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    • Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes -->This collection of easy chicken dinner recipes features some of our favorite family dishes, perfect for making a healthy, delicious home cooked meal on a busy night! Getting a healthy, home cooked meal on the table every night can be challenging. Particularly with the demands of work, school, activities and social obligations, well, it can be the last thing we want to do at the end of the day. So I’ve got tons of easy chicken recipes at my disposal that I turn to when I need to whip something up for us on one of those busy weeknights. (Or even busy weekends – dinners can be tough then, too!) And this collection of easy chicken dinner recipes has some that we make over and over again. It includes everything from skillet chicken dinners to slow cooker chicken recipes, one-pot chicken pastas, soups and salads with chicken, chicken burgers and meatballs, sheet pan chicken dinners and easy chicken casseroles. Are you looking for fast as well as easy? Me too. I’ve got collections of chicken recipes in under 30 minutes and, faster still, chicken recipes in under 15 minutes. Or if you want to browse them all, my quick chicken recipes…
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Cranberry apple salad

October 29, 2015 By Kathryn Doherty

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy

Cranberry apple salad is a fresh, colorful winter fruit salad, bursting with bright cranberry, apple, orange and pineapple flavors. This salad is perfect for a holiday brunch or side dish!
Cranberry apple salad is a bright, fresh fruit salad perfect for brunch or as a side dish. It's great for the holidays! #cranberries #Thanksgivingfood #holidayfood #brunchfood #Christmasmorning #brunchrecipes

Today I’m excited an old, tried-and-true family recipe with you!

Cranberry apple salad

I love this fruit salad for breakfast, for a snack, even for dessert at night. It’s also a beautiful salad to serve at brunch for a crowd.

We’ve been making it at the holidays in my family for as long as I can remember. We always have it at Christmas and it’s one of my favorite things on Christmas morning!

But honestly, I love it so much that I make it year-round. My mom and I both stock up on bags of cranberries around the holidays and stick them straight into the freezer.

That way I have them available for this salad or cranberry cake or any other yummy treats year-round. Kinda the same way that I keep my pantry always stocked with cans of pumpkin. 

Cranberry apple salad - a bright, fresh fruit salad perfect for brunch or snacking! | FamilyFoodontheTable.com

I have, over the years, gradually cut back on the sugar in this cranberry salad recipe without noticing at all. What I’ve listed below is about what I use now, but feel free to use a little more or less, depending on your tastes — or the sweetness of your apples.

The only caveat I’ll make is that you must, must have a large and trusty food processor to make this cranberry apple salad.

It requires lots of shredding. You’ll get to use that shredding disc you’ve probably never used before. You might not like me if you try to make this with a mini food processor or one that’s on its last legs.

That’s why I always make this and share some with my mom, whose food processor I think was a wedding present in the 1970s. It’s not quite up to the challenge. 😂

Cranberry apple salad | FamilyFoodontheTable.comCranberry apple salad | FamilyFoodontheTable.com

Cranberry apple salad | FamilyFoodontheTable.com

Also, be sure to use a very large bowl to dump everything in from the food processor and stir it up.

No really, use your very biggest mixing bowl – the one you keep on a high shelf or buried back in a cabinet because you never need one that huge.

You do for this cranberry apple salad recipe. Trust me.

Cranberry apple salad - a bright, fresh fruit salad perfect for brunch or snacking! | FamilyFoodontheTable.com

Hope this fruit salad brings some brightness to your holiday table or just a dreary winter day.

