Apple Walnut Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons + Apple Cider Dressing

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

Longest title ever. Best salad you’ll ever taste.

Seriously guys, this is Tuesday’s DREAM salad. 

And we kinda need it after that dreamy soup we indulged in yesterday. 😉

Do you guys follow me on IG? If not, you may wanna consider it—I share sneak-peeks of recipes to come, and tidbits of my cray life that you may or may not want to see, but that’s neither here nor there.

Anywhoooo, you may have seen that last weekend my family did our annual visit to the corn maze/pumpkin patch/best-apple-cider-donuts-in-the-world-place.

Which, by the way, is pretty much my favorite weekend of fall. Okay, getting lost in the endless corn maze isn’t too much fun (I’m directionally-challenged) but all the pretty pumpkins? The hayrides? The DONUTS?! They’re worth it.

You have to give me credit though. I only had ONE donut on our visit last weekend and then stocked up on literally 20 gorgeous pumpkins and a bunch of honeycrisp apples for future cooking adventures.

Then I came home and promptly gorged myself with apples and smoked cheddar cheese (um, that donut obv didn’t hold my appetite) and then….the idea hit me like a ton of bricks. WHAT IF, I put those crisp, sweet apples in a salad with crunchy walnuts and….(wait for it)

Crunchy croutons filled with melty cheese. GRILLED CHEESE CROUTONS.

And the whole dang thing doused in extra-EXTRA apple fun. Apple cider dressing. Which, I kinda want to swim in it’s so good.

Oh, heavens….this is all too much. ..*down goes Sarah*

 Soooo on top of an apple cider donut and apples ‘n’ cheese, I rounded out my Sunday afternoon with a salad to “detox” all the previous stuff.

Ha.

Seriously guys, this salad is the real deal of all things FALL. You probably know by now by love for fall salads, and let me tell you —> It doesn’t just end here. 😉

You know this salad is calling your name.

I’m just gonna let the pictures speak for me today…Forgive me, my mouth is currently full of cookies. (more detoxing, obv)

Aand the title pretty much just speaks for itself. YOU NEED this salad. ’nuff said. 😉

Happy salad-crunching. ♥

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Apple Walnut Salad with Grilled Cheese Croutons + Apple Cider Dressing

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

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4 -6 serving

Ingredients

• CROUTONS:
• 2 slices mozzarella cheese
• 2 slices whole wheat sandwich bread
• 2 teaspoons softened butter
• SALAD:
• 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 large honeycrisp apple cored and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts toasted
• APPLE CIDER DRESSING:
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions

• Prepare the croutons: Place cheese between slices of bread to make a sandwich. Spread both sides of bread with butter. Cook grilled cheese on a medium-high heat griddle until golden on both sides and cheese is melted. Remove from heat and cool 1-2 minutes. Slice into 1/2 in cubes.
• Prepare the salad: In a large serving bowl, combine lettuce, sliced apple, walnuts, and croutons. Set aside for a minute to prepare the dressing.
• In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, shake all dressing ingredients until smooth.
• Serve salad with apple cider dressing.

Notes

Store salad in refrigerator up to 2 days.

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