This apple gorgonzola spinach salad is a combination of baby spinach, butter toffee pecans, sliced granny smith apples, crumbled gorgonzola cheese, and dried cranberries mixed with a homemade dried herb vinaigrette.

apple gorgonzola spinach salad in a bowl

This recipe is inspired from a salad I love at Buca Di Beppo, an Italian restaurant in Houston, Texas. It's really simple to make and has a lot of flavor! My favorite way to serve the salad is with lasagna, pasta, or ricotta and sausage-baked ziti.

Salad Ingredients

baby spinach, toffee pecans, gorgonzola cheese, dried cranberries, and slice granny smith apple in bowls

Butter toffee pecans: This is a star ingredient for this recipe. Either purchase pre-made butter toffee pecans or make them yourself. This candied pecan recipe is similar to how store-bought toffee pecans taste.

Dressing Ingredients

olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, and dried Italian herbs in a bowl

How To Make Apple Gorgonzola Spinach Salad

Wash and slice the granny smith apple. In a large bowl, measure out the baby spinach leaves, dried cranberries, gorgonzola cheese, and butter toffee pecans.

dried cranberries, pecans, gorgonzola cheese, apples, and baby spinach in a bowl

In a separate small bowl, add the red wine vinegar, dried Italian herbs, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix well until the mustard is fully dissolved into the red wine vinegar. Add the olive oil at the end. Keep the salad dressing and dry salad separated until ready to serve.

red wine vinegar and olive oil salad dressing

Mix all of the ingredients together. Once the baby spinach leaves are coated in the vinegar olive oil dressing, they will reduce in size. Add extra spinach if desired.

mixing the apple gorgonzola salad with wooden salad spoons

Dressing Tip

Mix the dressing and salad right before serving. Baby spinach leaves wilt reducing in volume and the crunchy parts of the salad become soggy.

📋 Recipe

Apple Gorgonzola Spinach Salad With Candied Pecans

Author: Lily Guidry

Course: Salads

Cuisine: American

Prep: 10

Total: 10

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Servings 6

This apple gorgonzola spinach salad is made with baby spinach, dried cranberries, a granny smith apple, toffee pecans, and gorgonzola cheese.

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Apple Gorgonzola Spinach Salad

8 cups baby spinach see note 4 and 6
1 cup granny smith apple sliced thin
1 cup toffee pecans see note 1
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup gorgonzola cheese see note 2

Vinegar Salad Dressing

¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs** see note 3
¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Wash and slice the granny smith apple.
In a large bowl, measure out the baby spinach leaves, dried cranberries, toffee pecans, granny smith apple, and gorgonzola cheese. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, add the red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, dried Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Once the dijon mustard has blended into the vinegar, add the olive oil. Mix well.
Mix the vinegar olive oil salad dressing just before serving the salad

Notes

Brown sugar pecans, spiced caramel pecans, or caramel pecans are acceptable substitutes.
Substitute equal parts blue cheese for gorgonzola.
Use equal parts dried oregano for dried Italian herbs.
8 cups of baby spinach seem like a lot, however, once the dressing is added the spinach will reduce in size.
Storage: Store the apple gorgonzola spinach salad separately from the olive oil vinegar salad dressing until it's ready to eat. Place this salad in the fridge up to 1 day in advance (keeping the dressing separate). The granny smith apples might discolor slightly if made ahead of time. Store the salad dressing in the fridge for up to 4 days. The olive oil will solidify in the fridge, so allow the dressing to reach room temperature prior to mixing into the salad.
Substitute spring mix instead of baby spinach leaves. I recommend using pre-washed store-bought spring mix.