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn

Yield: 8-10 servings

Cranberry apple salad

Cranberry apple salad - a bright, fresh fruit salad perfect for brunch or snacking! | FamilyFoodontheTable.com

Cranberry apple salad is fresh and colorful and bursting with bright cranberry, apple, orange and pineapple flavors!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 12-oz bag fresh cranberries
  • 2 seedless oranges, peeled
  • 4 red apples (such as Fuji, Pink Lady, Gala or Honey Crisp, or a mix)
  • 2 green Granny Smith apples
  • 1 large can crushed pineapple, well drained
  • 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, from 1/2 lemon
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

  1. Rinse and pick over the cranberries for stems and any ruined ones. Run the cranberries through the food processor using the slicing blade. Dump into a very large bowl. Very large.
  2. Peel and cut oranges into pieces and run through the food processor next. Add to bowl.
  3. Core and cut up apples (no need to peel), then run them through the food processor, still using the slicing blade, in batches. Add the shredded apples to the bowl.
  4. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit and mix thoroughly with a spoon to prevent browning.
  5. Add the crushed pineapple, chopped walnuts and sugar to the bowl. Stir to combine with the fruit and get everything well mixed.
  6. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving so the flavors can meld together. Keeps in the fridge up to 5 days.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • OXO 1115580 Good Grips 3-Piece Mixing Bowl Set, Red/Green/Blue
    OXO 1115580 Good Grips 3-Piece Mixing Bowl Set, Red/Green/Blue
  • Cuisinart DLC-8SY Pro Custom 11-Cup Food Processor, White
    Cuisinart DLC-8SY Pro Custom 11-Cup Food Processor, White

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 191Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 3mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 5gSugar: 24gProtein: 2g
Category: Salads
Cranberry apple salad is a bright, fresh fruit salad perfect for brunch or as a side dish. It's great for the holidays! #cranberries #Thanksgivingfood #holidayfood #brunchfood #Christmasmorning #brunchrecipes

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Filed Under: Breakfast & Brunch, Salads, Side dishes, Vegetarian

« 30-minute vegetarian pumpkin chili
45 Thanksgiving side dishes {recipe round up} »

Comments

  1. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says

    October 29, 2015 at 10:26 AM

    Hahaha, I LOVE my shredding disk attachment for the food processor! I use it almost daily to make cauliflower rice. Now I can’t wait to use it to make this lovely salad!! I love the combination of apples and cranberries, but this salad takes that pairing up a notch! The addition of orange and pineapple sounds sensational! This is a perfect addition to holiday brunch or simply to my breakfast! LOVES IT! Cheers, girlfriend!

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      October 30, 2015 at 9:01 AM

      Aren’t you smart, using it all the time for your cauliflower rice? You will adore this salad, girl – it’s one of our holiday favorites. That I make year round… 😉 Hope you have a super fun weekend – happy Halloween! XX

      Reply
  2. allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says

    October 30, 2015 at 8:18 AM

    What a gorgeous salad and great combination, Kathryn. Wow. I love it, so different! And perfect for the season.

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      October 30, 2015 at 8:51 AM

      Thanks so much, Allie! We have this every holiday season and I try to make it at least a few other times of year. It’s SO good!!

      Reply
  3. Quinn Caudill says

    November 2, 2015 at 2:02 PM

    This would be a great salad for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for sharing with us at #Throwback Thursday. Hope to see you again this week.

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      November 3, 2015 at 9:50 AM

      Thanks Quinn! We always have this at the holidays… for breakfast and brunch, for snacking, for dessert. I can’t keep my fork out of the bowl!

      Reply
  4. Carlee says

    November 13, 2015 at 11:19 AM

    This sounds amazing! I love the idea of adding the pineapple too. We would love this!

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      November 13, 2015 at 4:29 PM

      The pineapple really does add another great flavor. It’s very much in the background, but brings a lot of sweetness! Hope you try it, Carlee! Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  5. Fareeha says

    November 14, 2015 at 11:53 PM

    Wow, this looks incredibly awesome. I could definitely do with it right now. I cn grab the salad right from the screen and gobble it up. lovely.

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      November 15, 2015 at 4:19 PM

      Thanks so much Fareeha! It really is so delicious and so fun and colorful – a great holiday salad!

      Reply

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Hi there! I’m Kathryn Doherty, a health and nutrition editor, cookbook author, wife, mother of two kids, and devoted food and home cooking nut. I’ve got lots of easy recipes and resources to help you get delicious family food on your table! Learn more about me

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