This Apple Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette makes a delicious juicy, crisp salad any time of year, especially throughout the holidays.
Looking for more favorite salads? My Honey Lime Fruit Salad is another salad that’s perfect for adding to holiday menus. Strawberry Spinach Salad is another salad with an elegant look and juicy flavor. Chicken Salad with Grapes is delicious and one of our family favorites.
This Apple Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette is one of my favorites to enjoy every fall and winter! Sweet juicy apples and pears are highlighted with my crunchy roasted pecans, creamy blue cheese crumbles, and pomegranate seeds, all set on top of crisp salad greens. The flavors, textures, and beautiful colors make it extra special – so it’s easy to see why it’s such a favorite!
It’s a perfect starter for Thanksgiving dinner, where it adds so much color and amazing flavor to the meal. I find it pairs equally with a Skillet Rib eye Steak for family supper and for entertaining guests on the weekends too.
Apple Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette Recipe
What We Love About This Apple Pear Salad
- Delicious Complimentary Flavors – The juicy, sweet fruit is partnered with slightly salty, crunchy pecans and creamy blue cheese on a base of fresh, crispy salad greens. The salad is drizzled with a slightly sweet and somewhat tart pomegranate vinaigrette that finishes it just perfectly.
- Great Starter or Side for Special Meals – The salad works well as a starter for holiday meals and makes an excellent side for dinner with friends and family.
- Simple to Make, Yet Impressive to Serve – This salad comes together quickly and easily. The pecans can be roasted ahead of time to save even more time when prepping a holiday meal or meal for guests.
This salad is perfect any time of year but really shines during the holidays. It’s so gorgeous for Thanksgiving and Christmas! All that beautiful color to brighten up the buffet makes this salad really stand out. And the flavors of this extra special salad go well with Thanksgiving turkey or the Prime Rib I love to serve at Christmas.
How to Make Apple Pear Salad
To make this salad and vinaigrette, you will need the following:
Ingredients for Salad
Apples – I love to use what I call “eating apples,” such as Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Sweetango, for their crisp texture and juicy flavor. You can use your favorite apples or some that you have on hand.
Pears – I pick ripe yet slightly firm pears for this salad. Juicy Bartlett pears, Anjou pears, and Comice pears are great options, but I get the best I can find at the grocery store choosing them.
Mixed Salad Greens – Pick fresh, crisp salad greens for the best salad. I find that the mixed greens taste and look best.
Roasted Pecans – Simple roasted pecans add a lovely crunch and a bit of saltiness. You can also use walnuts as a substitute.
Bleu Cheese Crumbles -This adds a creamy tartness to the salad. I prefer the Maytag variety, but you can use your favorite.
Pomegranate Seeds (or Arils) – You can buy these already taken from the fruit itself, which makes it quick and easy to use them. They add texture and juicy flavor.
Ingredients for Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Pomegranate Juice – It’s a little sweet, a little tart, and full of health benefits.
Honey – Use your favorite honey to add a bit of sweet, rich flavor to this dressing.
Apple Cider Vinegar – With so many health benefits, this is delicious in this dressing and plays nicely with the sweet honey and pomegranate juice.
Dijon Mustard – A bit of this dijon mustard is so flavorful and is especially delicious with honey and apple cider vinegar.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for its mild flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
For the Pomegranate Vinaigrette:
Prep. In a large measuring cup, combine Pomegranate juice, honey, vinegar, and mustard.
Whisk. Whisk together until well combined. Continue to whisk as you add in olive oil to emulsify.
Add to Serving Container. Pour dressing into the serving container and set aside.
For the salad:
Prep Bowl with Vinaigrette. In a medium bowl, pour about ½ cup of Pomegranate Vinaigrette.
Slice Fruit and Add to Vinaigrette. Core and thinly slice apples and pears, adding to the bowl and tossing in the vinaigrette.
Add Ingredients to Salad Bowl. In another large serving bowl, combine salad greens, roasted pecans, bleu cheese crumbles, and pomegranate seeds. Using a slotted spoon, remove fruit from the dressing and add to the salad bowl.
Serve. Serve with Pomegranate Vinaigrette Dressing.
It’s a Great Entree Too!
In addition to a beautiful starter or side dish, this gorgeous salad makes a good entree with meat or fish.
I’ve mentioned how beautiful this salad is for the holidays. But please don’t just save it for then or for entertaining guests. It is a perfect entree salad with some baked chicken sliced on top or a side salad served with salmon.
And when you do have some leftover from Thanksgiving, it’s especially delicious with leftover Roast Turkey or Turkey Breast sliced on top or on the side. I even like to eat this salad for lunch on its own anytime, especially after a big holiday meal!
Regardless of when it’s served, it’s fantastic!
More Favorite Salads
Here’s the recipe for my Apple Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Apple Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Pomegranate Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup Pomegranate juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Salad
- 3 apples
- 3 pears
- 4 cups mixed salad greens
- 1 cup roasted pecans
- bleu cheese crumbles, I use Maytag
- Pomegranate seeds
Instructions
Pomegranate Vinaigrette
- In a large measuring cup, combine Pomegranate juice, honey, vinegar, and mustard. Whisk together until well-combined. Continue to whisk as you add in olive oil to emulsify. Pour dressing into serving container and set aside.
Apple Pear Salad
- In a medium bowl, pour about 1/2 cup of Pomegranate Vinaigrette. Core and thinly slice apples and pears, adding to the bowl and tossing in the vinaigrette.
- In another large serving bowl, combine salad greens, roasted pecans, bleu cheese crumbles and pomegranate seeds. Using a slotted spoon, remove fruit from dressing and add into the salad bowl.
- Serve with Pomegranate Vinaigrette Dressing.
Notes
- Use Eating Apples such as Honeycrisp, Fuji or Sweetango for their crispness and juicy flavor.
- Use ripe and juicy, yet slightly firm pears such as Bartlett, Anjou or Comice.
- If you wish, you can substitute walnuts for roasted pecans.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
This is so pretty for Christmas!
Beautiful salad!!!!!! Pinned on Christmas board. Thanks for sharing……
This is EXACTLY the sort of thing I want to be eating after endless plates of turkey, mashed potatoes, etc. What a pretty salad, Robyn. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I make it every year since I found it! Everyone loves it!
So glad everyone loves this. It’s one my family loves, too.
This salad was one course of a formal 5 course dinner party – a huge hit! We will be using this many times in the future!
Thank you, Heather. I’m so glad this salad was a hit for you. It always is when I serve it.
Is there anything I can substitute for the pomegranate juice? I’ve never seen that juice in our grocery store, thank you.
The pomegranate juice I get at my store is the POM brand and it’s in the refrigerated juice section, Emilia. You could try apple or pear juice.
What kind of apples and pears would you suggest? This looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it!
Kristi, I use Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Sweetango apples and Bartlett pears, Anjou pears, and Comice pears are great with this salad. I hope you enjoy!
Hello Robyn!
For the vinaigrette with pomegranates, instead of blue cheese, can I use feta instead?
You could use feta as a substitute for the bleu cheese, Isabelle. I hope you enjoy!