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With crispy apples, the warmth of cinnamon, a smooth cream cheese dressing, and the satisfying crunch of nuts, our recipe for Cinnamon Apple Salad makes a great potluck contribution, a wonderful side salad for dinner, or maybe even a satisfying, fiber packed breakfast. It's quick and easy and very tasty.
When you think of things that go well with apples, one of the first choices is usually cinnamon. Second choice is often nuts of some kind. This recipe includes both of these delicious flavors in the recipe. To up the flavor, we add some dried cranberries as well. This recipe is loaded with tasty flavors and appealing colors.
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Cinnamon Apple Salad Recipe
Light and fresh, with a creamy, smooth flavored dressing, our recipe for Cinnamon Apple Salad is a recipe to keep on hand for warm afternoons. It is a perfect choice for a light, filling, and colorful lunch to take to work. With no cooking, this is a great recipe to teach your kids to make, especially when the weather is hot and you do not want to turn on the oven.
Equipment
- large-sized mixing bowl
- Sharp knife
- Cutting Board
- paper towels or on a clean tea towel
- Electric Mixer
Ingredients
- 5 or 6 crisp apples of various kinds
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- 1 eight ounce block of cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large-sized mixing bowl, stir together the water and the lemon juice.
- Using a sharp knife and a cutting board, cut the apples in half and remove the cores.
- Without peeling the apples, chop the apples into cubes that are about ½ inch across.
- Put the apple pieces into the mixing bowl, covering the pieces with the water and lemon juice.
- When all the apple pieces have been dunked in the water and lemon juice mixture, remove them from the water and let them dry on a layer of paper towels or on a clean tea towel.
- Empty the mixing bowl and wipe it out with a paper towel.
- Put the softened cream cheese into the mixing bowl and beat it with an electric mixer until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add the brown sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat all the dressing ingredients together until the dressing is smooth and creamy.
- Add all the apples and most of the walnuts and cranberries, reserving two or three tablespoons of cranberries and walnuts to top the fruit salad.
- Stir the fruit salad together, coating the apples, cranberries, and nuts completely in the cream cheese dressing mixture.
- Sprinkle the reserved nuts and cranberries on the top of the fruit salad.
- Serve.
- Store leftover Cinnamon Apple Salad in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container for up to three days, although it is best chilled an hour and served the same day it is made.
- You can create the Cinnamon Apple Salad dressing as much as two or three days ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
- However, for the best, most fresh flavor and texture, you probably shouldn’t make the salad until the day that you plan on eating it.
Notes
This recipe is great to have on hand because you can adapt it to whatever you have on hand. You can use any combination of crisp apples that you have in the fridge. Whether you prefer Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady, Jazz, or some other kind, you can add whatever apple you like. We used a combination of Pink Lady apples, Honeycrisp apples, and Granny Smith apples. Additionally, you can use whatever nuts that you want to include. We chose to use walnuts, but pecans would also be an excellent choice. If you want to add additional crunch, you could toss a handful of sunflower seeds or chopped almonds on the top of the salad.
If you are watching your waistline and want to lighten up this recipe, you also have some choices. You can substitute lower in fat Neufchatel cheese for the cream cheese, and you can use low fat sour cream instead of regular sour cream. You can also swap out stevia or another sugar substitute for the brown sugar in this recipe.
This salad can be enjoyed in many different ways. It would be an excellent breakfast, full of fiber, natural sugars, and protein from the walnuts. However, it also makes a great option to put in your lunchbox. It is a filling and tasty choice that will have you looking forward to lunchtime. Additionally, if you want to make a big batch of this, it is a great salad for a potluck meal. If your neighbors are hosting a cookout, and you need to bring a side salad choose this one. Additionally, if you need an unusual recipe as a side dish for your family’s Easter dinner, this is the one to bring. With all the colors in the salad, our recipe for Cinnamon Apple Salad will look as delicious on the table as it tastes.
Do you have kids who hesitate to eat very many fruits and veggies? This recipe is one that will help them learn to enjoy fruit and nuts. With the lightly sweetened dressing and the apples and nuts in the salad, your kids will be begging for seconds of this tasty fruit salad.
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