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Home » Salad » Michigan Salad with Maple Mustard Vinaigrette.

Michigan Salad with Maple Mustard Vinaigrette.

Mar 27, 2023 by Kelly Roenicke · 2 Comments

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Enjoy summer produce in this fresh and delicious Michigan salad with a sweet maple mustard vinaigrette! Fresh greens, cherries, and apples are delicious when combined with an easy homemade dressing. 

easy michigan salad with cherries

Don’t you love the summer months, when all the produce is fresh and ripe, and easy to find?

It’s so fun to get in the kitchen and create something new with whatever produce you’ve found at the farmer’s market that weekend.

From peaches, to spinach, to tomatoes, to cherries, there are so many wonderful foods in season from June to September.

I recently made this salad for a baby shower, and it was a big hit. The request was for Michigan salad, but since we can’t do nuts at our house, I knew I would have to modify this recipe.

This recipe is very versatile – add some grilled chicken breasts to make it more of an entree – or add more seeds or nuts (if you are able) to add more plant-based protein.

Jump to:
  • What is a Michigan salad?
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Variations
  • Maple Mustard Dressing
  • More Cherry Recipes
  • Recipe
fresh cherries in a ceramic bowl

What is a Michigan salad?

A Michigan salad is often found on the menu at Michigan restaurants, and contains salad greens, fresh or dried cherries, apples, pecans, cheese crumbles, and a vinaigrette dressing.

I think it’s probably called a Michigan salad because of the inclusion of cherries – Traverse City is famous for its cherry crop and celebratory Cherry Festival.

Sometimes this salad includes a cherry dressing, but I decided to make a maple mustard vinaigrette instead.

If you are able to eat dairy, this summer salad is delicious with blue cheese crumbles on top.

Ingredient Notes

  • Cherries – Sweet cherries are often used in sweet desserts, but I thought it would be nice to feature them in a savory-sweet summer green salad with a maple mustard vinaigrette. If you can’t get fresh sweet cherries near you, you could go ahead and substitute dried cherries or even dried cranberries.
  • Spring Salad Mix – I used a bagged salad mix from the store. If you don’t love the spring salad greens, feel free to make this with Romaine lettuce instead, or even baby spinach.
  • Apples – Fuji apples are nice and sweet and make a good addition to this salad. You could use Honey Crisp apples, green apples, or any variety that you enjoy.
  • Maple Syrup – I like the flavor of maple syrup in the vinaigrette. If you prefer, you can use honey instead.
michigan salad with cherries

Variations

  • You can use dried cherries if you like instead of fresh cherries.
  • Add any type of nut you like instead of the pumpkin seeds.
  • If you can eat dairy, feel free to add blue cheese crumbles.
  • Try peaches instead of apples.
summer salad with fruit and greens

Maple Mustard Dressing

The maple mustard vinaigrette is super simple to make – I just used regular yellow mustard. If you want to be fancier, you could use Dijon mustard or grainy mustard. If you can’t eat mustard, leave it out, and use a little more vinegar. Or add a couple of tablespoons of cherry preserves.

Simply combine the ingredients in a mason jar and stir or shake well to emulsify them.

how to make maple mustard vinaigrette

More Cherry Recipes

  • Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats
  • Microwave Cherry Crisp for One
  • Sparkling Cherry Limeade

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Recipe

michigan salad with cherries and apples

Michigan Salad with Maple Mustard Vinaigrette.

Kelly Roenicke
Enjoy the fresh flavors of cherries, apples, and salad greens topped with a tangy sweet maple mustard vinaigrette! This summery salad recipe is always a big hit at parties!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 0 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Salad
Cuisine Dairy Free, gluten free, vegan.
Servings 6
Calories 131 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

For the dressing:

  • 1 ½ Tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons mustard
  • 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

For the salad:

  • 6 cups spring salad mix
  • 1 cup diced Fuji apples about 2 medium apples
  • 1 cup cherries pitted and halved
  • â…“ cup pumpkin seeds
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Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, combine the spring salad mix, diced apples, and cherries. Set aside.
  • Put the salad dressing ingredients in a glass jar with a lid and shake well. Or you could just whisk it with a fork.
  • Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on top. Toss to coat.

Notes

You can add more seeds if you like – try adding some sunflower seeds or hemp seeds.
Alternatively, if you can eat nuts, you can add walnuts or pecans.
If you are able to eat dairy, try some blue cheese crumbles on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 131kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 54mgPotassium: 182mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 480IUVitamin C: 11.9mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 0.7mg
Keyword easy, simple
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below and tag @prettybeeblog on instagram!

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Filed Under: Dairy Free, food, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Recipes, Salad, Vegan Tagged With: Dairy Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Nightshade Free, Onion Free, Peanut Free, refined sugar free, Sesame Free, Shellfish Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Kelly Roenicke
Kelly Roenicke
Mom to two boys with food allergies and sensitivities, Kelly is passionate about allergy friendly cooking and baking. She believes that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.
Kelly Roenicke
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susan DuBois

    September 04, 2022 at 12:52 am

    This was amazing. I can still find cherries in Washington State.

    Reply
  2. Katie

    August 09, 2018 at 2:38 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious recipe!

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Kelly, and I believe that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.

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