This Christmas salad is a blend of mixed greens, oranges, pomegranate, feta cheese and candied pecans, all tossed in a homemade dressing. An easy and festive salad that is the perfect addition to any holiday menu!
When I’m looking for a salad that features winter produce, I turn to favorites such as kale salad, brussels sprouts salad and this colorful and refreshing Christmas salad.
If I’m making the menu for the holidays, I always include at least one salad for nutrition and to provide a lighter counterpart to the heavier main course options. This Christmas salad features a sweet and savory blend of fruit, cheese and nuts that ends up being the perfect flavor combination.
How do you make Christmas salad?
This salad starts with small oranges such as tangerines or clementines, which are peeled and placed in a bowl of mixed greens along with feta cheese, candied pecans and pomegranate seeds. Make a homemade dressing with a few simple ingredients, then pour it over the salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately and enjoy!
You can use canned mandarin oranges, or any variety of fresh orange that is peeled and cut into segments. I prefer the fresh oranges as they have a better texture than the canned variety.
I like to buy a block of feta cheese and crumble it myself. Pre-crumbled feta cheese often contains anti-caking agents and stabilizers, and it doesn’t have as good of a flavor in my opinion.
You can buy candied pecans at the grocery store, or make your own with my recipe.
When I’m looking to save on prep time, I buy a container of pomegranate seeds at the grocery store instead of removing the seeds from a whole pomegranate. I also get a tub of pre-washed greens to make life a little easier.
Make ahead instructions
One of the most important features of a holiday salad is that it can be prepared in advance, because no one wants to be in the kitchen chopping produce on Christmas. Feel free to make the salad dressing up to 3 days in advance. Just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it, then shake well and pour over the salad. The oranges and pomegranates can be prepped up to one day in advance. When you’re ready to eat, simply place the ingredients in a bowl with the lettuce, add the dressing and serve.
Christmas salad flavor variations
This salad is fabulous as-is, but you can add other ingredients to make it your own.
Fruit: Instead of oranges, try another cold weather fruit such as apples, pears or persimmons.
Nuts: While I think the pecans go well with the flavors in the salad, other options include almonds, walnuts or even cashews. You can choose roasted or candied nuts, but I feel the candied nuts add a nice crunch and sweetness.
Cheese: Swap out the feta for blue cheese, shaved parmesan, ricotta salata or small mozzarella balls.
Add-Ins: Feel free to add other ingredients such as shaved fennel, red onions, avocado or dried cranberries.
You can’t go wrong with this salad, in fact, I make it all winter long!
This Christmas salad is a blend of mixed greens, oranges, pomegranate, feta cheese and candied pecans, all tossed in a homemade dressing. An easy and festive salad that is the perfect addition to any holiday menu!
Time
Prep Time15 minutesminutes
Cook Time1 minuteminute
Total Time16 minutesminutes
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Serves 6
Ingredients
For the salad
7cupsmixed spring greens
1 1/4cupsorange segmentsmandarin oranges, clementines or tangerines
Fresh produce: From the produce section, you'll need fresh cranberries, an orange, and fresh celery. Sugar: A cup of white sugar sweetens this cranberry Jell-O salad. Walnuts: Walnuts lend nutty flavor and welcome crunch. Canned pineapple: A drained can of crushed pineapple adds sweet, fruity flavor.
Toppings like tortilla strips, croutons and nuts offer a pleasant crunch, while creamy, salty cheeses add unique flavor. Of course, meats, beans and tofu add a protein boost, and berries and dried fruits lend a touch of sweetness. Whatever you're in the mood for, there's something for you here.
Eating raw cranberries is safe and easy, though their sharp, bitter flavor isn't for everyone. Be sure to clean and sort them thoroughly. You should also consume them in moderation, especially when juiced, as excessive amounts of juice may cause stomach upset or interfere with medications like warfarin.
Cranberries have pockets of air inside the fruit. Because of this, cranberries float in water, and thus, the bogs can be flooded to aid in removal of fruit from the vines. Water reels, nicknamed “egg-beaters” are used to stir up the water in the bogs.
You can rehydrate dried cranberries by covering with water, or another liquid, in a microwavable bowl.Cover and microwave on High for 30 to 60 seconds; let stand 5 minutes.
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