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!

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. 

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. 😂

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.

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

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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
• 
  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