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This Pomegranate, Pear and Pecan Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette is a vibrant and delicious winter salad, perfect for serving during the holidays and special occasions.
This fresh, gorgeous and festive salad, full of ruby red pomegranate seeds, juicy ripe pears, crunchy grapes, and lightly sweetened and spiced pecans is sure to impress your guests. I have been making and serving this salad for several years now and it is always a hit!
I love all the different textures, colours and sweet and savoury flavours in this Pomegranate, Pear and Pecan Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette. There is a good amount of crunch from the toasted and lightly sweetened pecans and from all of the grapes and pomegranate seeds. You also get creaminess and tanginess from the crumbled goat cheese. To finish, the salad is dressed in a lightly sweetened and citrusy balsamic vinaigrette.
To make preparing this salad easier and faster, you can prepare the spiced pecans the day before you plan on serving the salad. By the way, the pecans are so delicious you may want to make a double batch so you have extra just to snack on. You can also seed the pomegranate and prepare the dressing ahead of time. Doing these three tasks will considerably speed up the time needed to make this salad.
The delicious combination of fruit, veggies and nuts really makes this salad extra delicious and all the festive colours make it perfect for serving during the holiday season. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 8 cups baby romaine lettuce or your favourite blend
- 1/2 small red onion sliced thinly
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- 2 ripe pears sliced
- 1 cup seedless red grapes
- 3/4 cup spiced pecans
- Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/3 cup exra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tbsp brown Sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- ground pepper to taste
- Spiced Pecans:
- 1-1/2 cup pecans
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cayenne
Instructions
- For the Spiced Pecans:
- With a rack in the middle of your oven, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss the pecans with the maple syrup, olive oil, cinnamon, salt and cayenne. stir until the pecans are well coated with the syrupy spice mixture.
- Spread pecans onto the baking sheet in one even layer.
- Bake in oven for 8 min, then stir and bake for approximately 7 to 8 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let cool on sheet.
- For the Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- Combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, freshly squeezed orange juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let the vinaigrette cool to room temperature.
- For the Salad:
- Wash the salad greens and fruit. Dry thoroughly.
- Place the salad greens in a large salad bowl.
- Top with sliced onions, grapes, pomegranate seeds, sliced pears and pecans. Add crumbled goat cheese and serve vinaigrette on the side.
- If you wish to serve the salad already dressed, toss the salad greens with some of the toppings, and then top the salad bowl with the rest. Crumble goat cheese on top of the salad only after tossing it.
This is excellent. Made it to take to a Christmas dinner party and it was the hit of the table. Several request to share the recipe and I’ve made it twice since.
That’s fantastic Sean, thanks so much for taking the time to write and let me know!
This looks delicious!
This is such a beautiful looking salad.
Thank you, I hope you give it a try!
Great salad!
Thanks Sabrina!
What a gorgeous salad for this time of year! And it sounds delicious.
Thanks so much Louise! I can’t get enough of this salad!