Home > Dinner > Winter Salad Winter Salad November 14, 2022 | 2 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. This Winter Salad is a hit of brightness during even the coldest of weather! Combine your favorite winter fruit (pears, apples, or oranges) with dried cranberries, pomegranate, and feta (or goat) cheese. Add some pumpkin seeds or some irresistible maple-cinnamon pecans on top and drizzle on the absolute best creamy maple vinaigrette! Try some of our other favorite Winter Salad Recipes like this Mandarin Orange Salad, Orange Pomegranate Salad, Pear Salad, and Winter Fruit Salad Recipe. Easy Winter Salad Recipe Earlier this year we shared our go-to, quick salad recipe. It’s the salad we throw together most often since it’s got a quick vinaigrette, is easy to assemble, and is very forgiving. Basically, anything lingering in the fridge can get added in! So today I’m sharing a winterized version of that recipe– a salad recipe with a very easy dressing that pairs with just about anything. Whatever winter fruit you have will go in beautifully. Whatever nuts or seeds you’ve got on hand will work. And truly, this salad can be as easy as combining one wintery fruit, plus greens, and the dressing! On the flip side, these winter salad greens can also be dressed up fancy enough to serve for a nice holiday dinner. To jazz it up, I’d recommend making the optional maple-cinnamon pecans — they’re unreal! Should We Eat Salad In The Winter? While it makes sense there would be some hesitancy to enjoy salads in the winter (with the lack of fresh summer produce), there are actually loads of produce options that are ideal come wintertime. And actually, some of these fruits taste even better in the winter! Take apples, pears, oranges, or clementines for instance — even better in the winter. This is truly the best salad to enjoy in cold temps! Winter Salad Dressing The dressing could not be much easier to make! Just throw a few ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake them together until combined. Not only is making your own dressing more economical, but it also allows you to perfectly control flavors and know exactly what ingredients are in it. (Plus, we think homemade dressings always taste better!) I think once you get over the idea of homemade dressing being intimidating, you’ll discover that they’re worth the 90 seconds it takes to mix them together. Here’s a quick breakdown of the ingredients you’ll find in this salad dressing: Olive oil. We recommend extra virgin olive oil for this recipe. Better oil = better flavor. Maple syrup. Not to be confused with corn syrup or pancake syrup, pure maple syrup is the sap from a maple tree that has been boiled down to a thicker consistency. It’s just one ingredient — a sugar naturally derived from nature! White wine vinegar. This vinegar adds a subtle bite (slight bitterness) to offset the sweetness of the maple syrup. Mayo: Use good, creamy, full-fat mayonnaise for the best possible flavor. We recommend Hellman’s/Best Foods®. Minced garlic. We love using jarred, refrigerated minced garlic to keep the prep quick. Salt and pepper. Add to taste preference, remembering that an extra pinch can be the difference between a good and a great dressing! Winter Salad Seeds Roasted and crunchy pepitas (pumpkin seeds) make a great addition to this Winter Salad recipe! They add a sweet and nutty flavor, similar to sunflower seeds, but a bit sweeter. When purchasing these seeds, make sure they’re roasted and salted (not raw) for loads more flavor. You can generally find them in the bulk section of a grocery store, or with other salad toppings like candied nuts and dried cranberries. Or Maple-Cinnamon Pecans If you have the time or want to make your own candied nuts, we love making Maple-Cinnamon Pecans for this salad. Instead of using white sugar to sweeten (like we do for this Candied Pecans recipe), it’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup (like the dressing!) and warmly spiced with cinnamon. They’re surprisingly quick and easy to make as well! VARIATIONS Winter Salad Recipe Ideas This recipe for Winter Salad is truly forgiving — pretty much the sky is the limit for how to make this salad your own. Serve this recipe as a main course dish! Try this Italian Chicken Marinade or Blackened Chicken atop or on the side. Swap the fruit. We’ve made this salad with pears, apples, and oranges — each way is great. And among each of those options, there are plenty of varieties of those three fruits. Try different varieties of oranges (Cara Cara or Blood oranges), try different varieties of pears (Red, Bosc, Bartlett), and try different varieties of apples (Honeycrisp, Fuji, Pink Lady, Gala). Use veggies instead. Not sure about adding fruit to your salad? Roasted veggies would also be delicious! Try roasted carrots, roasted