Fall Harvest Salad Recipe

If you want to eat your greens in a way that says “fall is here!” this fall harvest salad recipe is what you’re looking for! Sweet and savory, combined with the fall flavors of sweet potato and apples with pecans, will fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied for sure!

You know how much of a sweet tooth I have. I LOVE dessert. I hear people talk about how they don’t like sweet things, and I feel like… is that even possible? 

HOWEVER, loving sweet stuff and eating healthy aren’t mutually exclusive. 

I adore my gluten-free apple crisp (and every other dessert you can think of ????), but I also strive to eat a balanced diet with lots of vegetables. 

And we try to also eat seasonally to a large extent, which is why you saw my paleo Strawberry vinaigrette recipe this spring, and now you’re seeing this fall harvest salad recipe in October. They’re both good recipes any time of year, but they make more sense in a seasonal context. 

Salads like this can make a great one-bowl lunch. Because it has sweet potatoes and quinoa in it for filling complex carbs, all you really need to do is add a protein such as grilled chicken either in the bowl or on the side. 

And as for sweet tooth loving? We do have a sweet element here with the apples and cranberries. The apples also add a nice crunch and moisture. I’m all about having a nice chunky salad – no plain lettuce leaves for me, thanks!

Fall Harvest Salad Recipe

Here are some ideas for your salad making: 

• This salad is really easy to make – you can customize the amounts of the different ingredients to your liking very easily. 
• I like to use a nice, crisp, sweet-tart apple like Jazz or Cortland. This is really a personal preference, but you’ll definitely want to make sure it’s crisp enough to stick your fork into without falling apart. 
• This is a great recipe to use up leftover roasted sweet potatoes, such as after you’ve made thyme-roasted sweet potatoes. 
• You can also substitute roasted butternut squash (we have a great recipe for bacon-wrapped butternut bites btw).
• I like to use basic balsamic vinaigrette or make some honey-lime salad dressing for this recipe. They both have a very nice sweet-acid balance. Plus the oil helps balance out your macronutrients to make it very satisfying if you’re going for a one-bowl meal. 

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