Bacon Apple Cheddar Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Dec 22, 2025 09:53 AM
This hearty fall arugula salad is loaded up with crispy bacon, apples, sharp cheddar, roasted sweet potato, rotisserie chicken, candied walnuts, dried cranberries and a creamy, tangy honey mustard dressing. It's filling enough for a full meal, but it also makes for a great Thanksgiving side dish!
If you've been following me for a while, you know that we love a good holiday salad. Sometimes, we like to keep it simple and fresh, but I love a good hearty salad that can double as a full meal.
This one is packed with flavorful and filling ingredients, including plenty of protein from rotisserie chicken. If you wanted to serve this as more of a side than a main, you can leave out the chicken and add a little more bacon and sweet potato instead.
When it comes to the candied walnuts, you don't have to candy them, but it's a quick step that really adds a lot!
Sharp cheddar is our favorite in this recipe, but crumbled goat cheese, feta or blue cheese would also be great options. Arugula is our salad green of choice, but you can also try baby spinach or mixed salad greens.
Ingredients:
Salad
- 5 ounces arugula (or baby spinach)
- 1 medium sweet potato, diced into ¼-½ inch cubes
- Olive oil and salt to taste
- 2 cups diced rotisserie (or grilled) chicken
- ⅔ cup diced cooked bacon (~8-10 strips of bacon)
- 1 cup diced apple (we like honeycrisp)
- 1 cup cubed sharp cheddar cheese (¼ inch cubes)
- 1 cup quick candied walnuts
- ½ cup dried cranberries (unsweetened)
Honey Mustard Dressing
- 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Pepper to taste
Quick Candied Walnuts
- 1 cup walnuts
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt and (optional) cayenne
- 2 tablespoons water
Total Time:
45 minutes
Write a comment
No comments