This easy watercress and apple salad recipe is a light, fresh summer side dish. It’s filled with fresh veggies, crisp green apple pieces, juicy grapes and a bright apple vinaigrette. This zesty salad is super nutritious and easy to make. Perfect for those summer days when you want your kitchen to stay cold as well.
While this salad is simple to make, it’s a bit more unexpected than a regular green salad. The watercress gives it a peppery bite, which goes great again the sweet sugar snap peas, and is further tamed with sweet, juicy grapes and crispy apples slices. Together with the zesty apple vinaigrette this simple and clean salad creates magic in the salad bowl. Nutty Parmigiana and salty almonds scatter on the top of the dish adds the perfect touch of decadence. This is one of my favourite light lunch recipes and is the also a perfect addition to brunch menus when you want to lighten things up.
If you have never had watercress before, here is what you need to know…
Watercress, a nutritional powerhouse
Watercress is a delicious, dark leafy green, rounded small leaves shooting out of long, thin stems. It’s an aquatic plant, that’s actually (like the name says) grown in water and is related to mustard leaves.
The stems and leaves usually come in bunches but you can often find bags of watercress leaves with just some of the stems intact. Both the stems and the leaves are edible and nutritious. It’s actually been recently touted as a “superfood” because it’s loaded with wonderful nutrients.
If that wasn’t enough, watercress is also a whimsically beautiful green. With pretty round leaves in different sizes and long curved stems, it makes a lovely salad. The flavour of watercress is a little “peppery” and “tangy” but not as strong as mustard leaves. It’s somewhere in between arugula and baby spinach in flavour, although it’s crisper and a little sweeter. It keeps better than many other greens in the refrigerator without getting limp and slimy.
Easy Watercress and Apple Salad Ingredients:
Here’s what you need to make this easy watercress salad recipe:
- Watercress – If you’ve never tried it, it has a distinct peppery taste and lovely delicate texture. If you can’t find watercress, make this salad with fresh wild arugula instead.
- Sugar Snap peas – Adds crunch and an earthy sweetness.
- Granny Smith Apple and Green Grapes – Their sweetness and juiciness cuts the watercress’s bite.
- Parmigiana Shavings – I love how this nutty, salty cheese play off the fresh spring veggies.
- Toasted Almonds – For extra crunch and nutty flavour.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Apple vinaigrette Ingredients
Make this simple dressing, is it super quick and easy to make, but the flavours are so pleasant and mild. Coriander and mint, the two together add a lot of freshness and such a brightness to the vinaigrette that I really enjoy. You will love using this as a fresh sauce for items like grilled fish and even as a marinade it’s so versatile!
Helpful Tips and Tricks for making Watercress and Apple Salad
- If you can’t find watercress, arugula, or butter lettuce is delicious in this salad.
- The apples in this salad can be cut in a variety of ways. I’ve halved and sliced them however you can also peel and dice them.
- This recipe calls for roasted, salted almonds. Roasted, salted pine nuts also, taste delicious in this recipe.
- The apple vinaigrette recipe will make more than you need for this Watercress Salad, but it goes well on lots of other salads too or as a fresh sauce for items like grilled fish and even as a marinade it’s so versatile! It will last for at least a 4 days in the refrigerator, the colour might not be as bright.
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For the vinaigrette 
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