Pear-Pomegranate Salad with Candied Pecans and Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette
This Pear Pomegranate Salad with Candied Pecans and Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette is the ultimate festive holiday salad. Made with crisp pears, juicy pomegranate seeds, feta cheese, candied pecans, and dried cranberries. Tossed with a sweet and tangy homemade Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette. Can be served as a fall salad or winter salad. Perfect to serve as a Thanksgiving side dish or as a festive Christmas salad.
Ingredients
For Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 shallot (thinly diced)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp pink sea salt
For Salad:
- 4 cups arugula
- 2 pears
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 1/2 cup candied pecans
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
-
In a small mixing bowl combine all ingredients for vinaigrette; avocado oil, balsamic vinegar, thinly diced shallot, dijon mustard, lemon juice, maple syrup, and pink sea salt. Whisk together until smooth and creamy texture is reached.
-
In a large mixing bowl, set a bed of arugula. Thinly slice your pear and lay over bed of arugula. Layer the rest of ingredients over arugula next to pear; pomegranate seeds, feta cheese, candied pecans, and dried cranberries.
-
Drizzle vinaigrette over salad. Give salad a good toss making sure all ingredients are well combined and coated with vinaigrette.
-
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips to prepare your Pear Pomegranate Salad:
- Slice your Pears last- Like Apples, pears tend to turn brown after being cut or sliced open. Prep the rest of the ingredients first, including your dressing, then your pear last.
- Rub lemon juice on pear slices- This will slow down the browning longer. Rub each side of every slice of pear with a bit of lemon juice.
- Easily slice your pears by cutting it down the middle lengthwise- Remove the seeds and core from each side. Lay the inside of both sides down on a cutting board. Thinly slice your pear, but not too thick. About 1/4 of an inch thin.
- Submerge the pomegranate in water to remove seeds- Carefully cut the pomegranate open. Fill a large bowl with water and submerge one side at a time. This will soften the flesh of the pomegranate making it easy to remove the seeds right in the water. All the juices will squirt right into the bowl too avoiding big messes.
- Make Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette ahead of time and keep refrigerated- This will save you some time and also allow the vinaigrette to sit and all the flavors to combine well. It will make the salad so much tastier. Make the vinaigrette the night before or a day ahead.
- Make Candied Pecans ahead too- This will also save you so much time when making the salad. Candied pecans are easy to make but do take some extra time to prep them as well.
- Layer salad on a large platter or bowl to serve- The colors in this salad are so vibrant making one gorgeous salad to display. Rather than mixing everything in a bowl, try layering all the ingredients on a platter or large bowl. Start with the arugula, layer pear slices, spread pomegranate seeds, pecans and dried cranberries, then finish off with cheese. So pretty!