Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing

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Start with a simple salad like this one, made of mixed greens with red grapes, pear, almonds, dried sweet cherries, and crumbled feta. Drizzle on a delicious Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing for the perfect finishing touch!

Vibrant pear, grape, and cherry green salad with cherry balsamic dressing on the side, a refreshing delight.

This recipe is based on a similar salad that I tried a few weeks ago and fell in love with. When reading that there were grapes in the salad I was a little intrigued and thought it might be a little weird. And now, after having that salad and creating this similar one, I’m pretty sure I will put grapes in all my salads from here on out.

The grapes totally work in this fruity salad, and they are insanely good when coated in Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing!Making cherry balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing, and drizzling over the salad.

What cherry juice goes in this dressing?

The star of the dressing is the cherry juice. I recommend using a juice that is 100% black cherry juice.

You can be sure the juice is 100% cherry by reading the ingredients; the only ingredient should be cherries. If it has filtered water, it will be diluted and probably less flavorful.

I’ve used the R.W. Knudsen Just Black Cherry Juice® and highly recommend it (the ingredients read: juice from ripe, whole black cherries). I’ve also used 100% Black Cherry Juice® made by Great Value. Any black cherry juice works as long as you make sure it is in fact, all cherries.

QUICK TIP

Confused by all the types of cherry juice? Black cherry juice is what we want for this recipe. It’s quite sweet naturally, without any added sugar, and makes the perfect flavoring for our salad. Tart cherry juice (whether sweetened or not) is quite pucker-worthy. They aren’t kidding when they say those cherries are tart! But those cherries are ultra healthy and great for other purposes–but not this dressing. Cherry juice cocktail contains many more ingredients, including other fruit juices and sugar. So be sure to get 100% black cherry juice for this delicious balsamic dressing.

Cherry balsamic salad dressing in a container, accompanied by fresh grapes for a delicious salad.

Salad substitutions

  • Use dried cranberries instead of dried cherries. Or use dried tart cherries instead of dried sweet cherries. Dried tart cherries do pair nicely with Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing.
  • Add sliced strawberries to the salad.
  • Add a ripe, chopped avocado.
  • Candy or toast the almonds or buy pre-roasted honey almonds
  • Replace the fresh pear with canned pears if pears aren’t in season.
  • Use bleu cheese, Gorgonzola, or goat cheese in place of the feta cheese.
  • Replace the sugar with honey in Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing (start with 1-2 tablespoons honey; honey and white sugar aren’t a 1:1 substitution).

Chopping fresh grapes and pears and placing them over crisp greens.

Leftover Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing

This recipe will make more dressing than you’ll likely use on the actual salad (unless you really love lots of salad dressing).

The dressing stores in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days, so while you could halve the dressing recipe, why not make the full amount and use it on other salads throughout the week?

Drizzle leftover Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing on any green salads throughout the week. Or get creative and use the leftover dressing in one of these ways!

A beautifully dressed side dish, showcasing all its colorful components.

More fruity salad recipes

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Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing

5 from 5 votes
A simple salad with mixed greens, red grapes, pear, almonds, dried sweet cherries, and crumbled feta. Drizzle o delicious Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing for the perfect finishing touch!
Vibrant pear, grape, and cherry green salad with cherry balsamic dressing on the side, a refreshing delight.
Print Recipe

Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing

Vibrant pear, grape, and cherry green salad with cherry balsamic dressing on the side, a refreshing delight.
5 from 5 votes
A simple salad with mixed greens, red grapes, pear, almonds, dried sweet cherries, and crumbled feta. Drizzle o delicious Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing for the perfect finishing touch!
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 -6
Chelsea Lords
Calories 347kcal
Cost $9.72

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 5 tablespoons 100% black cherry juice
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard don't use regular mustard
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

Salad

  • 5-6 cups mixed greens (5 ounces)
  • 1 large pear, thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup red grapes
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries
  • 1/3 cup feta cheese
  • Optional: sliced strawberries

Instructions

  • DRESSING: Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil in a small blender jar; pulse until combined. Drizzle in the olive oil, and pulse again until just combined and emulsified. Alternatively, combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined. You may need to stir up the sugar as it tends to settle on the bottom.
  • ALMONDS: If desired, toast the almonds (optional) by adding the sliced almonds in a single layer to a completely dry skillet (don't add any oil) and place on medium-high heat. Stir the almonds every 15 seconds for about 1-2 minutes or until the color slightly darkens and they start to smell good-- but watch carefully to prevent burning. You can also use honey-roasted almonds in this salad.
  • SALAD: Thinly slice a large pear and toss with the lemon juice. Slice the red grapes in half. Add the sliced pears, sliced grapes, almonds, and dried cherries to the mixed greens.
  • DRESSING: Toss with the dressing (add to preference; you may not want to add it all) and sprinkle feta cheese on top.
  • STORAGE: This salad (like most) doesn't make good leftovers. If you aren't eating this immediately, keep the ingredients separate from the dressing and toss right before eating. Top with feta after dressing the salad.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Quantities: The ingredient quantities are a general guideline. Add more or less of your favorite salad fixings depending on your personal preference.
Nutrition information is calculated for a serving of the salad with dressing. There are only 84 calories in a serving of just the dressing.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6servings | Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 170mg | Potassium: 329mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 1189IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 2mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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The easiest blender cherry balsamic dressing on a simple Zupas copycat salad!
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11 Comments

  1. There are so many delicious grape varieties at our farmer’s market at the moment! I guess next time I should save some for this beautiful salad rather than gobbling them down right away 🙂
    I love all the great fruit additions to this salad, and when you add the feta – oh yes please! This will be on our dinner table soon!

    1. Haha! I have the same problem — it’s hard to save grapes for a salad 🙂 Thank you Amy!!

  2. 5 stars
    I live in the Cherry Capitol of the World “Traverse City Mich. and loved this!!! If you get a chance try Cherry Bay Orchards dried cherries and juice sold online, and Fustini’s Cherry balsamic sold online all of these are great products!

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