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This apple manchego salad is a stunner! Matchsticks of apple and cheese tossed with olive oil make for an unexpected sweet and savory apple salad recipe.

Apple manchego salad | Apple salad recipe

We love every recipe we post on this site, but sometimes, one comes along that outshines the rest. This apple manchego salad is a copy of a salad we had while in Minnesota to visit my family. To celebrate the recent retirement of both of my parents (Congrats, Mom and Dad!) we ventured out to Cafe Lurcat, a lovely restaurant in Minneapolis. The food was excellent — and in particular, this apple manchego salad stood out as a surprisingly delicious recipe.

Related: 25 Best Salad Recipes

Why to make this apple manchego salad recipe

This apple manchego salad is made simply of apples and manchego cheese cut into matchsticks, with a bit of olive oil and some sliced chives. Nothing pretentious — just pure ingredients combined in a simple way to make each shine. While manchego cheese is a bit more expensive than your normal cheese, it’s worth buying for the recipe. It has a unique flavor that can’t fully be substituted (and for me, it has sentimental value as it reminds me of my time studying abroad in Spain). The way the apples and cheese are cut makes it hard to distinguish between the two – making it all the more fun to guess what will be part of each bite!

We picked up some Jonathon apples from Wild’s Apple Farms at the Broad Ripple Farmer’s Market, and they were perfectly tart and crisp. I can’t say enough about the Jonathan apple – I’m a convert! Thanks to Cafe Lurcat for the delicious apple salad recipe inspiration. If you’re in the Minneapolis area, check them out and order this salad! You won’t be disappointed.

Looking for simple salad recipes?

This apple manchego salad is one of our favorite apple recipes and perfect for entertaining. It’s great as a fall salad or winter salad when apples are plentiful, but you can eat it anytime. Here are a few other simple salad recipes you might enjoy:

Looking for more healthy side dish recipes?

This apple manchego salad is a delicious healthy side dish recipe; here are a few more side dish recipes on A Couple Cooks:

This apple manchego salad recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free.

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Apple Manchego Salad Recipe


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 to 6 1x

Description

This apple manchego salad is a stunner! Matchsticks of apple and cheese tossed with olive oil make for an unexpected sweet and savory apple salad recipe.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 firm tart apples (Jonathon, honey crisp or Granny Smith)
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 4 ounces Manchego cheese
  • ¼ cup chopped chives
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 pinches kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Slice the apples into matchsticks (slice them into slices, then lay the slice down and cut into thin long rectangles). Toss the apples with a bit of fresh lemon juice.
  2. Cut the cheese into matchsticks.
  3. Thinly slice the chives.
  4. Toss all ingredients with the olive oil and kosher salt. Serve immediately.

Notes

Inspired by a similar salad at Cafe Lurcat

  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Raw
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: Apple Manchego Salad, Apples, Manchego, Chives, Apple Salad Recipe, Vegetarian, Gluten Free

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you’ll want to make again and again.

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19 Comments

  1. When I saw the photo, I thought, “that looks familiar.” And of course, it is — I have eaten it at Cafe Lurcat several times. The restaurant’s salad is as good as you say. Thank you for sharing your version.

  2. There’s something about the ‘stick’ look of the salad that I like…..it’s different looking yet very enticing! yum!

  3. Whaaaaaaaaat? You didn’t tell me you made this? Yummmmmmmmmm. I want to try but I think I can only get processed cheese here.

  4. Made this tonight as an app salad before a nice steak dinner… and it was wonderful. I will definitely make this again many times. Very refreshing and light. Great use of one of my favorite cheeses!

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