Pomegranate Mixed Greens Salad with Pecans tossed in our go-to Maple-Orange Vinaigrette, makes for a gorgeously delicious salad.
This salad will make a delightful and nourishing addition to any meal. It’s appealing to the eye and can really spruce up the dinner table. Often times salads are forgotten during the cooler months, not anymore! The combined real food ingredients of the spiced pecans, pomegranate seeds and maple-orange vinaigrette creates a flavorful wintery salad. This salad makes a great side-dish but can also be served as a complete meal with 3-5 oz. of cubed and cooked chicken or turkey added or with a filet of broiled salmon.
Pomegranate seeds add not only a burst of flavor but also a nutritious punch!
Pomegranate seeds are jam packed with valuable nutritional benefits including:
- High in fiber
- Powerful antioxidants (punicalagins & punicic acid)
- Contain anti-inflammatory properties
To learn more about the nutritional benefits of pomegranate seeds, head on over to Authority Nutrition to read the 12 Proven Benefits of Pomegranate Seeds.
How do you remove the seeds from the pomegranate fruit without making a mess?
Good question! The first time I (stacie) ever attempted to deseed a pomegranate it ended up to be a disastrous mess. Pomegranate juice everywhere! So I definitely know what not to do. Since then, I’ve explored some other options that work! Here they are:
- You can purchase the seeds already removed from the fruit in most grocery stores. How nice!
- You can use a pomegranate deseeder. Here is the one that I own. I received this deseeder as a gift from my mom but was very skeptical at first so it went unused for quite some time. Finally, I gave it a whirl and to my surprise, it worked!
- You can remove the seeds under water in a large bowl to prevent the juice from squirting uncontrollably. See a photo tutorial here.
Comment below and let us know what method you use for deseeding a pomegranate!
Back to the recipe…..
Adding the Holiday Spiced Pecans to the Pomegranate Mixed Greens Salad makes it even more out-of-this-world delicious! It’s highly recommended. Feel free to make the pecans a day or two ahead of time and set aside about 1/3-1/2 cups for the salad. You may even want to hide them!
AND Don’t forget the freshly shaved cheese!
The cheese adds another tasty dimension to the Pomegranate Mixed Greens Salad. The recipe calls for freshly shaved parmesan or manchego (which is a delicious hard sheep cheese–one of my personal favorites), but really any hard cheese of choice could work. If you follow a dairy-free or vegan diet you can simply omit the cheese.
Tossed with our Simply Nourished go-to Maple-Orange Vinaigrette.
This is vinaigrette is a favorite. It’s very versatile and adds a a nice combination of flavors from the orange, maple syrup, mustard, herbs and shallots or garlic. This very same vinaigrette was also include in our Wild Rice Harvest Salad recipe which received rave reviews!
- 5 oz. mixed greens or spinach
- ½ small red onion, sliced
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds (may substitute dried cranberries or cherries)
- ⅓ cup toasted pecan halves or Holiday Spice Pecans
- ¼ cup freshly shaved parmesan or manchego cheese
- ½ avocado
- 3 Tbsp. organic olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ tsp. orange zest, optional
- 1 ½ tsp. pure maple syrup (such as NOW Maple Syrup)
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced (or ½ small shallot)
- ¼ tsp. dried basil or thyme (may substitute ½ tsp. fresh herbs)
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- In a small saute pan over low-medium heat, lightly toast pecan by stirring continuously for 2-4 minutes. (skip this step if using Holiday Spiced Pecans)
- Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Combine salad ingredients, except for the avocado, on a large platter or in a bowl.
- Just before serving, slice avocado and add to salad. Then toss salad with vinaigrette and serve.
Comment below to let us know if you eat salads during the winter months?
This post contains affiliate links, which means we receive a percentage of the sale if you use the link to make your purchase. This does not change the price of the product. This income directly offsets the cost of web hosting and maintenance so we appreciate your support. Prices may be subject to change.
Leave a Reply