Christmas Salad is an elegant salad perfect for Christmas dinner. Using the best winter greens, this beautiful Christmas themed salad makes for a wonderful family tradition for any table.
Why This Recipe is the Best
This festive Christmas Salad is one of our favorite ways to bring fresh, seasonal flavors to the holiday table. It’s light, vibrant, and beautifully balanced with our homemade Honey Mustard Dressing.
We love that it’s easy to prep ahead and adds a colorful option to Christmas Eve dinner or holiday brunch. With crunchy veggies and a sweet, tangy finish, it’s a crowd-pleaser that complements any rich or savory main dish.
You'll also love these fun and festive side dishes like our puff pastry asparagus and candied yams.
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Key Ingredients
The best part about this holiday salad is how versatile it is! You can use our favorite ingredients, or add your favorite twists.
- Salad greens- Use a mix of kale, spinach, arugula, romaine or your other favorites.
- Toppings- Pear, avocado, pomegranate, pumpkin seeds, feta, and pecans.
- Homemade Dressing- A combination of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, lemon juice and salt and pepper. This dressing lets you enjoy the natural flavors of the fruits and vegetables while adding a level of zest to the salad. Add red pepper flakes for an extra kick if desired.
How to make Christmas Salad
Learn how to assemble a Christmas salad with these easy-to-follow step-by-step process photos. While this recipe is tasty, it's also satisfying to make it look fancy for your Christmas dinner.
- In a jar with a lid, add all the ingredients together for the homemade dressing. Shake until combine.
- Add the greens to the bottom of a bowl, then top with the sliced apples and avocado.
- Toss in the pomegranate, pumpkin seeds, and feta cheese.
- Right before serving, drizzle with the homemade dressing. Serve immediately.
Hint: Only toss a couple of times, the toppings will begin to fall to the bottom the more you toss.
What to serve with Christmas Salad
You'll love making this for a Christmas lunch, for more ideas, check out our Christmas Lunch Ideas. Paired with 3 ingredient ham glaze, and dinner rolls will make for a well-rounded dinner.
In a pinch, you can serve this with store-bought honey mustard. We do feel like the honey mustard vinaigrette complements the salad better. This would also taste great with a poppyseed dressing.
Top tip
Feel free to make this your own. Add anything you'd like to have in your cupboard such as sunflower seeds, candied pecans, craisins, and more.
Recipe
Christmas Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 8 oz salad greens kale, spinach, arugula, romaine or other
- 1 pear thinly sliced
- 1 avocado cubed
- ¾ cup pomegranate seeds about 1 pomegranate
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 oz feta cheese or more if desired
- ¾ cup candied pecans optional, but add a great crunch
Dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons honey double for a sweeter dressing
- 1 ½ teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional, for a little kick
Instructions
- Place olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if using) in a jar. Seal tightly and shake for 30-60 seconds until emulsified. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Thinly slice pear, chop avocado and prepare pomegranate seeds. Place salad greens in a large bowl. Place pear, avocado, pomegranate, pumpkin seeds, feta and pecans (if using) on top, distributing evenly across the top. Pour dressing on top. Toss slightly and serve.
Video
Notes
- If you toss the salad too much, all of the toppings will go to the bottom! So be careful while tossing.
- Feel free to use pomegranate arils instead of a whole pomegranate for easier use.
- You may also use a store bought honey mustard dressing, but we recommend a vinaigrette for the best complimentary flavor. This salad would also taste good with a poppyseed dressing.
Nutrition
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Christmas Salad
Substitutions and Variations
Try some of our favorite substitutions and variations for different fun flavors!
- Apple- Switch the pears for honeycrisp apples for a great substitution. They are a little firmer but still follow the same flavor profile.
- Cranberry- For an additional touch of green and red, make this a Christmas color salad by adding dried cranberries.
Storage
This recipe doesn't store well. Be sure to eat leftovers within 24 hours! It's best to make this salad right before serving for the freshest look and taste.
Andrea says
This is such a great seasonal Christmas Salad! The colors alone add a great look to the table and the taste is perfect.
Eva says
This was such a great salad! I love candied pecans, so we definitely added them in.