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Granny Smith Apple Salad

This Italian iceberg lettuce salad is a family favorite at a local Italian restaurant. Garnished with candied pecans, cranberries, Granny Smith apples, feta cheese, and mozzarella cheese, it is finished with a sweet Italian dressing.

Make a Lot of this Salad

If you are not a fan of iceberg lettuce, don’t turn away just yet. This is one iceberg salad that you need to try! It is so good that even non-salad eaters usually love it. This salad is served in chilled bowls and is reminiscent of old-school steak house salads because of the iceberg lettuce. But that is where the comparisons end. This salad has a pleasing sweet dressing and crunch from candied pecans and Granny Smith apples. The cheese helps balance the sweetness, and the cranberries add texture and flavor.

Serve in Chilled Bowls

One key to this salad’s flavor is a chilled bowl, which makes the iceberg lettuce crispy. The restaurant that serves this salad brings it out in a large family-style bowl. They hand out individual bowls they keep in the refrigerator. The cold bowls keep everything chilled but also set expectations that this is a special salad.

Don’t Substitute the Lettuce

If I’m honest, I don’t eat a lot of iceberg lettuce in salads. I like the fancy stuff–plenty of mixed greens and leafy lettuce. So I recreated this salad with leaf lettuce, thinking I would improve it. Unfortunately, my salad was just not the same in texture or taste! I didn’t chill the bowls either, making another taste difference.

Stir the Dressing into the Salad Bowl

When you prepare this salad, pour the dressing over the entire salad and toss it, along with the candied pecans, cranberries, apples, and cheese. Use tongs and let everyone dip out of the serving bowl. Also, use chilled salad dressing because room temperature dressing can wilt the lettuce. Another tip: use very fresh iceberg lettuce for the best-tasting salad.

Candy the Pecans

Making candied pecans might seem like a lot of trouble, but it is a simple task. First, chop the pecans with a knife on a cutting board or lightly chop them in an electric chopper. (Better yet, take a shortcut and buy chopped pecans.) Then place butter, pecans, and sugar in a skillet. Stir and cook the pecans for two or three minutes until all of them are coated with the sugar mixture. Don’t cook them too long, or they will burn. Finally, remove them from the pan and let them cool while you work on the rest of the salad.

Another Apple Salad

If you like salads with apples, you might like my Apple Cider Salad with cinnamon croutons and apple cider salad dressing.  Click here for the recipe.

Print Recipe
Granny Smith Apple Salad
Iceberg lettuce salad with apples, dried cranberries, candied pecans, cheese, and sweet and creamy Italian dressing.
Votes: 3
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
Ingredients
Salad Dressing Ingredients
Candied Pecans Ingredients
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
Ingredients
Salad Dressing Ingredients
Candied Pecans Ingredients
Votes: 3
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Directions for Salad Dressing
  1. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together and stir well. Place in the refrigerator and let the dressing sit for about an hour to soften the dehydrated onions.
Directions for Pecans
  1. In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the pecans and sugar.
  2. Stir constantly over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar melts, and all the pecans are coated. The sugar will burn quickly, so remove the pan from the heat if it starts to brown. Immediately pour the pecans out of the pan onto parchment paper and spread out to cool, breaking up any large clumps with a knife. After they cool, break the small clumps into smaller pieces. Sugared pecans should look like those in the picture below.
Directions for Salad
  1. Measure out cranberries, pecans, and mozzarella cheese and set aside.
  2. Chop the feta cheese into fine pieces.
  3. Tear the washed and dried chilled lettuce into small pieces and place in a large serving bowl. Toss with the salad dressing. Coat all the lettuce, adding more or less salad dressing until it is all coated. This should be a light coat. Do not drench the lettuce in salad dressing. Add the pecans, cranberries, mozzarella, and feta cheese and toss with the lettuce to distribute. Keep the salad chilled until ready to serve.

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