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Pretty Christmas Salad Recipe
This is my favorite holiday salad to make for guests! The flavors are bold and sweet!
What ingredients do I need to make the salad
- Honeycrisp apples
- Lemon juice
- Water
- Salt
- Baby spinach
- Arugula
- Candied pecans
- Pomegranate arils about 1 whole pomegranate
- Crumbled feta cheese
What ingredients do I need to make the homemade salad dressing?
- Avocado oil
- Apple cider
- Lemon juice
- Honey
- Dijon mustard
- Salt
- Pepper
Pomegranate Apple Salad
Servings 6
Ingredients
Salad Dressing Ingredients
- ½ cup avocado oil
- ½ cup apple cider
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
Salad Ingredients
- 1 medium honeycrisp apples cored and thinly sliced
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 oz baby spinach
- 6 oz arugula
- 1 cup candied pecans homemade, store bought, or sub raw plain pecans
- ¾ cup pomegranate arils about 1 whole pomegranate
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Combine the avocado oil, apple cider, lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper into a mason jar and screw on the lid. Shake until the salad dressing ingredients are fully combined. Set aside.
- Place the apple slices into a large ziploc bag and add lemon juice, water, and salt. Seal the bag and lightly shake it around and coat all of the apples in the mixture. Set aside. (This will help keep it from browning as it sits out but you can skip this step if you are serving immediately.)
- In a large mixing bowl or serving bowl, add the spinach and apple slices (with the liquid drained), candied pecans, pomegranate arils, and crumbled feta cheese.
- Just before serving, drizzle the apple cider vinaigrette with enough dressing to lightly coat the salad ingredients when tossed. (You may have a little extra dressing to enjoy on more salads later. Just keep it refrigerated in the mason jar with lid.)
Notes
I like to choose sweet apples like honeycrisp or gala apples for this salad because soaking the slices in lemon juice, water, and salt gives it a little tartness.
Use your favorite greens and mix it up if you like! A spring mix would go great with this or you can keep it simple and just use baby spinach.
If you don’t have honey, you can swap with maple syrup. Maple syrup may be a little sweeter so I would start with just half the amount and then continue to adjust to taste.
STORAGE
Already mixed salad with dressing does not keep well for long as it will begin to wilt from the moisture.
Salad without the dressing can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. I like to place a sheet of paper towel inside the container to soak up any moisture.
Extra salad dressing can be stored in a mason jar with the lid on inside the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
