Apple Walnut Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons

By Sarah On November 4, 2014 | Updated: October 23, 2025

This apple walnut salad is simply loaded with crisp honeycrisp apples, crunchy walnuts, golden grilled cheese croutons and generously doused in a sweet apple cider vinaigrette.

Longest title ever. Best fall salad you’ll ever taste, I can promise you that.

While we’ve done our fair share of fall salads around here, you can rest assured that I’ve never shared one quite like this. Is it a salad? Is it a grilled cheese? It’s all of the above wrapped up into one and it’s life-changing.

Plus the apple cider vinaigrette needs its own spotlight for a second! I’m talking sweet, tangy pure fall gold that you’ll want to drizzle over literally everything and possibly even drink.

While unfortunately this isn’t a salad that you can prep ahead of time due to the grilled cheese croutons, I can confidently say that it makes a great dinner salad or side dish alongside a steak to enjoy from the comfort of home.

Me, I’m just gonna eat all those grilled cheese croutons straight from the cutting board…

This Apple Salad features…

Crisp greens and sweet apples
Toasted walnuts and gooey grilled cheese croutons
A sweet and tangy apple cider dressing

Making the Apple Salad

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

Apple cider
Lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Honey
Olive oil
Spring greens mix
Walnuts
Rosemary
Bread
Gouda cheese
Cheddar cheese
Unsalted butter

Choosing Your Apples

I recommend a sweet, crisp apple for this salad such as honeycrisp, gala, pink lady, ambrosia, or fuji. For best results, wait to chop the apples for the salad until just before serving so they don’t turn brown.

Tips for Perfect Apple Salad

Prep dressing and salad before making croutons – this way you can serve the salad immediately after the croutons are finished cooking.
Cut the apples and croutons in uniform cubes – aim for 1/2-inch cubes to make the salad easy to eat.
Toast walnuts – this brings out their flavor and makes them extra crunchy. Toss the walnuts around in a nonstick pan over medium heat 3-5 minutes until fragrant.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on this salad.

Use another fruit – try pears, strawberries, blackberries, or raspberries.
Swap out dressings – try a balsamic vinaigrette, red wine, or Italian. You will need about 3/4 cup dressing total for this recipe.
Try another nut – try pecans or almonds in place of the walnuts.

Make sure you enjoy this salad warm while the grilled cheese croutons are crisp and gooey! It’s pretty much like having a grilled cheese and a fresh salad all wrapped up into one which is just as incredible as it sounds.

Your lunch game needs this, period.

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

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