Ah, the holidays! Amidst all of the cookies and sweet treats, a Christmas salad celebrates the season with beautiful colors and tasty ingredients.
There’s so much to love about the holidays. Gathering with family and friends, gifting those we love, and, of course, the abundance of things to eat! I don’t know about you, but my waistline tends to feel the effects of the season more than I would like to admit. And as much as I love the tradition of baking cookies with our girls and eating them, a healthy salad served up in a festive bowl is a welcome alternative to all. that. sugar.
And this salad? Well, let’s just say anytime I bring this Christmas salad to a gathering, I get requests for the recipe. It’s that good.
What’s In This Christmas Salad?
Healthy Greens – I like using a mix of romaine hearts and power greens, but any salad green except iceberg will make a solid base.
Sliced Almonds or Shelled Pistachios – I have used both and that little bit of crunch gives this salad a satisfying texture.
Feta or Bleu Cheese – I LOVE bleu cheese, but alas, my family does not. Feta is a great substitute if you have picky eaters but want more flavor than a mild cheese like mozzarella.
Mandarin Oranges – juicy mandarins are seedless too, which is a great bonus when you need to whip this salad up quickly. You can use canned mandarins in a pinch, but I highly recommend fresh, peeled mandarins instead.
Pomegranate – I like to call pomegranates the fruit of Christmas. If you think they’re a pain to work with, read on for my handy tip on how to easily get those arils out without creating a huge red-stained mess everywhere in your kitchen!
I also whipped up a very easy homemade dressing for this Christmas salad, using minced garlic, white wine vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, black pepper, and olive oil. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I am all about homemade dressing whenever possible. In most cases, a homemade dressing takes just a minute to make but also doesn’t contain all of those chemical additives that are in bottled supermarket versions. I personally prefer to pour just half of the dressing on the salad and serve the rest on the side. A salad this flavorful doesn’t need to be completely doused with dressing.
How To Make This Salad
- In a small bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together except the olive oil. Slowly drizzle in the oil and re-whisk.
- In a large serving bowl, add the greens, nuts, cheese, mandarin oranges, and pomegranate arils.
- Drizzle half the dressing over the salad and toss. Serve remaining dressing on the side.
How To Easily Remove Pomegranate Arils
Last year, I watched a YouTube video that promised an easy way to scoop out pomegranate arils. I followed the directions exactly and still found dried purplish-red pomegranate juice droplets hiding out in my kitchen weeks later. This year, I was smarter and figured out the best way to do this messy task.
- Cut your pomegranate crosswise by scoring the fruit first and then cutting all the way through.
- Submerge each pomegranate half in a bowl of water and using a spoon, sccop out the arils. The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the pulpy fibrous parts will float to the top. And that dark juice will be completely diluted, so no staining your fingers!
- Skim the pulpy fiber out of the bowl, then drain the bowl of arils into a colander.
You’re good to go!
Christmas Salad
This colorful salad is beautiful to look at and wonderfully delicious, full of healthy ingredients. Get ready to hand out the recipe!
Ingredients
- Salad Ingredients:
- -12 ounces salad greens like power greens, mixed greens, or hearts of romaine
- -2/3 cup sliced almonds or salted and shelled pistachios
- -2/3 cup feta or bleu cheese
- -4 seedless mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
- -1 pomegranate, seeded
- Dressing Ingredients:
- -2 cloves garlic, minced
- -2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- -3 tablespoons honey
- -2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- -1/4 teaspoon salt
- -1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- -1/8 cup olive oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together except the olive oil. Slowly drizzle in the oil and re-whisk.
- In a large bowl, add greens, nuts, cheese, mandarin oranges, and pomegranate arils.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.
If you try out this recipe, let me know what you think in the comments!
Other related and festive recipes I think you’ll enjoy:
Healthy Homemade Ranch Dressing
Leave a Reply