Apple Pomegranate Salad is a beautifully festive salad for your holiday table highlighting seasonal fall and winter apples, cranberry, pomegranate, and candied pecans and pumpkin seeds. Colorful, fancy-looking, but really very easy, this holiday or Thanksgiving salad can be made ahead and takes just 20 minutes!
- Perfect for the Holidays! - It's everything you want in a holiday salad! Seasonal ingredients, bright colors, warm sweet and savory nutty flavors, everyone will be raving about this salad!
- Seasonal - From early fall through the winter to Easter, this salad can work for so many occasions! Pomegranates are a cold weather seasonal favorite, bringing fresh bright flavor to the otherwise cozy meals! Check out these 35 Holiday Side Dish and Appetizer Recipes too!
- Love Stunning Salads? Try some of our other holiday salads like this Pear & Blue Cheese Salad, and this Apple Bacon Walnut Salad. Check out these 16 Holiday-Worthy Winter Salads too!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Some of fall and winter's favorite ingredients, this salad has sweet and savory notes, and is loaded with fresh produce!
- Lettuce - Any type of lettuce mix will work. I like the boxes of pre-washed baby lettuce mix, but anything including baby spinach or arugula would be good too.
- Candied Nuts and Seeds - This is definitely the best part of the salad and the amounts here are a little more than you need because I can't help snacking on a few before they make it to the salad! Pecans and pumpkin seeds make it feel like fall, and just a quick toss in butter and brown sugar is all you need to make them irresistibly delicious! Try making your own Homemade Brown Sugar next time you run out!
- Apples - Any kind of apples will work here and add a nice tart crunch to the salad! Wait until close to serving to slice them so they don't brown. Pears could be substituted.
- Pomegranate - They just feels like the holidays and rightly so, pomegranates are in season from September to January.
- Dried Cranberry - Adds a sweet and chewy component to the salad, and again, just feels festive. You could substitute other dried fruit like cherries or golden raisins.
- Feta Cheese - I like to buy a block of feta that comes in a tub of brine and crumble it myself for the best flavor and texture. You could also substitute goat cheese or blue cheese, although be careful with a large party, most people either love them or hate them!
- Red Onion - A few thin slices of sharp red onion help balance all the sweet elements of the salad. They could be omitted or subbed with a milder shallot.
- Vinaigrette - A quick shake in a jar is all it takes to make your own homemade vinaigrette. The maple syrup amplifies the sweet ingredients, and you could substitute honey. Red or white wine vinegar could be used.
See recipe card below for full quantities.
Instructions
The candied nuts and the dressing can be made in advance, then everything is easy to just toss together!
Step 1 - Start melting the butter in a skillet and add the pecans, pumpkin seeds and brown sugar.
Stir and toss them constantly for about 4 minutes until fragrant but not burnt. Don't walk away, nuts and sugar will burn very quickly!
Step 2 - Shake up the dressing in a jar with a lid to emulsify.
Prep your other ingredients, slice the apples and the onions, and separate the pomegranate arils, discarding the yellowish pith.
Step 3 - Toss the lettuce with about HALF of each ingredients and a bit of the dressing.
Arrange on a platter and then top the salad with the remaining ingredients and another drizzle of dressing.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Toss with Half, Top with Half - The trick to salad presentation is not letting all the ingredients fall to the bottom of the bowl! Add about half of each ingredient when tossing the lettuce with the dressing, then arrange the other half over the top. This gives you a stunning, holiday-worthy salad!
- How to Adjust a Salad for Any Size Group - This salad serves about 8 people but any salad can easily be adjusted up or down to serve any size party. Just grab a small handful of lettuce, about the amount you think one person would eat, and toss it in your bowl. Count out those little handfuls for your amount of people, then just adjust the toppings to look right. Salad measurements don't need to be exact! The dressing is more than enough for this salad, so should be fine if your salad is larger.
- Make it Abundant - To make this salad suitable for the holidays, the amount of toppings and ingredients are on the heavy side! Make it look full, bright, and festive with a generous portion of everything! That being said, the amounts for this salad are on the higher end, so if you want to adjust something down, or don't quite have enough of an ingredient, it will be just fine.
- Storage - Extra salad with the dressing does not store very well, so try to eat it the day it's made. Extra dressing can keep in the fridge for a month and can be used on any salad. Allow it to come to room temperature and shake again to emulsify.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! If making ahead, you can make the candied walnuts and the dressing a day or two in advance, and keep each in a separate container. The day of, add the lettuce, pomegranate, feta, onion, and cranberries to a salad bowl and refrigerate. Slice the apples just before servings so they don't brown, and toss the salad with the nuts and dressing.
Yes! You could use just pecans, walnuts, or sliced almonds, or do any combination with the pumpkin seeds. The amount is probably a little more than you need, in case you taste a few before they make it to the salad!
Yes! Especially around the holidays with big gatherings, you may have a guest that eats gluten-free and this salad is perfect for them! To make it vegan, just omit the cheese and substitute oil for the butter.
More Favorite Salad Recipes!
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Apple Pomegranate Salad
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Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 cup pecans (or walnuts)
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds (raw pepitas)
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 5 ounces lettuce mix
- 1 to 2 apples thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- ⅓ cup pomegranate seeds
- ⅓ cup dried cranberry
- ⅓ cup feta cheese crumbled
- ⅛ cup red onion a few thin slices
For the Dressing
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium low heat, add the butter, pecans, pumpkin seeds and brown sugar. Stir and toss to coat constantly for about 3 to 4 minutes. Don't walk away, nuts and sugar burn quickly! Pour into a bowl to cool.
- Add the ingredients for the dressing to a jar with a lid and shake well to emulsify.
- Prep your ingredients, removing the pomegranate seeds and discarding the pith, and slicing the onions and apples.
- Add the lettuce to a large mixing bowl with about half of each ingredient and toss with a bit of dressing.
- Transfer to a serving platter and top with the remaining ingredients and another drizzle of dressing.
Notes
- Don't burn the nuts and seeds - Don't walk away, nuts and sugar can burn very quickly! Stir and flip constantly, then pour into a bowl when done so they don't continue cooking in the pan.
- Abundant Ingredients - There is a generous portion of each ingredient for this salad, making the salad look overflowing and festive for the holidays! These amounts can be adjusted if you think it's too much or you don't quite have enough of any ingredients.
- Toss with Half, Top with Half - The trick to salad presentation is not letting all the ingredients fall to the bottom of the bowl! Add half of each ingredient when tossing the lettuce and dressing, then arrange the other half over the top.
Gina says
Needed a last minute salad recipe for Thanksgiving today and whipped this up! I omitted the mustard (didn’t realize we were out) and it still tastes great. I have snuck a few bites already before heading out the door and can already tell this will be a go to salad recipe for us. Thank you!
Meryl Downing says
Thank you Gina, I'm so glad you liked it! I made the same one for our Thanksgiving!