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This Christmas Salad is fresh, vibrant, and effortless to make. With tender greens, sweet oranges, tart pomegranate arils, salty feta, candied walnuts, and a light champagne vinaigrette, this impressive holiday salad pairs perfectly with any holiday entree you're serving.
Kristen's Keys for Christmas Salad
After decades of making mixed greens salad with champagne vinaigrette for my family's Christmas Dinner, we now affectionately refer to it as THE Christmas Salad. And through the years, I have learned a few tips to boost the flavor while keeping the prep light.
- Start with baby spinach or mixed greens. Romaine or iceberg lettuce will water down the salad; while kale will quickly overpower the other ingredients.
- Take a few shortcuts. Using pre-washed greens, canned mandarin oranges, and buying pomegranate arils already removed from the fruit saves a good 20 minutes of prep. And at the holidays, we all need to save time!
- Soak the shallot in cold water. While already much milder than red onions, soaking sliced shallots in cold water for 10-15 minutes will help tame their bite, making them kid-friendly. Feel free to omit if desired.
- Candied nuts elevate the salad and add flavor. But toasted walnuts, pecans, or pistachios work to add the same satisfying crunch.
- Assemble right before serving. While you can soak the shallots and prepare the champagne vinaigrette up to 48 hours in advance, it is best to toss the salad right before serving so the greens remain fresh and crisp.
How to Make an Impressive Christmas Salad
Here's how to pull this holiday salad together with ease and get reliably delicious results every time.
- Soak Shallots. Thinly slice the shallots and soak in cold water for 10 minutes at room temperature. Drain before adding to the salad. You can skip this step for a more pungent bite.
- Toast Nuts (If Needed). If not using candied walnuts, you want to take a couple minutes to toast walnuts or pecans to enhance their nutty flavor. It is so easy to do and makes a huge difference! Place the nuts of choice in a dry skillet and cook over low-heat, tossing frequently, for 2-4 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from the heat, let cool, then chop.
- Prepare Dressing. Combine champagne vinegar, honey, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a small jar or bowl. Whisk or shake until fully combined and emulsified.
- Assemble and Serve. Toss the spinach with a bit of the dressing and then top with the drained mandarin oranges, prepared shallots, pomegranate seeds, crumbled feta, and chopped nuts. Serve immediately with the remaining dressing on the side.
Make-Ahead Tips
You can prep some of the individual components of this salad up to 48 hours in advance and then assemble just before serving, making your holiday meal that much easier to pull off.
- Make the champagne vinaigrette and store in the refrigerator. Let the dressing come to room temperature and then shake well before dressing the greens.
- Toast or candy the nuts. Once cool, chop and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- If needed, wash and dry the spinach or mixed greens and store in an airtight container lined with paper towels in the refrigerator.
- If needed, remove pomegranate arils from a whole pomegranate and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Thinly slice the shallot and place in a small airtight container or jar. Cover with water and store in the refrigerator. Drain right before assembling the salad.
Recipe Modifications
- Use Fresh Oranges: Cut the top and bottom off 2 seedless navel oranges. Carefully cut between a segment and the membrane to the center or the orange, give it a gentle twist to remove the segment.
- Omit the Nuts: Add toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch or omit altogether.
- Omit or Vary the Cheese: Omit the cheese to keep this holiday salad dairy-free or replace the feta with crumbled goat cheese.
- Swap dried cranberries for the pomegranate arils. Adds a similar texture and sweet-tart flavor.
- Using a Whole Pomegranate: Cut the top off the fruit. Lightly score the red exterior into 6 to 8 sections (think orange wedges), but don't cut through the flesh. Fill a large bowl with water and and pull the scored pomegranate apart under the water. Gently rub the seeds free, and let soak for a couple minutes. The white parts will float, the arils will sink, and you haven't dyed your kitchen pink. Simply skim off the floating pieces and then drain to save those arils.
Complete Your Holiday Dinner
Pair this Christmas Salad with roast turkey, glazed ham, New York strip roast, or Instant Pot ham and one (or two) of the following side dishes for a memorable holiday meal.
Holiday Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
Fresh and beautiful, this Christmas Salad impresses with tender greens, mandarins, pomegranate, feta, and nuts. Perfect with any holiday main.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 small shallot, optional
- 1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained (see recipe notes for using fresh oranges)
- 5 ounces baby spinach or mixed greens
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese, or goat cheese
- ¼ cup candied walnuts, or toasted walnuts, almonds, or pistachios
For the Champagne Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup champagne vinegar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey, or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder, finely grated
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare Shallot. Peel and thinly slice one small shallot. Place in a shallow bowl and cover the slices with cold water. Let soak for 10 minutes and then drain.
- Prepare Champagne Vinaigrette. Combine ⅓ cup champagne vinegar, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper in a small jar. Whisk or shake to combine.
- Toast Nuts (If not Using Candied Nuts) Place untoasted whole nuts in dry skillet and and toast over medium-low heat for 2-4 minutes, tossing regularly. Remove from skillet and let cool and then chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Assemble Salad. Toss baby spinach or mixed greens with ¼ cup of the prepared dressing in a large serving bowl or platter. Top with drained mandarin oranges, prepared shallot slices, pomegranate arils, nuts, and crumbled feta cheese. Serve immediately with the remaining dressing on the side.
Notes
Mixed Greens: Any tender mixed greens. baby spinach, or combination of baby greens, work well.
Champagne Vinegar: If you do not have champagne vinegar, use white wine vinegar in its place.
Use Fresh Oranges: Cut the top and bottom off 2 seedless navel oranges. Carefully cut between a segment and the membrane to the center or the orange, give it a gentle twist to remove the segment.
Swap dried cranberries for the pomegranate arils. Adds a similar texture and sweet-tart flavor.
Using a Whole Pomegranate: Cut the top off the fruit. Lightly score the red exterior into 6 to 8 sections (think orange wedges), but don't cut through the flesh. Fill a large bowl with water and and pull the scored pomegranate apart under the water. Gently rub the seeds free, and let soak for a couple minutes. The white parts will float, the arils will sink. Simply skim off the floating pieces and then drain to save those arils.
This holiday salad is best assembled immediately before serving. However, some of the components can be prepared up to 48 hours in advance.
- Make the champagne vinaigrette and store in the refrigerator. Let the dressing come to room temperature and then shake well before dressing the greens.
- Toast or candy the nuts. Once cool, chop and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- If needed, wash and dry the spinach or mixed greens and store in an airtight container lined with paper towels in the refrigerator.
- If needed, remove pomegranate arils from a whole pomegranate and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Thinly slice the shallot and place in a small airtight container or jar. Cover with water and store in the refrigerator. Drain right before assembling the salad.
Nutrition
Calories: 200kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 3gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 218mgPotassium: 274mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 3382IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 106mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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A couple of things about pomegranates. This way of peeling a pomegranate is absolutely amazing and easy. Secondly, I let my arils dry and then freeze them. They don't have to be thawed when tossing into a salad or on breakfast cereal.. They maintain their fresh color and consistency.
Oh thanks for sharing that tip on freezing. I actually have extra arils I wanted to save for Christmas and was going to test this. Glad to know it works!
What a wonderfully light and refreshing salad! A perfect accompaniment to a heavy holiday meal. Delicious and fairly healthy. Love it!
Such a perfect salad for the holidays!! I love everything about this salad!
That champagne vinegar is everything with this salad! So tasty!
Love hearing you enjoyed Ashley!
Made this for the family and it was a hit!
So simple, yet so delicious! The perfect combo of flavors!