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
Winter Salad
Equipment
- Jar or other sealable container
Ingredients
Salad
- 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
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
- Pepitas or maple-cinnamon pecans, see note 1
Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup see note 2
- 1-1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons mayo
Instructions
- If making pecans, start here. See note 1.
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid. Season with salt and pepper to taste; I add 1/4 teaspoon each. Shake well and refrigerate, shaking again before using.
- This salad doesn’t keep well with dressing as it quickly wilts the toppings and greens. If you aren’t eating the entire salad in one sitting, dress only the portion you’ll eat, and store the rest separately.
- Add mixed greens to a large bowl and toss with about half the dressing until nicely coated. Add pomegranate, cranberries, and thinly sliced or chopped pears, apples, or oranges. Drizzle with remaining dressing or to taste. Sprinkle with candied nuts or pepitas and feta or goat cheese. Enjoy promptly!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this salad for my one year old’s birthday party (it was a lunch!). Served with chicken salad croissant sandwiches and chips. Everyone loved it! It felt very seasonal (January) with the citrus and so fresh. The dressing is really unique, the mayo gives it a nice creaminess. I’ll definitely make this again!
YAY! So happy to hear this! Thanks so much Leanne! 🙂
I absolutely LOVE your salad recipes and this turned out to be quite a hit for our family’s Thanksgiving. However, the dressing tasted way too garlicky to my husband and me… to the point where I ended up eating seconds of the salad without dressing. Maybe I made a mistake in my measurements so I will try giving it another try, but in the meantime, do you have any other recommendations of dressings from your website I could pair with this salad in place of the creamy dressing listed? Thanks so much in advance for your help!
Thanks so much Claire! I would just leave out the garlic in this dressing; it will still be delicious! That or reduce it to taste 🙂 You could also make this poppyseed dressing: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/poppyseed-dressing/
This salad is delicious! We enjoyed it alongside breakfast sandwiches for dinner tonight. 🙂
Delish! I’m so glad you enjoyed! 🙂