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!
Tips for the perfect salad
- 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!
More salad recipes you’ll enjoy
Christmas Salad Video
Christmas Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 7 cups mixed spring greens
- 1 1/4 cups orange segments mandarin oranges, clementines or tangerines
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds can substitute dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1/2 cup candied pecans roughly chopped
For the dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon shallot minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the mixed greens, oranges, pomegranate seeds, feta cheese and pecans in a large bowl.
- Place all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, whisk until smooth.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad mixture to taste, then gently toss to coat. You may have dressing left over. Serve immediately.
Janeen says
This salad came out so wonderful! The flavors were perfect!
Bella says
This was the best salad! The dressing was amazing. I used cranberries instead. Make sure you watch a tutorial on how to segment oranges if you didn’t know how.
Cartha Smit says
If I don’t want to make the salad dressing, what kind would you suggest I buy?
Sara says
Something like a balsamic or apple cider vinaigrette!
Sharon Chen says
This recipe gets me excited for Christmas! Yummy!
Kate says
What a gorgeous festive salad – so easy to get bogged down with all the carbs at Christmas and a zingy fresh salad is the perfect antidote!
Dannii says
A christmas salad is a must in our house. We always add brussel sprouts and kale to ours too.
veenaazmanov says
Healthy Greens, Nutty Walnut and yummy fruits. Definitely make a great combination. I love this salad recipe.
Mirlene says
Loving the bright colors on this christmas salad. You cant go wrong having a festive salad with oranges, pomegranates and the pecans mixed in!
Gina says
So festive! Love the brightness in the flavors of this salad. Gorgeous way to get some greens in for the holidays.
Jess says
This makes for a perfect festive salad for the holidays! I love all the flavors that come together for a delicious salad.
Anjali says
This salad is so bright and festive!! It will go perfectly on our holiday menu this year and will pair so well with so many other dishes! Yum!
Julie says
Love all the vibrant colors and the fresh fruit in this Christmas Salad. It’s a nice addition to any Christmas dinner.
Kate says
Such a beautiful salad! Christmas can be total over-indulgence in heavy, starchy foods and this is such a refreshing side to serve over the holiday season.