Seed Oil Free Watercress & Apple Salad with Fresh Goat Cheese
Peppery watercress, crisp apple slices, creamy goat cheese, and golden toasted pumpkin seeds make this salad feel genuinely special — the kind of thing you'd order at a nice bistro and then immediately want to recreate at home. The dressing is where a lot of salads quietly go wrong, since most bottled options and even many homemade recipes lean on canola, soybean, or other refined vegetable oils. Here, the vinaigrette is built entirely on extra-virgin olive oil whisked with apple cider vinegar and a touch of honey, so you get a clean, bright emulsion with nothing to second-guess. Toasting the pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet takes just a few minutes and adds a nutty crunch that makes every bite more interesting. The sweet-tart apple plays beautifully against the slightly bitter watercress, and the tangy goat cheese ties everything together without weighing the salad down. It comes together fast, uses straightforward whole-food ingredients, and looks genuinely impressive on the table.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the salad
- 5 oz fresh watercress, thick stems trimmed
- 2 medium crisp apples (such as honeycrisp or fuji), cored and thinly sliced
- 3 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled
- 3 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For serving
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Toast the pumpkin seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they begin to pop and turn golden, about 3–4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool completely.
- 2
Whisk together the apple cider vinegar, honey, and fine sea salt in a small bowl until the honey dissolves. Drizzle in the olive oil in a thin, steady stream while whisking continuously until the dressing is emulsified and slightly thickened.
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