Description
This Christmas Salad is my favorite side salad to serve during the holidays. It’s made with mixed greens, maple candied pecans, sliced apple, green onions, dried cranberries, juicy pomegranate, and tangy goat cheese. All tossed together in a homemade cinnamon and white balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It’s fresh, bright, and easy to make with seasonal ingredients.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the salad:
- 5oz mixed greens (field greens, baby spinach, or arugula)
- 1 large apple, cored and thinly sliced (I use Gala apple)
- 2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
- 1/2 cup maple candied pecans (recipe below)
- 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese (or feta cheese or sliced avocado)
- Cinnamon white balsamic dressing (recipe below)
For the maple candied pecans:
- 1/2 cup raw pecans
- 4 teaspoons pure maple syrup
For the dressing:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Make the candied pecans. Add the pecans and maple syrup to a medium skillet over medium heat. Use a spatula to stir continuously until the nuts are well coated and there is no more liquid left in the skillet (approximately 4 to 5 minutes). The nuts will smell toasty.
- Immediately remove from the heat and spread the nuts evenly on parchment paper. Let cool completely. Once cooled, you can roughly chop the pecans if desired.
- Make the salad dressing. In a jar with a fitted lid, at the extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, maple syrup (or honey if using), Dijon mustard, ground cinnamon, and pinch of salt and a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper.
- Seal the lid and give the jar a good shake until the salad dressing has emulsified. Store in the fridge until ready to use. Don’t have a jar? Add all the salad dressing ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Assemble the salad. In a large mixing bowl, add the mixed greens, sliced apple, green onions, dried cranberries, pomegranate arils, and drizzle the prepared salad dressing over everything. Gently toss the salad together until combined. Sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese and candied pecans on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Make ahead instructions: The salad dressing can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve. Wait until just before serving to drizzle the salad dressing over the salad.
- Leftovers? Once the dressing has been added to the salad, it will start to wilt after a couple of hours. If you anticipate that you’ll have leftovers, I recommend keeping the salad and dressing stored in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Nutritional information is a rough estimate based on 4 servings.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chopped
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 333
- Sugar: 25.1g
- Sodium: 142mg
- Fat: 22.5g
- Saturated Fat: 4.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32.8g
- Fiber: 4.8g
- Protein: 4.5g
- Cholesterol: 11mg