Winter Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

A perfect salad to serve during the fall and winter months, this Winter Salad is filled with apples, pears and dried cranberries. Don’t skip out on the homemade Lemon Poppyseed Dressing – it makes the salad!

If you love a good green salad, try this Italian Chopped Salad or this Southwest Chicken Salad.

I always say that it’s rare for the same recipe to grace our table over and over again. But since I first made this recipe (back in 2007), this salad has been made so many times, I couldn’t even guess the number.

This Winter Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing is one that I often make for holidays. I’m pretty sure we’ve had it at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter over the years. But also for family dinners and even just a regular dinner time with my little family.

It’s called a winter salad (simply because the fruit used in it is in season and readily available during the winter) but it could definitely be served year round. It is the perfect combination of flavors, and I just know it will be made many, many more times!

Winter Salad Ingredients

I love that this salad uses fruits that are readily available all winter long, but I also love that it is easy to change things up to what you have on hand.

Here is what I use, and some ideas for substitutions, if needed.

• Dressing: This is a super easy homemade dressing. You’ll need sugar, fresh lemon juice, grated onion, dijon mustard, salt, oil, and poppy seeds. In the ingredients, vegetable oil is listed, but lately, I have been using avocado oil instead of vegetable oil. You just need a neutral oil.
• Romaine Lettuce – Romaine is my green of choice when it comes to salads. I love that it has some flavor to it, and that it is a crisp green. But this can easily be changed out for iceberg lettuce, or a mix of greens.
• Monterey Jack Cheese – I like using a mild cheese so that the kids will all eat this salad, but I think it would be fantastic with blue cheese or feta, as well.
• Cashews – Cashews are my favorite nut for this salad. Again, though, this is easy to swap out with sliced almonds or pine nuts or pistachios. Or leave the nuts out completely if there are allergies or aversions.
• Dried Cranberries – These bring in some tangy sweetness. And I love the chewy texture you get, as well. Swap in dried cherries, if desired.
• Apple – I tend to like a sweeter apple for this salad, like a honeycrisp or gala. Granny Smith is too sour, in my opinion, and I do like an apple that will stay crisp. I leave the skins on, but feel free to peel, if desired.
• Pear – I will admit that pears have not always been my favorite fruit, but I absolutely love them in this salad. I don’t think the type is as important (just one that you like) but make sure it is ripe, but not overripe. You don’t want pieces of mushy fruit in the salad. Again, I leave the peel on, but feel free to peel it, if desired.

How to Make this Winter Salad

STEP 1: Make the dressing. I find that this is easiest to do by just combining all of the ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and then vigorously shaking the jar. You can also this this in a blender.

STEP 2: Combine all of the salad ingredients in a bowl.

STEP 3: Add as much of the dressing as desired to the salad and toss to combine. Note that recently, I have started dressing just the lettuce, then adding the toppings so that all of the toppings don’t drop to the bottom as you are tossing everything together. Both ways work!

Tips and Tricks

This salad is heavy on the dressing, so I always just coat the salad until desired, and put the rest out for everyone to add more dressing, as desired.

The salad can be made a few hours ahead of time, and the dressing can be made a day or two in advance, but don’t dress the salad with the dressing until right before you serve it. If you make the dressing ahead of time, it will probably separate, so just give it a good shake to recombine the ingredients.

If you do make this ahead of time, the sliced apple and pear may brown a little bit. To keep them from browning, you can squeeze some lemon juice over them. Or you can take some of the dressing and coat them in the dressing. The acidity of the dressing will keep them from going brown.

Always check for seasoning before serving. I like things salty, so I usually add a bit more salt, but the correct seasoning can make or break this recipe.

More Salad Recipes

Antipasto Salad Recipe
Caesar Salad with Pasta
Fall Harvest Salad
Raspberry Spinach Salad
Two Bean Salad
Protein Packed Cobb Salad Recipe

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