Pear Christmas Salad

Jump to Recipe

Inside: These unique ingredients transform a plain starter salad into a colorful, festive Christmas salad, making it the perfect starter for a larger meal.

This Christmas salad is light and flavorful with tasty surprises in every bite. It includes seasonal fruits candied nuts, bits of blue cheese and lightly dressed greens for a beautiful, delicious and easy first course.

Christmas salad with pears and glazed pecans.

For my holiday menu, I like to start the big meal with something vibrant and flavorful but not too filling, because if you’ve got two or three courses coming, you don’t want to spoil everyone’s appetite. A first-course salad is the perfect option.

Adding seasonal fruits with a few textural elements and lively dressing is an ideal tease for what comes after, like the Persimmon Salad with Candied Hazelnuts I make at Thanksgiving. Other unique fall and winter salads include this Endive Salad, Citrus Salad with Fennel and Orange , and Tuscan Kale Salad.

I call this my Christmas salad, because the colors and flavors are perfect for the occasion with a fresh bed of greens, garnet-hued pomegranate arils, and juicy, aromatic pears. What makes it more special are the mix-ins and dressing.

My Dad is the kind of guy that doesn’t get excited about salad, but he came up to me after our holiday meal and said, “I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your Christmas salad. It was so fresh and colorful and really delicious.“

That’s high praise, folks.

Why you’ll love this pear Christmas salad:

Certain components like the dressing, candied nuts and pomegranate arils can be prepped ahead.
There’s a contrast of colors, textures and flavors that keeps it interesting from the first bite to the last.
It’s light enough that it won’t fill up your guests, so there’s room left for your holiday roast and potatoes.
It’s served as a composed salad, so it looks a bit more formal and festive.
This pear Christmas salad is easily scaleable for your number of guests.

Ingredients:

Mixed Greens–you can use any fresh greens you like, from bibb lettuce to mesclun, red or green leaf lettuce, frisée, kale, arugula, baby spinach or bagged lettuces. I used a Spring mix for this.
Ripe Pears–I like to buy the pears a few days ahead of time so they have time to get to that “perfect ripeness.” You can tell when they’re ready by the aroma and by pressing lightly at the stem, if the fruit yields a bit, it’s ready.
Pomegranate Arils–I bought a fresh pomegranate, which yields about 1¼ cups of bright red arils, but you can also buy them shelled for convenience.
Blue Cheese–you can use any type of blue cheese (Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton, Danish blue), and if you don’t like it, you can use crumbled goat cheese, feta cheese or crumbled variety.
Glazed Pecans–my pecan recipe takes about 20 minutes and can be made beforehand. You could also substitute packaged glazed or candied nuts.
Maple Dijon Dressing–this dressing MAKES the dish, and it only takes about 5 minutes to assemble. Leftovers last in the fridge for a week.

Step-by-step instructions:

Cut and remove the crown of the fruit by scoring the top with a sharp paring knife to reveal the natural segments. Make shallow cuts along the outside of the fruit, from the calyx end to the stem, that follow the natural segments revealed inside and pry open the fruit.

2. Submerge the fruit into a bowl of fresh water and gently rub the pomegranate arils loose into the water. The white pith will float. Remove the pith with a slotted spoon and discard. Drain the arils and pat dry.

3. Peel the pears and slice them in half vertically. Use a melon baller to remove the seeds. Slice the fruit into ¼” slices from lengthwise. You’ll use about ¼ of a pear per salad.

4. Add the greens to a large bowl and dress with the maple Dijon dressing; toss well.

5. Divide the lettuce between the plates.

6. Add ¼ of a pear to each plate and fan out the slices, slightly.

7. Divide crumbled blue cheese and pomegranate arils between the plates.

8. Sprinkle on a handful of glazed pecans and serve the Christmas salad with extra dressing on the side for anyone who wants more.

Pro-Tips:

Wait to dress the greens until you’re ready to serve. Adding dressing can wilt delicate lettuce faster, so assemble the plates at the last minute for the freshest salad. (Kids can help with this).
Do as much of the prep in advance as possible. I make the dressing a day or two before, seed the pomegranate, and make the glazed pecans in the morning.
For a smaller group, serve this Christmas salad recipe as a side dish with a roast chicken, pork, beef or lamb.

Variations and swaps:

Swap pomegranates with dried cranberries.
Swap apple slices for the pears or use citrus instead, like canned mandarin oranges (pat them dry before adding to the salad.
Use other vinaigrette-style salad dressings like Champagne Vinaigrette or Simple Lemon Vinaigrette.
Use other types of candied nuts or simply toast whole pecans, walnuts or sliced almonds as a garnish.
Instead of individual plates, arrange the pear Christmas salad on platters to serve buffet style.
Make a Christmas wreath platter–Arrange the lettuce on a large circular serving dish and create a whole in the center to form a wreath shape, then decorate the wreath artistically with the toppings.

FAQs

Why is it called a Christmas salad?

Because its primary colors are green, red and white.

Can I just toss the salad?

Yes. Cut the pears into ½” cubes instead of slicing. Combine the greens, pomegranates, crumbled blue cheese, and dressing into a serving bowl and toss to coat. Garnish with glazed pecans and serve.

Make ahead:

Maple Dijon Dressing– can be made up to a week ahead.
Glazed Pecans-can be made 3-5 days ahead, but I prefer to make them the same day for the best crunch. Store them uncovered at room temperature for the day (and try not to eat too many during the day).
Pomegranate Arils–can be prepped 3-5 days ahead. Line an airtight container with paper towels (to soak up excess liquid) and add the arils. Seal with a lid and refrigerate until you’re ready to use them.

Storage:

Once dressed, the lettuce tends to wilt. I don’t recommend storing leftovers; they won’t be nearly as good the next day.

Freezing:

Do not freeze any component of this recipe.

More holiday salad recipes:

Print Pin Save

4.43 from 7 votes