Blueberry Pomegranate Feta Salad is the perfect stunning Christmas salad for the holidays this year! Brimming with festive pomegranate seeds, fresh blueberries, creamy avocado and candied pecans, it's a delightfully sweet and salty combination your guests will love! Easy too, it's ready in 20 minutes!
- The Ultimate Christmas Salad! - Every holiday table needs a show-stopper salad! This one is beautiful, decked out in colorful and seasonal pomegranate arils, feta cheese, fresh blueberries, and creamy avocado!
- Elegant but Easy! - It looks fancy, but this salad is very little chopping and comes together quickly! The dressing is homemade and shaken in a jar, while the pecans go from raw to irresistible in a few minutes on the stove!
- Check out these other Holiday Salads like my Pear Arugula Salad with Crispy Prosciutto and my Blue Cheese Apple Walnut Salad.
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Winter seasonal pomegranates, healthy greens, avocado and brown sugar candied pecans keep this salad deliciously balanced with salty and sweet!
- Candied Pecans - This salad is made extra special with a quick sauté of raw pecans in butter and brown sugar! Careful, they are tough not to snack on too many before they make it in the salad! Walnuts could be substituted, and you could get by with toasting them in half the amount of butter and brown sugar if you want them a bit less indulgent! Try making your own Homemade Brown Sugar, especially when you only need a small amount!
- Lettuce Greens - Any kind of lettuce mix or baby greens will work fine. I like the boxes that are washed and ready to use, but you can also buy a head of lettuce and wash and chop yourself. We've often called this Italian Mixed Greens Salad with Crispy Prosciutto our Christmas Salad too!
- Pomegranate - Seasonal in the winter, the shiny red pomegranate arils pair perfectly with the holidays! They are healthy and delicious and make any salad simply gorgeous!
- Blueberries - Fresh blueberries blend a bit of sweetness that goes so well with nuts and salty cheese. Try my similar Blueberry Goat Cheese Salad too!
- Feta Cheese - My favorite salad cheese, feta provides a creamy, salty element to balance the fruit and pecans. For the best quality, I like to buy a block of feta in a tub of brine and crumble it myself. This salad would also work with blue cheese or goat cheese.
- Avocado - Make sure your avocado is ripe, meaning the skin is soft when pressed. Don't try to use an unripe avocado, you're better off just omitting it! Leave it on the counter a day or two to ripen. I love buying a bunch of hard green avocados to keep in the fridge. Then pop a couple on the counter to ripen when you need them!
- Red Onion - A few onions in a sweet salad are nice to add a little sharpness. These can, of course, be left out if you aren't an onion fan, or subbed with a milder shallot.
- Dressing - This basic vinaigrette salad dressing is quick and easy and just shaken in a jar! You can double or triple the recipe and keep it in the fridge for up to a month. Any store-bought or homemade vinaigrette will also work, including my Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette or my refrigerator staple Easy Vinaigrette in a Jar.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Toast the nuts, shake up the dressing, and put it all together for the perfect holiday side dish!
Step 1 - In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the pecans and brown sugar. Toss and stir, about 4 minutes until toasted and fragrant. Allow to cool in a bowl.
Don't walk away, nuts can burn quickly!
Step 2 - In a large mixing bowl, toss the lettuce along with half the blueberries, pomegranate arils, feta cheese, red onions, candied pecans and dressing.
Step 3 - Add the salad to a serving platter (or serve it in the bowl) and top with sliced avocado and all the remaining ingredients. Drizzle with a bit more dressing and serve!
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Don't Burn the Nuts - The candied pecans make this salad especially amazing, and they are so easy to make! They cook up quickly in just a few minutes so don't walk away! Stir them often, almost continuously, and turn the burner off right when they smell fragrant. They will harden up as they cool.
- Assemble the Salad in Layers - Toss about half of the ingredients in the bowl with the lettuce and dressing, but save the other half to arrange over the top. This will keep your ingredients from sinking to the bottom and give you a nice presentation so everyone can see what's all in the salad!
- Adjustable and Customizable - This salad uses a small 4 to 5 ounce box of lettuce and will serve about 6 people. It may serve more or less depending on how many other side dishes are offered. You can easily adjust this up or down, starting with more or less lettuce. Then just add the amount of toppings to make it look full and beautiful, the measurements don't need to be exact!
- What to Serve it With - This salad is the perfect accompaniment to any holiday dinner including turkey, ham, steaks, seafood, or beef roast. It's easy and healthy enough for weeknights, and especially delicious as a brunch salad!
- Storage - Extra dressing will keep in the fridge for up to a month. Salad tossed with dressing and avocado will not store very well and is best eaten the day it's made.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! The salad dressing can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for weeks. Keep it at room temperature an hour or so before serving and give it a good shake. The candied pecans can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container on the counter. You can also assemble the salad with the greens, blueberries, feta cheese and pomegranate seeds the day of and keep it covered in the fridge. Wait to slice the avocado, add the pecans, and the dressing until just before serving.
This salad uses a 4 to 5 ounce box of lettuce and serves about 6 people. A simple trick for portioning lettuce is to just grab a handful, about what you think one person would eat, and toss it in your bowl. Count out the handfuls for each person you are serving. Then adjust your toppings accordingly.
Goat cheese or blue cheese can be substituted for the feta, but be careful with a large group as most people either love or hate blue cheese! The cheese can also be served on the side or omitted to keep this salad dairy-free.
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Blueberry Pomegranate Feta Salad
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Print Pin RateIngredients
For the Salad
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 cup pecans (or walnuts)
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 ounces lettuce mix
- 1 avocado ripe, sliced
- 1 cup blueberries
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled
- ⅛ cup red onion thinly sliced, optional
For the Dressing
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard (regular or whole grain)
- 1 Tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- For the Candied Pecans, in a skillet over medium low heat, add the butter, pecans and brown sugar and stir and toss to coat, about 3 to 4 minutes. Don't walk away, when the nuts are toasted and fragrant, they're done! Transfer to a bowl to cool slightly.
- Add all the ingredients for the dressing to a small jar with a lid and shake it to emulsify.
- Toss the lettuce in a bowl with half the blueberries, pomegranate arils, feta cheese, candied pecans and a bit of dressing.
- Transfer the salad to a platter (or serve it in the mixing bowl) and top with avocado slices, the remaining ingredients, and another drizzle of dressing.
Notes
- Vinaigrette - Dressing can be made ahead and will keep in the fridge for a month. Set on the counter an hour before serving to come to room temperature and shake well.
- Candied Pecans can be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container on the counter.
- Avocado must be ripe and soft when pressed. Keep on the counter a few days to ripen. Don't try to use an unripe hard avocado!
- Feta Cheese can be subbed with goat cheese or blue cheese.
- If serving more or less people, adjust the lettuce up or down and the toppings accordingly.
- Make Ahead - Assemble the salad with the greens, blueberries, feta cheese and pomegranate seeds the day of and keep it covered in the fridge. Wait to slice the avocado, add the candied pecans, and the dressing until just before serving.
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