Holiday Pomegranate Salad Recipe

This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.

To cure your holiday season food hangovers, here’s a tasty and light Holiday Pomegranate Salad Recipe that you can whip up in a flash that’s perfect for lunch, dinner, or holiday parties. When I was writing this holiday salad recipe, I wanted it to have not only festive and seasonal ingredients, but be bursting with red and green! I combined crunchy lettuce, pomegranate arils, crispy bacon and toasted hazelnuts, then tossed them all together with a homemade dressing made with pure maple syrup and balsamic vinegar drizzled over the top. It’s the perfect festive salad for your holiday menu!

Why You’ll Love this Christmas Salad Pomegranate Recipe!

I love making this gorgeous salad during the Christmas season. It’s so simple to throw together on a whim and everyone loves it! This green salad has everything you could need! Fresh from the lettuce, yet crunchy from the bacon and hazelnuts! And let’s not forget that wonderful burst of flavor and color from the pomegranate arils. This Holiday Salad is everything you need this Christmas season. Plus I have make-ahead instructions for the dressing, so you’re not rushing around last minute.

Need more salad ideas for this time of year? Check out my archive of salad recipes!

Holiday Salad Ingredients

This is a pretty simple salad! Green Salads are so adaptable and easy to add things you love and omit the things you don’t love. Here is what I used in this salad!

Pomegranate Salad Ingredients:

• lettuce– mixed greens or romaine. Any leafy greens you like will work!
• pomegranate arils– for bursts of berry flavor! Peel and remove arils from a pomegranate. You can also buy them ready-to eat from the grocery store, and not have to mess with doing it yourself.
• bacon– for crunchy bacon flavor! Any salad with bacon is a winning salad in my world!
• toasted hazelnuts– for a sweet, buttery and warm flavor.

Maple Bacon Dressing Ingredients:

• bacon grease– from all that bacon you just cooked
• maple syrup– for best results use a good quality pure maple syrup
• balsamic vinegar– adds a sweet, tangy flavor to the dressing
• salt + pepper– add as much or as little as you like.

How to Make Holiday Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

For full recipe details, including ingredients and measurements, see the printable recipe card below. Here is step-by step (it’s really very easy!) how I make this Holiday Salad.

Large Mixing Bowl

This salad recipe makes enough for 6-8 servings. You’ll want to use a large mixing bowl to have room to toss everything together. You can transfer it to a prettier large serving bowl later.

Chop and Prep

Cook and crumble your bacon. If you want a fail-proof and way less messy way of cooking bacon, check out my how to make bacon in oven (425°) post. Be sure to set aside 3 tablespoons of bacon grease for the dressing.

Wash and chop your mixed greens or lettuce of choice. Remove the arils from a pomegranate. Toast the hazelnuts by heating in a dry skillet over medium heat until the color just starts to change. Do not walk away while doing this as they burn very easily. Throw mixed greens, pomegranate seeds, crumbled bacon and hazelnuts into a bowl and toss.

Make the Dressing

For the dressing, make sure the bacon grease is still hot/warm. Add bacon grease, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and salt and pepper to a jar with a lid or small bowl. Shake or whisk it all up until combined.

Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss. Serve immediately.

Pomegranate Salad Recipe Make-Ahead Tips

Pro-Tip: I have one make-ahead tip about the dressing for you! Since bacon grease solidifies as it cools, here is what I suggest. Mix all the ingredients together in a jar. When ready to toss with the salad, pop the dressing in the microwave for a few seconds until things become liquid again. Shake it again then drizzle over salad and serve immediately!

Storing Directions For Holiday Salad

Most green salads don’t store very well once dressing has been added to it. This one is no different. If you think you might not eat all of it the day you make it, you might want to only add dressing to half of the salad. Store any salad without dressing on it in an airtight container lined with a dry paper towel. The paper towel will absorb any moisture. I would still try and eat the leftovers in the next day or two at the most.

Pomegranate Holiday Salad Recipe FAQs

More like this Winter Salad Recipe!

Here are a few Christmas Salad recipes to consider adding to your holiday meal. These aren’t necessarily “for Christmas” salads, but ones I feel would be good with a variety of main dish options.

• That Good Salad
• Wedge Salad
• Kale Salad
• Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Broccoli Salad with Bacon
• Ambrosia Salad
• Classic Caesar Salad

This festive holiday salad pairs well with so many main dishes, and should definitely be on your holiday table this year! The printable recipe card is below. Have a great day, friends! Happy Holidays!

If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.