Fresh Cranberry Orange Walnut Salad
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Diet: Vegan, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
Scale
- 12 oz fresh cranberries (about 3 cups)
- 2 large navel oranges (one for zesting/juicing, one for segments)
- 1 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 large Granny Smith apple, cored and finely diced
- 1/3 cup honey or pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Pick through the fresh cranberries and discard any that are soft or shriveled. Rinse them under cold water and pat dry. Place the cranberries in a food processor and pulse until they are coarsely chopped. Be careful not to over-process them into a paste; you want small, distinct pieces.
- Zest one of the oranges into a large mixing bowl. Squeeze the juice from that same orange into the bowl. Peel the second orange, remove as much of the white pith as possible, and cut the segments into bite-sized pieces. Add the orange segments to the bowl.
- Add the chopped cranberries, diced apple, honey (or maple syrup), cinnamon, and salt to the bowl with the orange zest and juice. Stir everything together until the fruit is evenly coated with the sweetener and spice.
- Fold in the toasted walnuts. Mixing them in last helps keep them from getting too soggy if you are not serving the salad immediately. Give it a final taste and add a little more honey if the cranberries are particularly tart.
- For the best flavor, cover the bowl and refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes before serving. This allows the cranberry juices to meld with the orange and sweetener, softening the tartness of the raw berries.