Cranberry, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Salad
This Cranberry and Goat Cheese mixed green salad features candied pecans for a sweet crunch, tangy crumbled chèvre (soft goat cheese), sweet and tart dried cranberries, and a creamy maple balsamic dressing. This is the perfect green salad to serve as a side for any occasion!
Everyone should have a “go-to” green salad recipe. This is mine. I’ve made it on countless occasions – ranging from quick weeknight meals to Christmas dinner.
The flavors all pair so well together with a perfect balance of sweet, tart, and, tangy. And the textures as well, with the crunch of the pecans and the creaminess of the goat cheese that coats every bite.
I usually make this recipe with my creamy maple balsamic dressing. But you can use store-bought dressing to make this salad recipe extra fast and easy.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Mixed Baby Greens – I used spring mix. You can use mesclun greens, baby arugula or baby spinach, or chopped up lettuce if you like.
- Red onion – very thinly sliced so it’s not overpowering
- Dried cranberries – you can use another dried fruit, such as raisins or currants, or even a fresh sweet and tart fruit like chopped apples if you prefer. Fresh chopped cranberries can be used however they are very tart, so expect the flavor to be different.
- Candied pecans or walnuts – any kind you like (here’s a homemade cinnamon candied walnut recipe).
- Soft Goat Cheese – also known as chèvre. You can use crumbled feta or queso fresco as an alternative.
- Creamy Maple Balsamic Dressing – you’ll need balsamic vinegar, mayo, olive oil, salt, pepper, and maple syrup for this. Or, you can use a store-bought dressing (more below on this).
How to make Cranberry, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Salad
- First, MIX THE DRESSING in the bottom of a large bowl. Don’t bother with a smaller bowl – that just gets another dish dirty! Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mayo, maple syrup, salt, and pepper (skip this step if using store bought dressing).
- Then, TOSS THE GREENS with the dressing. Use tongs to coat the greens well in the dressing (just drizzle on store bought dressing at this point if using).
- ADD the sliced red onion, dried cranberries, and candied pecans to the bowl on top of the greens.
- CRUMBLE the goat cheese using the tines of a fork directly from the package into the bowl (no mess! woo hoo!).
- TOSS GENTLY to mix everything up without completely destroying the goat cheese crumbles. Serve!
Can I use store bought dressing?
Sure! Anything with a sweet and tangy flavor would be great, and using store-bought dressing is a good way to save time.
A store-bought balsamic vinaigrette, poppyseed dressing (I like Briana’s), or one of my favorites: Marie’s White Balsamic Shallot.
How to make this salad for meal prep
It’s easy to make this salad for meal prep.
Just assemble individual portions with all the ingredients EXCEPT the dressing. Pack the dressing in portions separately and add the dressing on top just before eating. You’ll need about 1.5 – 2 tablespoons dressing per serving.
If you dress the salad too early, it will become soggy quickly. So leftovers aren’t great for this reason.
Other green salad recipes
- Authentic Greek Salad
- Massaged Kale Salad with Apples and Goat Cheese
- Deconstructed Wedge Salad
- Healthy Cobb Salad
- Salmon, Goat Cheese, and Arugula Salad
- Mixed Greens Salad with Egg and Avocado
- Strawberry Arugula Salad
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Cranberry, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Salad
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Equipment
- Large Bowl
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 4 cups baby mixed greens or spring mix, arugula, spinach (about 2.5 oz.)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup candied pecans or walnuts honey toasted or any kind will do
- 2 oz. soft goat cheese (chèvre)
For the Dressing (see notes):
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In the bottom of a large mixing bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together until well emulsified.
- Add the baby greens (4 cups) and toss together well with tongs to coat in the dressing.
- Add the sliced red onion (1/4 cup), the dried cranberries (1/4 cup), and the candied nuts (1/4 cup) to the bowl on top of the greens. Use the tines of a fork to crumble the soft goat cheese (2 oz.) directly into the bowl.
- Toss everything gently together. Divide into two serving bowls or plates and serve.
Notes
- The dressing is an approximate two-serving version of my Creamy Maple Balsamic Dressing. I like just making a big batch and using about 3 tablespoons of it for this salad recipe.
- If you don’t want to make a dressing from scratch, use your favorite balsamic vinaigrette, poppyseed dressing (I like Briana’s), or my favorite bottled dressing: Marie’s White Balsamic Shallot.
- This recipe can serve four as a small side dish. It can be doubled for larger servings or for more people.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Delightful salad. Added apple for more crunch. The salad dressing was just enough for 4 people. Everyone gave it high marks
So glad you liked it! Love the idea of adding apple.
I just used pre-seasoned pecans and it was major hit. SUPER YUMMY!!
So glad you liked it!
We loved this salad. I did soak the red onion in ice water to take out some of the ‘bite’. I might cut back the maple syrup to 1 tsp next time. Truly delicious combination of flavors.
So glad you liked it! Love this tip about soaking the red onion. Thanks for sharing!
This was just what I was looking for! Last minute I decided to use baby kale instead and it was so good. I just used plain pecans, I think it would have been too sweet for me otherwise. Anyhow, I am now obsessed and wished I had another packet of baby kale instead the fridge. I will definitely make again this week.
So glad you liked it! Plain pecans – or even roasted salted pecans or other nuts – are a great solution for those who don’t want something too sweet. I like using roasted salted pistachios sometimes! Thanks for sharing what you did!
Great recipe! We love it in our family and make it a lot! Dressing is so flavoruful!
So glad you liked it!
My go to recipe – thank you for providing the framework, I vary ingredients based on what I have in the fridge.
So glad you liked it!
Great dressing! Thank you. I didn’t have goat cheese so subbed Prairie Breeze cheddar, a mellow white cheddar, and it worked well in case anyone else doesn’t have goat cheese.
Your candied nut recipe was also easy and good though as I only had a small amount of nuts to work with, I had to do a fraction of the recipe and as a result had to throw in a little water in the pan to get a good dissolve and coat.
Thanks again.
So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your tips!
I made this for a crowd of 30 and it was a hit! I candied my pecans and it so delicious
So glad you liked it!
Just perfect. Light and flavorful. Loved everything about this, made it with baby spinach and walnuts (not candied and didn’t have time to toast).
So glad you liked it!
This is going to be my favorite salad because of the goat cheese. I haven’t made any of them but next will be the best salad. I love beets. Does your heritage do anything with cabbage? If so, please share and thank you for all your time and recipes
Hope you like it! You might like this apple coleslaw which has cabbage as the base – https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/apple-coleslaw/
Thank you Liz. So thoughtful of you. Be happy and well and say hi to your Dad. God Bless. Sue.
I can’t believe how many people absolutely LOVED this salad when I made it for a family gatherjng in December!! Even my husband, who only eats Caesar salad, said it was the best salad ever!! I am still having people ask me for the recipe and my son’s girlfriend wants me to make it for her birthday salad!! Thank you!!
So glad you liked it! I make it for almost every holiday gathering and it’s always a hit!
everyone loved this salad, on Christmas day.
So glad everyone enjoyed it!
The salad was delicious. My husband wouldn’t eat goat cheese so I substituted blue cheese for him, had mine with the goat cheese and made the maple syrup dressing. WOW!!!
I bet it was amazing with blue cheese! So glad y’all liked it :-)
This salad is wonderful!! Dressing is so delicious and is a perfect balance of tangy/sweet. Also coats lettuce really well. Thx for sharing! 😊
So glad you liked it!