific.
Feta Cheese, green onions, toasted walnuts and the garlic from the salad dressing add smoky and savory flavors to the salad to balance out the sweetness from the apples, grapes and dried cranberries.
Here’s the recipe.
FRUIT AND FETA SPINACH SALAD
(Recipe adapted from Taste of Home, Light and Tasty, 2008, pg. 43.)
Fruit and Feta Spinach Salad
Equipment
- 1 large salad bowl and tongs
- 1 sharp knife to cut fruit or vegetables
- 1 cutting board
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 blender if you want to emulsify the salad dressing
- 1 whisk
- 1 salad dressing dispenser
- 1 nut chopper if nuts are not previously chopped
Ingredients
SALAD:
- 6 cups fresh spinach de-stemmed (if desired), I used a 10-ounce container
- 2 medium Gala apples unpeeled, cored and sliced thinly (I used one extra-large envy apple)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice or as needed
- 1/2 cup red seedless grapes halved
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 3 green onions diced
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped and toasted
- 1/2 cup Feta cheese crumbled
SALAD DRESSING:
- 4 tbsp. avocado oil
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 large clove garlic finely diced
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- honey or sugar if desired, use about 2 tablespoonfuls
Instructions
SALAD:
- Place walnuts on a small cookie sheet or pan and toast in a toaster oven or regular oven at 350º for 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven; cool.
- In a small bowl, pour lemon juice.
- Slice apples and swish in lemon juice about two or three times each side.
- Drain apple slices on paper towels; set aside.
- In a large salad bowl, combine or layer spinach, apples, red grapes, cranberries, onions, walnuts and Feta cheese.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
SALAD DRESSING:
- In a small bowl, combine avocado oil, cider vinegar, garlic salt and pepper. Toss salad to coat.
- Whisk until well combined.
- Set aside and add to salad just before serving.
- Serve immediately.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.
NOTE: Taste of Home no longer has a search engine that allows you to search recipes by title. Most of the time, you have to weed through thousands of recipes in collections. If any link is to be found, I find direct links through google, not their own website. I could not locate a direct page for this recipe. But it is in the cookbook noted above.© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
This is a marvelous way to enjoy a Spinch Salad.
Apple slices, red grape halves and dried cranberries make Fruit and Feta Spinach Salad something special.
This is an excellent salad to serve for a Ladies’ Luncheon or potluck.
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