I love a good, hearty fall salad. They’re just so filling, and refreshing all at the same time! This Fall Salad is loaded with nuts, seeds, fruit, vegetables, vegan cheese, and a tiny bit of turkey bacon. It truly covers all the bases!
The best part about salads, is that you can make them your own! While you can measure out each ingredient, it’s absolutely not necessary in order to achieve a delicious salad. It’s truly a fail-proof recipe!
Oh, and the dressing? It’s only 2 ingredients! Let’s get into it!
How to Make the Perfect Fall Salad
Personally, I’m not a fan of boring, bland, and bare salads that people are constantly being told they need to eat to stay healthy.
First off, a salad is not the only healthy meal out there. Secondly, I’m a true believer in a healthy, clean, and calorie dense salad that truly counts as a full meal (if you want it too)!
Salads should be crave-worthy, and something you enjoy every last bite of.
I like to enjoy my salads with mostly seasonal ingredients. With avocados (those grown in Mexico), pears, apples, cranberries, pomegranates, and pecans all being ripe and ready to harvest during the autumn season, this salad is truly a festive fall dish!
Ingredients in my Favorite Fall Salad
Like mentioned above, this Fall Salad is heavy on the seasonal produce, and is loaded with a little bit of everything! Here are the ingredients:
Spinach
Like mentioned above, this salad is totally customizable! So while I used just spinach in mine, feel free to use whatever type of green base you prefer. Spinach is a delicious, neutral base, offering iron, magnesium, vitamin A, B2, C, K, folate, and much more!
This is a great way to get in a hefty dose of raw, nutrient-dense greens!
Apples
My favorite apple of all time is fresh-picked ambrosia apples. Thinly sliced, and distributed throughout the salad, apples give this dish a pop of sweet, crunchy goodness.
They’re a great source of fiber, vitamin C, polyphenols, among much more!
Pears
Pears are such a festive, fall fruit! They’re full of fiber, anti-inflammatory properties, and help to promote gut-health, among many other benefits!
Avocados
Who doesn’t love a bright, ripe avocado? They’re an amazing source of healthy, calorie dense fat, and offer tons of nutrients like folate, magnesium, vitamin c, and many others.
Pecans
Not just any pecans either…CANDIED PECANS. And before you ask: “don’t candied pecans kind of defeat the purpose of the health benefits”? Yes! Candied pecans, conventionally made are very unhealthy. My candied pecans are delicious and full of natural flavors. You can find the recipe here.
They seriously taste just like the real deal, all the while maintaining all of their benefits! You’re gonna LOVE these. And if you love pecans, check out our Sweet & Salty recipe here.
Pomegranate Seeds
Pomegranate seeds are LOADED with benefits. From being incredibly anti-inflammatory, to offering a generous dose of vitamin C, and just being plain delicious, these are a great addition to any salad!
Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower seeds add a diverse, delicious, and salty crunch to this salad that make it such a staple in my book! They’re a great source of vitamin E, protein, magnesium, and many more nutrients and vitamins.
Dried Cranberries
Cranberries are not only incredibly high in antioxidants, but they’re also extremely anti-inflammatory! Most cranberries recipe (including dried cranberries) are loaded with sugar, so be sure to pay close attention to the type you buy. Here’s my favorite brand, sweetened only with apple juice.
Vegan Feta Cheese
Avoiding dairy does NOT mean giving up cheese or milk. It simply means finding delicious, and clean alternatives. Read more about why we avoid dairy here!
Violife offers a delicious vegan feta! Find their feta here!
Turkey Bacon
I love a few strips of turkey bacon on my salads, but this is totally optional! Either replace it for another meat, or leave it off all together.
Honey Mustard Dressing
You can easily make honey mustard dressing at home, with only a clean spicy brown mustard, and honey! It makes a delicious salad dressing or dip, and keeps well in the fridge to be used later.
Choosing Organic Over Conventional Produce
When it comes to choosing organic vs. conventional produce, I like to follow the general rule of buying all foods organic with an edible, or soft skin. For example, I would always buy apples and pears organic, but not necessarily spaghetti squash.
For a more extensive explanation, read this article!
Now since you know all the ingredients to make this delicious Fall Harvest Salad, let’s get into the recipe and instructions! Before we begin, just know that while many of these ingredients have exact measurements, some don’t.
This is because like mentioned above, you really can’t mess up a salad! Amounts of each ingredient are totally up to preference, so feel free to add more or less of anything you prefer!
Okay, let’s get into it!
Fall Salad
- Prep Time: 10 min.
- Cook Time: 10 min.
- Total Time: 20 min.
- Yield: 1 1x
Ingredients
Salad
- Desired amount of Spinach, or greens of choice
- 1 Organic Pear
- 1 Organic Apple
- 1 Avocado
- Desired amount of Sunflower Seeds
- Desired amount of Pomegranate Seeds
- Desired amount of Vegan Feta Cheese (leave off for SCD or Whole30)
- Desired amount of Dried Cranberries (leave off for Whole30)
- 2–3 Strips Turkey Bacon
Candied Pecans (leave off for Whole30)
You can find our Candied Pecans recipe here.
Dressing (swap for oil and vinegar for Whole30)
- Equal Parts Spicy Brown Mustard
- Equal Parts Honey
Instructions
Salad
- Begin by filling your bowl or plate with a bed of greens.
- Thinly slice the pear, apple, and avocado, and lay on the greens.
- Pan fry turkey bacon until crispy, and crumble on top.
- Top with sunflower seeds, pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries, and vegan feta cheese.
Dressing
- Mix honey and spicy mustard until smooth and fully combined. Drizzle over salad.
Once salad is fully assembled, serve, and enjoy immediately!
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