This roasted apple salad with shallot dressing is a quick, healthy side dish that’s perfect for your holiday table.

When I was a kid my family took a long road trip through scenic tree-lined roads to an apple orchard. Baskets in tow, we grabbed as many varieties as we could. Our baskets were overflowing with pink, red and green apples. We also took breaks to run between those cute little trees. To this day I remember that trip as the perfect carefree Fall day. After leaving with all of those apples though, then we had to decide what to do with them.

Oh the possibilities!

Roasty and Toasty

I always nestle in a ton of blankets this time of year. I eat warm comfort food and I live primarily on all things roasted. There’s something about roasting that makes even the most basic produce extra special. I usually gravitate to roasted vegetables like cauliflower, but roasted fruit is new territory for me.

P.S. Thanks to everyone on Instagram who voted for roasted apples instead of raw in this salad! You made me go out of my apple salad comfort zone, and it was definitely worth it.

When you’re roasting vegetables or fruit, there are a couple of things you should keep in mind:

• Make sure you cut them into equal sized pieces
  • This will ensure that all of your apples cook evenly
• Pierce them with a fork or knife to make sure it goes in and out smoothly
  • If you struggle to remove the fork, it means you need a little more roasting time
• Don’t over season them
  • I love heavy, hearty spices like curry and paprika, but if you use too much for roasting, they might get bitter in the oven. Save the heavy seasonings for dressings, dips or sauces.

Is there such a thing as too many apples?

If you’ve stocked up of fruits and veggies in season or you’ve been gifted some, it’s probably impossible to eat all of them. Don’t get bummed out or overwhelmed. You don’t need to throw them out. You can instead use your apples in jams, spreads, freezer friendly applications and more.

Here are great apple recipes from some of my favorite bloggers across the interwebs:

• 5-Minute Caramel Apple Butter by Feasting on Fruit

• Apple Pie Ice Cream with Cinnamon Oat Crumble by Evergreen Kitchen

• Almond Cardamom Apple Cake by Recipes from a Pantry

Setting the holiday table

It’s that time of year…not when the world falls in love but when you feel overwhelmed with the pressures of cooking large dinners for people you don’t see that often. It’s a good idea to fill your holiday cooking arsenal with sides that look like they took a long time to make. This roasted apple salad is a great contender for holiday tables partly because the colors are like a Christmas tree; the other reason is that it cooks in a SNAP!

For more healthy, holiday friendly recipes subscribe to my mailing list (right under this recipe).

I’ll be posting plenty more cold weather recipes in the coming weeks to keep you warm this time of year!

Happy Cooking!

Roasted Apple Salad with Tangy Shallot Dressing

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This roasted apple salad with shallot dressing is a quick, healthy side dish that's perfect for your holiday table.

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Salad, Side Dish

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time10 minutes

Total Time20 minutes

Servings4

Ingredients

• 3 apples, sliced into 8-10 wedges firm apples like pink lady, fuji, honeycrisp or granny smith
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 cup fennel, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 tbs dried cranberries

Shallot Dressing

• 1 tsp tahini or dijon mustard
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tbs water
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• pinch red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place apples on a lined baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and rosemary. Bake 10-15 minutes until apples are tender and have browned a bit.
• In mason jar or sealable plastic container, add all shallot dressing ingredients. Shake the container vigorously for 30 seconds until combined.
• To serve: Place roasted apples, fennel slices and dried cranberries in a bowl. Drizzle with shallot dressing. Enjoy!

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