sweet potatoes, or roasted butternut squash — delish! Make a vegan Winter Salad. Leave out the cheese and use a vegan mayo in the dressing. STORAGE Winter Salad Storage/Make Ahead As with most salad recipes, Winter Salad doesn’t sit or store well once dressed. With that in mind, only dress what will be eaten the same day and then store salad toppings and dressing separately for leftovers. [quicktip] If you prepare the dressing in advance, don’t be alarmed if it clumps and separates in the fridge. To fix this simply shake the dressing together again until smooth. (If it’s still clumpy, let it stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes and then shake again; the clumps are the fats in the olive oil separating and solidifying.) [/quicktip] Pair This Salad With One Of These Main Course Recipes: This salad makes a great side to a hearty winter soup or meal. Shepherd’s Pie with a delicious mashed potato topping Ground Beef Stroganoff ready in 30 minutes or less! Chicken Pot Pie with rotisserie chicken Baked Ziti with mascarpone cheese (yum!) Crockpot Roast with potatoes and carrots FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Winter Salad 5 from 2 votes - Review this recipe This Winter Salad is a hit of brightness during even the coldest of weather! Combine your favorite winter fruit (pears, apples, or oranges) with dried cranberries, pomegranate, and feta (or goat) cheese. Add some pumpkin seeds or some irresistible maple-cinnamon pecans on top and drizzle on the absolute best creamy maple vinaigrette! SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Winter Salad 5 from 2 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe This Winter Salad is a hit of brightness during even the coldest of weather! Combine your favorite winter fruit (pears, apples, or oranges) with dried cranberries, pomegranate, and feta (or goat) cheese. Add some pumpkin seeds or some irresistible maple-cinnamon pecans on top and drizzle on the absolute best creamy maple vinaigrette! Course Salad, Side Dish Cuisine American, Healthy, Vegetarian Keyword Winter Salad, winter salad recipe Prep Time 25 minutes Total Time 25 minutes Servings 8 servings, as a side Calories 191kcal Author Chelsea Cost $8.32 IngredientsSalad▢ 8 cups gently packed mixed greens▢ 1 ripe pomegranate (or 1 cup arils)▢ 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries▢ 2 large oranges, pears, or apples (whichever you like best!)▢ 1/3 cup crumbled feta (or goat) cheese▢ Optional: pepitas OR maple-cinnamon pecans -- See Note 1Dressing▢ 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil▢ 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (Note 2)▢ 1-1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic▢ 2 tablespoons full-fat, good-quality mayo (like Hellman's/Best Foods) InstructionsMAPLE-CINNAMON PECANS: If making the pecans, start here. (See Note 1.) DRESSING: Combine all the dressing ingredients into a jar with a lid. Season to taste with salt & pepper (I add 1/4 tsp of each). Shake well to combine and place in fridge for now, shaking again before dressing salad. SALAD: Add all the mixed greens to a large bowl and toss gently with about half the dressing or until nicely coated (Read Instruction #3 first). Add pomegranate arils, cranberries, and thinly sliced (or chopped) pears, apples or oranges. Drizzle on the remaining dressing (or to preference). Sprinkle candied nuts or pepitas and feta or goat cheese on top. Enjoy promptly!STORAGE: This salad doesn’t sit very well with the dressing -- it wilts the toppings and greens quickly. If you aren’t planning to eat the entire salad in one sitting, toss and add dressing, nuts, and cheese to the amount you’ll be eating at this time and storing leftovers separately. Undressed, the salad stays fresh for 1-2 days in the fridge. Recipe NotesNote 1: Pecans: Combine 1-1/2 cup pecan halves, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, a generous pinch of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon in a bowl. Toss well to coat. Add nuts, well spaced out, to a parchment-paper-lined sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 7 mins. Flip and toss. Return and bake for another 5-8 minutes or until fragrant and glossy. Remove and let cool before pulling the nuts apart with your fingers. Let fully cool before adding to salad. (Coarsely chop first if desired). Note 2: Pure maple syrup: Not to be confused with corn syrup or pancake syrup, pure maple syrup is the sap from a maple tree that has been boiled down to a thicker consistency. It’s just one ingredient — a sugar naturally derived from nature! Nutrition FactsServing: 1serving | Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 106mg | Potassium: 245mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 587IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
