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The Great Big Holiday Salad is exactly what your holiday table needs! It’s colorful, flavorful, and it’s perfect to serve with just about any main course!
Flavor, crunch, and loaded with seasonal ingredients.
My favorites words to describe a Thanksgiving or Christmas salad.
And who doesn’t love a great big holiday salad (I mean is there anyone that actually doesn’t?) It’s a palette cleanser to all the heavier sides and rich main dishes.
We start with a base of peppery arugula, sweet and tart pomegranate arils, wild rice, and of course lots of freshly shaved parmesan cheese. Now, these ingredients can easily be swapped around. Do you prefer goat cheese instead of parmesan? Make the swap. The tangy flavors of the goat cheese pair beautifully with the peppery arugula.
The homemade dressing features ingredients like orange juice, apple cider vinegar, minced shallots, and maple syrup. All of which scream holiday meals.
And you know what else? It pairs beautifully with a roast chicken, a turkey, or your favorite holiday dish.
Ingredients for a Big Holiday Salad
- Wild Rice Blend: wild rice blend gives this a nice nutty flavor. If you have short grain brown rice on hand, that will also work. I wouldn’t use white rice here though, it wouldn’t do much for the recipe.
- Baby Arugula: are the greens I choose to use, but romaine lettuce, baby spinach, little gems, will all work for this recipe. Feel free to use a mix or one of these.
- Walnuts: you can swap the walnuts for pecans if you prefer. I candy the nuts and seeds to give them a little bit more oomph! It’s one of my favorite ways to elevate a salad.
- Pumpkin Seeds: lightly salted and roasted pepitas or pumpkin seeds get candied with the walnuts and they add such a nice sweet, spicy and salty flavor.
- Sugar: we’ll need a bit just to candy the nuts.
- Seasonings: you’ll need kosher salt, black pepper, a dash of cayenne to add a little heat to the nuts, and cinnamon for warmth!
- Pomegranate Seeds: or arils are a great way to add color and crunch to any salad recipe. I buy them in bulk and break them down. Store in an airtight container for up to one week! Great to prep ahead for a holiday dinner party.
- Shaved parmesan Cheese: I like to use shaved parmesan, goat cheese, or even crumbled feta cheese for this recipe. I will say, all three tend to work pretty well and change the recipe in a different way! Play around and use what you like!
- Orange Juice: just a hint for the dressing. It works beautifully with the other fall ingredients.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: is the vinegar in our vinaigrette.
- Shallots: minced shallots provide flavor for the dressing.
- Dijon Mustard: helps emulsify the dressing to keep it together.
- Maple Syrup: adds sweetness to the dressing as well as the candied nuts.
- Olive Oil: feel free to use extra virgin olive oil for this recipe since we aren’t cooking the dressing.
Looking for other ways use to up pepitas and walnuts? Make my homemade pumpkin spice granola recipe.
Holiday Salad Tips:
- Candy the nuts. start by lining a plate with parchment paper so that you can quickly transfer the nuts once they are candied and let them cool until you use them in the salad. This step can be done up to 3 days in advance with no issues, making it ideal for holiday parties. Just store them in an airtight container to keep them from softening.
- Remove the seeds from the pomegranates ahead of time. If you’re buying the pomegranate arils already removed, this will obviously save you time. I typically don’t like the taste of those, so I deseed them myself. You can easily do this 4-5 days in advance with no issues. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Make the dressing. Combine the ingredients in the jar and shake. The dressing can also be made ahead of time, 1-2 days easily. Just store in the refrigerator to keep the flavor from changing.
- Make the wild rice ahead too. If you’re thinking, ‘man this is an assemble and serve salad the day of an event’, then yes, that’s exactly what I intended it to be! This is a prep-ahead, assemble-the-day-of salad that will have your guests believing you slaved in the kitchen all day for this!
Other Frestive Green Salads:
- Celery Apple Salad
- Spinach Date Salad with Crisp Pita Chips
- Crisp Pear and Walnut Salad with Gorgonzola
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Manchego
- Honeycrisp Kale Salad with Parm Vinaigrette
- Pickled Beet Salad with Almonds
Easy Appetizers for the Holidays:
- Hot Honey Cranberry Goat Cheese Balls
- Spinach Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
- Cranberry Brie Bites in Puff Pastry
- Pull Apart Garlic Roll Wreath
Great Big Holiday Salad
The Great Big Holiday Salad is exactly what your holiday table needs! It’s colorful, flavorful, and it’s perfect to serve with just about any main course!
Ingredients
Candied Nuts:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup walnuts
- ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Salad:
- 1 cup cooked wild rice blend see note
- 8 ounce baby arugula or other greens
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- ½ cup shaved parmesan
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice or lemon
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced shallots
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Instructions
- CANDIED NUTS: Line a plate or baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside for now. Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add walnuts and pumpkin seeds and give them a toss. Allow the nuts to toast in the butter for 45-60 seconds. Then add the sugar, cayenne pepper, ground cinnamon and stir to combine.
- LET COOL: Once the sugar melts, add the maple syrup and stir until a tacky and thick layer forms over the nuts. Remove to a parchment-lined plate, sprinkle with kosher salt and allow them to cool to room temp before breaking into pieces.
- DRESSING: To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake until the dressing combines. If the dressing separates, shake again before dressing the salad.
- ASSEMBLE: Place the arugula or other greens in a serving bowl or platter. Top with the wild rice, and pomegranate arils. Give the dressing another shake if needed and toss the salad with half the dressing, adding more as needed. Top wit the shaved parmesan and the candied nuts and serve.
Notes
- Wild Rice Blend: ⅓ cup dry wild rice blend typically yields roughly 1 cup cooked. You can also find frozen wild rice in most grocery stores these days. Just zap in the microwave and cool to room temp before using it in the salad.
- Make Ahead: Many components for this recipe can be prepped ahead of time. The dressing, prepping the pomegranate, and the candied nuts can all be made 1-3 days in advance. Store the prepared dressing and pomegranate in the fridge in separate airtight containers. The nuts can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container.
- Adding ingredients: Thinly sliced granny smith apples, grilled chicken, sliced pears, goat cheese, or feta cheese are all other ingredients/swaps you can make in this recipe. It's one of those recipes that pairs well with many different ingredients, so don't be afraid to use what you have.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 368kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 24g | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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