Christmas Salad Recipe (2024)

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.

Christmas Salad Recipe (1)

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!

Christmas Salad Recipe (2)

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.

Christmas Salad Recipe (3)

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 Recipe (4)

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.

Christmas Salad Recipe (5)

You can’t go wrong with this salad, in fact, I make it all winter long!

More salad recipes you’ll enjoy

  • Broccoli Salad
  • Arugula Salad
  • Beet Salad
  • Green Bean Salad
  • Strawberry Spinach Salad

Christmas Salad Video

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 minutes minutes

Cook Time1 minute minute

Total Time16 minutes minutes

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Serves 6

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 193mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 137IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 1mg

Did you make this recipe?Tag @dinneratthezoo on Instagram and hashtag it #dinneratthezoo

Originally Posted October 14, 2021

CategoriesChristmas Salads

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Christmas Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is ambrosia salad made of? ›

The best Ambrosia Salad recipe is made with pineapple, mandarin oranges, yogurt, mini marshmallows, coconut and whipped cream. This easy side dish has a delicious tropical sweetness and is always a crowd favorite!

How to make homemade salads taste good? ›

Do This to Make Restaurant-Quality Salads at Home
  1. Use the freshest ingredients. Pre-bagged salads may make life easier, but they taste kind of blah. ...
  2. Choose the right lettuce. ...
  3. Add some crunch. ...
  4. Add color. ...
  5. Include protein. ...
  6. Give it some bulk. ...
  7. Mix sweet with savory. ...
  8. Add herbs.
Jun 27, 2023

How to make salads that fill you up? ›

Start with greens and grains or noodles; add vegetables, protein, dressing or healthy fat, and fun add-ins for more flavor, crunch and nutrition. Incorporate leftovers, be creative and experiment.”

How to make salad fun to eat? ›

Mix fresh herbs with the greens.

When adding leafy greens to salad, think beyond lettuces, arugula, and kale to fresh herbs, like parsley, basil, cilantro, mint, and tarragon. A small handful of chopped herbs adds another dimension of flavor and gives salad a quick pop of freshness and makes it more interesting to eat.

What is the difference between ambrosia and watergate? ›

Ambrosia Salad Tastes Like Coconut, Watergate Salad Tastes Like Pistachio. One of the first things that sets ambrosia and Watergate salads apart is the flavor profile of each dish. Watergate salad uses a pistachio instant pudding packet and often calls for additional garnishings of pistachio on top.

What is Watergate salad made of? ›

ingredients
  • 1 (4 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix.
  • 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice, undrained.
  • 1 cup miniature marshmallow.
  • 12 cup chopped nuts.
  • 1 34 cups non-dairy whipped topping, thawed.

How do restaurants make salads so crisp? ›

Lettuce actually needs a good amount of airflow, in addition to a bit of moisture (but not too much!), in order to stay crisp. That's why restaurants store their lettuce in special perforated bins that allow for air circulation while it's held in the fridge.

Why do salads always taste better in restaurants? ›

Restaurants use really good ingredients.

Your ingredients can decide whether your salad turns out average or extraordinary, Jamie Simpson, executive chef liaison at The Chef's Garden, told Allrecipes. "Restaurant-quality salads start with restaurant-quality ingredients," he said.

How do you pimp up salad? ›

Add some crunch: think beans, cauliflower, carrot, celery, cucumber, radish, sprouts or onion. 3. What's your protein: even if your salad is an accompaniment to a meal, there's still a place for protein. Try quinoa, buckwheat or toast up some chickpeas.

What makes a salad more delicious? ›

Think about adding vegetables and fruit of different colors and textures to give your salad some crunch and pack it with nutrition and flavor. I love using everything from juicy tomatoes and cucumbers to celery and carrots, to grilled vegetables like grilled corn on the cob or grilled zucchini.

How do you make a salad not to be boring? ›

Add colour. There's nothing more boring than a plain green salad. Add colour to your bowl by using a variety of veggies, fruits, fresh herbs and condiments -- your salad will not only look better, but taste better too.

Is it okay to eat salad every day? ›

While salads can be a healthy addition to a diet—even daily—it is possible to eat too much of it. "Excessive bloating may mean that you are having too many raw foods in your diet, which can be common to find in a salad," Redfield explains.

What kind of fruit is an ambrosia? ›

Ambrosia is an attractive medium-sized apple, with a pink-tinged orange/red flush over a yellow background. As such it is very much in tune with the modern preference for "bi-coloured" apples.

Why do people eat ambrosia salad? ›

The once hard-to-find ingredients were considered luxurious and exotic. The salad was a treat reserved for holidays and other special occasions, and named “ambrosia” after the food of the Greek and Roman gods.

What is real ambrosia? ›

Ambrosia is an American variety of fruit salad originating in the Southern United States. Most ambrosia recipes contain canned (often sweetened) or fresh pineapple, canned mandarin orange slices or fresh orange sections, miniature marshmallows, and coconut.

Why is it called ambrosia? ›

The Greek ἀμβροσία (ambrosia) is semantically linked to the Sanskrit अमृत (amṛta) as both words denote a drink or food that gods use to achieve immortality.

References

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