Are you looking for a healthier option for your holiday meal? Try out this easy and delicious Christmas salad recipe! Packed with nutritious ingredients and bursting with festive flavors, it’s the perfect addition to any holiday spread.
The flavors of the fresh citrus, salad greens, and pomegranate meld so well together, especially with a honey mustard vinaigrette, making it the perfect side dish. I love to serve it with roasted rosemary potatoes and New York Strip Steak.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients on the recipe card below.
- Spring greens: or mixed greens like arugula, baby spinach, baby greens
- Nuts: almonds, pecans, pistachios, pine nuts, and walnuts.
- Cheese: I like feta because it works well in this salad, but you can substitute Parmesan, goat, or blue cheese.
- Oranges: Preferably seedless mandarins. They are easy to peel, full of flavor, and bite-sized.
- Pomegranate seeds: also known as pomegranate arils. If you can not find them, try dried cranberries or blueberries.
How to Make Christmas Salad
This is the summary version; see the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and the instructions.
- Whisk the minced garlic, champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously.
- Add your spring greens, sliced almonds, feta cheese, mandarin oranges, and pomegranate arils to a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.
Make It Ahead
You can make the honey mustard champagne vinaigrette up to 2 days in advance; however, remove it from the refrigerator about 45 minutes before serving to warm to room temperature, then whisk or shake well.
Prep the oranges and pomegranate arils up to 24 hours in advance and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Assemble the salad up to 1 hour before, but do not toss with the vinaigrette until ready to serve.
Preparation Tips For The Best Christmas Salad
- I encourage you to use fresh, seedless mandarin oranges for optimal taste, but you could also use canned ones in a pinch.
- Pomegranate arils are just the red jewels found inside a pomegranate. They contain a sweet nectar surrounding a white seed in the center. Around late November through December, grocery stores will have pomegranates available, and some stores may even have the arils already removed and available for sale.
- This salad is equally delicious with a honey-poppyseed dressing.
More Salad Recipes
Christmas Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
Christmas Salad
- 12 ounces fresh spring greens
- ⅔ cup sliced almonds
- ⅔ cup feta cheese
- 4 seedless mandarin oranges peeled and segmented
- 1 pomegranate seeded
Instructions
- Whisk together minced garlic, champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking continuously.
- Add spring green, sliced almonds, feta cheese, mandarin oranges, and pomegranate arils in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition
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Harper
This Christmas salad recipe was so attractive and delicious. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Beth Pierce
You are most welcome, Harper.
Clark
So festive and refreshing, perfect balance of color, flavor, and holiday cheer. You turned a simple salad into something that truly shines on the Christmas table. Adding this to my holiday menu.
Beth Pierce
Thank you, Clark. We love it too!
Karen
The salad was delicious and very easy to make…It tasted so good and fresh, and everyone loved it. Thanks a lot for the recipe.
Beth Pierce
You are most welcome, Karen!
Reese
I bet the orange adds that bit of tang that it needs. So many flavours and colours mixed together.
Andrea
This Christmas salad looks delightful. I love the idea of adding citrus and pomegranate for the crunch and the extra flavour.
Camila
This salad is amazing! The mix of pomegranate and mandarin oranges with the honey mustard vinaigrette adds such a fresh, festive flavor. I made it last year for Thanksgiving and I can’t wait to make it again.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Camila! I am so glad that you enjoyed it!
Beth
Delicious salad. I made this last year for a Christmas book club dinner and was requested to make it again this year. Wonderful salad that will remain in my favorite Christmas recipes. Thank you.
Beth Pierce
You are most welcome, Beth!
Emily Fata
This looks so very yummy! I’m going to make this for Christmas dinner this year, for sure.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Emily! Enjoy!
Mandy F
Delicious salad. We loved every bite! It will be on rotation, here.
Beth Pierce
Thank you, Mandy!
Karletta
The Pomegranate trees in our village are bursting with fruit right now. The citrus are on their way. This will be the perfect recipe to accompany our souvla
Beth Pierce
Thanks. Karletta! Enjoy
Kristine
Fantastic Christmas salad recipe! I whipped it up for lunch today using dried craberries. I will serving this often over the holidays….delicious!