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This colorful Autumn Harvest Honeycrisp Apple and Feta Salad combines all the best produce that fall has to offer into the season’s best salad. Spicy baby arugula, Honeycrisp apples, juicy pomegranates, candied nuts, and crispy prosciutto. All tossed with an apple cider vinaigrette. It’s a fall staple around here…healthy, simple, and so delicious.
Today is the official start to autumn so this salad feels very appropriate. I’ve already been talking about fall for weeks. And though fall is only officially beginning, our leaves have just about reached their peak. We even had our first dusting of snow early on Monday which brought chilly temperatures and an aire of coziness.
I’m not ready for snow yet, but I’m definitely welcoming the cozy vibes. They excite me every year!
I know for most of you the weather is still fairly mild, if not warm, but I hope you’re all getting into the fall mood!
Anyway, I’ve been waiting to share this salad with you guys for a while, as it’s been on repeat around here. The second the crisp sweet Honeycrisp apples arrive at our local grocery, it’s time for fall salads.
This salad is simple, but I promise you, it’s everything delicious, and not one bit boring.
Here are the details
I wanted this salad to be three things, colorful, flavorful, and to have great texture…meaning some crunch to it.
This means candied nuts/seed and crispy prosciutto…two of my favorite ingredients!
Start by tossing the pecans and pumpkin seeds together with some maple syrup, cinnamon, and cayenne. I arrange them to one side of a baking sheet, then add prosciutto to the other.
Throw the pan into the oven and allow the nuts to toast and the prosciutto to get nice and crispy!
While the nuts/seeds are toasting, toss the salad together. Since we had a ton of fresh arugula left in the greenhouse, I used spicy arugula, which was perfect for this semi-sweet salad. If you don’t love arugula, use kale, but make sure to massage the kale with some olive oil and salt before tossing it up in the salad.
To the greens, add lots of thin slices of Honeycrisp apples, pomegranate arils, and avocado.
Finally, the vinaigrette
This is key to the salad. A mix of oil, apple vinegar, creamy dijon, sweet apple butter, thyme, and sage. It’s so warming, sweet, and even a little spicy.
It pairs wonderfully with the flavors in the salad and is so quick to mix up too!
When the seeds are all roasted, toss the salad with the vinaigrette. Then add the seeds and the prosciutto, plus lots of feta cheese – serve it up, and enjoy!
Not only is this so pretty on a dinner table, but it’s totally delicious too. Sweet, tangy, and spicy with so many autumn flavors, plus an awesome CRUNCH too.
Great for every occasion from family dinners to Thanksgiving!
Looking for other fall salad recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Fall Harvest Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Salad
Shredded Brussels Sprout Bacon Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
Pomegranate Salad with Maple Candied Walnuts
Lastly, if you make this Autumn Harvest Honeycrisp Apple and Feta Salad be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Check out the how-to video here:
Autumn Harvest Honeycrisp Apple and Feta Salad
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 360 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup raw pecans
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- flaky sea salt
- 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
- 6 cups arugula or shredded kale
- 2 honeycrisp apples, thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, diced
- arils from 1 pomegranate
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Apple Vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple butter (optional)
- 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
- kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. On the prepared baking sheet, toss together the pecans, pumpkin seeds, maple, cayenne, and cinnamon. Arrange in a single layer. Lay the prosciutto flat around the nuts. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the nuts are toasted and the prosciutto is crisp. Watch both closely. Sprinkle the nuts with sea salt.3. Meanwhile, in a large salad bowl, combine the arugula, apples, avocado, and pomegranate arils.4. To make the vinaigrette. Combine all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake. Taste and adjust as needed.5. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, tossing to combine. Top the salad with toasted nuts, prosciutto, and feta. Eat and enjoy!
Welp, this was probably the best salad I’ve ever made. My husband is my number one critic and he also agreed. I cannot believe how good it was. Crispy prosciutto?? Spicy seeds/nuts?? It was unbelievably good. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Hey Amanda,
Happy Monday!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying and your feedback! xT
I don’t have apple butter, should I sub pumpkin butter or omit?
Pumpkin butter or fig jam will work well! xT
First of all, the roasted nuts and seeds in this recipe are sooo good. I grew up loving the roasted nuts at Christkindlmarket in Chicago and these are a much healthier alternative but equally delicious. I make these nuts almost every weekend now. The salad overall is a perfect holiday salad. I substituted gorgonzola for the feta and my family loved it.
Thank you so much Megan! xT
Okay LOVED this recipe!!! It was perfect for the fall party we went to – every guest commented on it. This flavor combo is insane. The only issue I had was with toasting the nuts. I think I must Have used way too much maple syrup because they turned into rock candy… lol. So I had to throw out the pecans, but ended up just toasting some plainly salted pepitas instead and it was delish! I think you truly could do walnuts, pepitas, slivered almonds, or pecans for this recipe. Already made it twice and plan to continue making it for every party we get invited to this season LOL
Hi! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
Love the dressing. Does it need to be refrigerated?
Yes, I would refrigerate the dressing! 🙂 xT
Pretty good salad! Will likely make it again. Didn’t have the pomegranate on hand and went easy on the sage (I don’t love the flavor, personally). Tastes like Thanksgiving.
Thank you so much Alesha! xT
Made this for the family tonight 3 generations, everyone loved it! All the flavours really compliment one another. 👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you so much Caren! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xT
If I could rate this 10 stars, I would! So delicious! The prosciutto is perfectly crunchy at 15 minutes. Every single ingredient adds something special to this salad. I added a shallot too and it was a yummy addition. Will definitely make this again!!
Wow thank you so so much Kristen! xT
Loved this and everyone raved and asked for the recipe! I could live on salads like this that are easy and delicious. Thank you!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have a great week! xT
This was my first time making it and it was soooo delicious. !!!!! I Will be making this a lot. I’m a vegan so I used roasted butternut squash instead and dairy free feta. I love all your recipes!!!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have a great week! xT
Is this recipe in one of your cookbooks? If so, which one?
I’m so sorry this recipe is actually just on the blog! xT
So tasty! I added chicken for some protein and it was wonderful.
Love to hear this! Thank you so so much! xT
I couldn’t even guess how many times I’ve made this salad. We’ve had it at least once a month since the recipe was first posted a couple years ago, and probably closer to weekly during the fall and winter. As always, it’s amazing exactly as written. Some riffs/additions I’ve tried with success: add some chopped celery and red onion (because I usually add those to any salad – works well with this one too), blue cheese or goat cheese or parmesan when I’m out of feta (feta and blue are my faves), balsamic vinaigrette instead of the apple vinaigrette (because I usually already have homemade balsamic on hand and I’m lazy), kale instead of/in addition to arugula (curly or Tuscan – massaged a bit before adding everything else). This salad is hearty enough for a stand-alone meal, a wonderful accompaniment to any main, makes great leftovers (especially if you use kale), has been the standout dish at parties and Thanksgiving feasts (for salad lovers and haters alike) – it really does it all. I’ve passed out the recipe more times than I can count. Cannot speak highly enough about it! Thanks for a wonderful recipe that I keep coming back to. 🙂
Hi Maggie! Thank you soooo much! I’m so happy to hear you’re loving this salad, and all those different additions you’ve made sound delicious! Thanks for sharing this comment! xT
This has become a fall staple/favorite of ours. Delish in every way. No substitutions, perfect as is. Thanks for all your hard work Tieghan!
Thank you so so much Megan! xT
I made this tonight and it was phenomenal! We love kale salads and this one will absolutely enter our weekly dinner rotation throughout the cooler months. Thanks, Tieghan!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Hope you’re having a lovely weekend! 🙂 xT