Description
Bright, crunchy fruit salad with citrus spice dressing. Fresh apples, oranges, grapes, and cranberries meet toasted pecans for a juicy, cozy Thanksgiving side.
Ingredients
2 medium green apples
2 medium red apples
1 cup grapes
3 medium navel oranges
¾ cup dried cranberries
1 cup pecans, toasted and cooled
1 medium lemon, juiced
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup white sugar
¼ teaspoon apple pie spice
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
Instructions
1. Toast pecans on a baking sheet in a preheating 350°F oven until aromatic. Cool completely.
2. In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, sugar, apple pie spice, and citrus zests. Heat over medium, bring to a gentle boil, then simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Strain and cool.
3. Core and chop apples into bite sized pieces. Toss with juice from half a lemon to prevent browning.
4. Peel and chop oranges into bite sized pieces.
5. In a large bowl, combine apples, grapes, oranges, cranberries, and pecans.
6. Pour cooled dressing over the fruit. Toss gently to coat.
7. Serve immediately or chill briefly before serving.
Notes
Apples should be fresh and firm for the best texture.
Tossing apples with lemon juice helps prevent browning.
Use organic citrus for zest to avoid unwanted chemicals.
Assemble the salad just before serving to preserve freshness.
Storage Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Make ahead Toast pecans up to 1 week ahead and refrigerate dressing up to 3 days.
Substitutions Add diced pears, mandarin slices, kiwi, pomegranate seeds, or use walnuts instead of pecans.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Thanksgiving
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 223
- Sugar: 31 g
- Sodium: 2 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg