Description

A festive and vibrant Thanksgiving fruit salad featuring a mix of fresh apples, oranges, grapes, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans tossed in a zesty citrus-spiced dressing. This refreshing salad combines sweet, tart, and nutty flavors with a subtle hint of warm apple pie spice, making it a perfect side dish for your holiday meal.

Ingredients

Scale

Fruit

2 medium green apples
2 medium red apples
1 cup grapes
3 medium navel oranges
¾ cup dried cranberries

Nuts

1 cup pecans

Dressing

½ cup orange juice
¼ cup white sugar
¼ tsp apple pie spice
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
1 medium lemon (juiced)

Instructions

Toast Pecans: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and place in the oven while it heats up. Remove when you can smell their aroma, approximately when the oven reaches temperature. Set aside to cool.
Prepare Dressing: In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, white sugar, apple pie spice, lemon zest, and orange zest. Place over medium heat.
Simmer Dressing: Whisk the mixture to combine well. Bring it to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 3–4 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
Strain and Cool: Pass the dressing through a fine mesh strainer to remove zest and spice solids; set aside to cool completely.
Prepare Fruit: Core both green and red apples and slice them into bite-sized pieces. Toss the apple slices immediately with juice from half a lemon to prevent browning.
Peel and Segment Oranges: Remove the peel from the navel oranges and cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces.
Combine Salad Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together the apples, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, grapes, and orange pieces.
Toss with Dressing: Drizzle the cooled citrus-spiced dressing over the fruit and gently toss to evenly coat all ingredients. Serve fresh and enjoy.

Notes

To prevent apple slices from browning, tossing them in lemon juice immediately after cutting is essential.
Toast pecans carefully to avoid burning; watch for aroma as a sign they are done.
The dressing can be made ahead and refrigerated; bring to room temperature before tossing with salad.
This salad is best served fresh but can be refrigerated for up to one day.
For a crunchier texture, consider adding chopped celery or substituting walnuts for pecans.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Salad
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Keywords: Thanksgiving, fruit salad, pecans, citrus dressing, fresh fruit, holiday side dish, apple pie spice