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Home » Easy Cranberry Salad Recipe

November 30, 2016 By Heather 6 Comments

Easy Cranberry Salad Recipe

I absolutely love cranberries! In fact I bought a few too many this year, since they are in season! I created this easy cranberry salad, that is so simple, yet bursting with flavor! This is not your grandmother’s cranberry salad!

A fresh spring salad with butter lettuce and roasted cranberries on top with seeds and a light healthy dressing

I earn money from purchases made through links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Why is this easy cranberry salad so different? You take fresh cranberries and roast them! This makes them a touch sweeter and mixed with a little cinnamon and salt you get a super flavorful topping to your greens!

I added some sunflower seeds and celery for crunch and a basic homemade dressing! This is a perfect lunch to make ahead or a fresh, healthy side for dinner!

Roasted cranberries in salad in a large bowl

This is also a great recipe to use leftover cranberries from holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I always add a few extra bags of berries to my cart in the fall since cranberries freeze really well.

I think this recipe is a great substitute for the sugar filled dried cranberries that are popular on salads. You have the option of using honey or go totally sugar free with liquid unflavored stevia. I have directions for both in the recipe.

Roasted cranberries in green salad

Roasting Cranberries Tips

  • I line my baking sheets with either parchment paper or a slipmat. This makes clean up way easier and not berries stuck to the sheet pan.
  • Make sure to use a rimmed baking sheet, cranberries will roll all over the place.
  • Try different flavor combinations when roasting. Pumpkin pie spice would be delicious!

Roasted cranberries bright red on parchment after roasting

Easy Cranberry Salad in Summery:

  • Roast the cranberries ahead or in bulk to save time!
  • The roasted cranberries are a great addition to oatmeal, or even cookies!
  • Use a simple dressing so the cranberry flavor can shine through!

Let’s get cooking!

Yield: 4

Easy Cranberry Salad

Easy Cranberry Salad

Take the slightly tart flavor of cranberries to the next level by roasting them! Turn a boring salad into a show stopper! 

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 cups spinach
  • 4 cups lettuce
  • 4 cups cranberries
  • A drizzle of olive oil
  • 2 tbs honey ( optional, but it will be more tart)
  • OR 5-10 drops stevia
  • 1 tsp smoked or regular salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup sunflower seeds - either raw or roasted salted your preferance
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • Dressing:
  • 2 tablespoons herb flavored olive oil ( sub in regular and add a pinch of Italian seasoning)
  • 1/2 tbs lemon juice
  • 1/2 tbs vinegar- apple cider or red wine work well
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees
  2. On a parchment lined baking sheet- spread out the cranberries in one layer
  3. Give the berries a light drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle with the salt and cinnamon, and finally the honey. 
  4. If using stevia instead of honey, measure the olive oil into another dish you can pour from and mix the stevia into the olive oil so it is evenly distributed.
  5. Shake the roasting pan a bit to get the ingredients all over the cranberries.
  6. Roast at 400 degrees about 20 minutes.
  7. Add the spinach, lettuce, celery, sunflower seeds and roasted cranberries to your salad bowl.
  8. In a small bowl, add the olive oil, lemon, vinegar and salt, whisk together and drizzle on the salad. 
  9. Serve! If you want to keep leftovers, do not dress the salad as once dressed it won't keep!

Notes

You can use any combination of lettuce and greens you like! 

If you wanted to make extra cranberries, they go very well in oatmeal!

You could change out the olive oil to melted coconut oil, or avocado oil. if you prefer for the cranberries. 

Honey is optional if you are avoiding sweeteners, but does make the berries a little less tart! See directions for how to use liquid stevia.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Sheet Pan Liner, Slipmat
    Sheet Pan Liner, Slipmat
  • Sheet Pan
    Sheet Pan
  • Unfalvored Liquid Stevia Sweetdrops
    Unfalvored Liquid Stevia Sweetdrops

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1/4th recipe

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 191
© Heather
Cuisine: salad / Category: Salad

I hope you’ve enjoyed this easy cranberry salad recipe! 

Cheers,

Heather

P.S. if you are looking for another favorite way to cook with cranberries try my Spiced Apple and Pumpkin One Pan Dinner

roasted pumpkin apples and sausage one pan ish

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Filed Under: Gluten Free, Lazy Real Food, Paleo, Side Dishes Tagged With: cranberry, salad

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heather says

    December 13, 2016 at 11:45 pm

    Love cranberries!

    Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    December 6, 2017 at 5:15 am

    We are cranberry farmers and I’ve used cranberries in just about every way conceivable, except roasting. What a great idea. I can’t wait to try this for Christmas dinner this year.

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Heather- the home cook behind this site. If are just getting started cooking real foods or looking for healthy recipes, this is the place for you. Read More…

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