Arugula Orange Pomegranate Salad
The flavors of fall and winter come alive with this Arugula Orange Pomegranate Salad! It’s a refreshing blend of sweet and savory flavors, with a tangy pomegranate dressing to bring everything together. It’s perfect for dinner parties, holidays or any night of the week!
The countdown to Christmas is on and we’re just days away from 2022…this year has absolutely flown! This will be my last recipe of the year, so I wanted to take a moment and wish you all a Merry Christmas and prosperous new year!
It can be quite challenging to eat healthfully this time of year amidst all of the indulgences of the holiday season. While I love getting a big dose of veggies in a cozy bowl of white bean kale soup or vegetable soup, I crave fresh salads daily.
My kale apple salad and holiday salad are two of my favorites this time of year because they’re so colorful and festive, with some of the best flavors of the season.
This Arugula Orange Pomegranate Salad is yet another example of the way fall and winter ingredients shine.
I especially love incorporating pomegranate into my recipes this time of year because it adds a tart sweet flavor, a bit of crunch, and it makes dishes like my winter fruit salad sparkle.
Recipes like this make eating healthfully during the holidays easy. 🙂
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- This arugula pomegranate salad is jam packed with sweet and savory flavors and it’s tossed in a tangy pomegranate dressing.
- It’s festive and colorful, and loaded with texture from crunchy pomegranate arils and pecans, crisp red onion and creamy goat cheese.
- It’s packed with healthy ingredients, and may be customized to suit your tastes.
- The components may be prepped in advance and assembled just before you’re ready to serve it.
Recipe ingredients
The ingredients in this pomegranate salad recipe were chosen to provide a wide variety of sweet and savory flavors and textures. They may be customized to suit your tastes as outlined in the ingredient notes below!
Ingredient notes
- Pomegranate. While you can purchase ready to eat pomegranate arils to save time, it’s quite expensive and you get a lot less for your money. I highly recommend checking out my post on how to deseed a pomegranate as you’ll save money and it’s so easy!
- Pomegranate juice. I used POM wonderful pomegranate juice, which had no added sugar.
- Arugula. The spicy, peppery flavor of arugula really elevates this salad, but it may be substituted with your favorite greens.
- Orange. I almost always have clementines in my fruit bowl, so that’s what I used in this pomegranate salad. Any variety of orange will work perfectly!
- Red onion. The flavor of red onion adds a sharp bite to this salad that works with all of the other ingredients. If the flavor of raw red onion is too strong for you, it may be substituted with green onion, chives or omitted altogether.
- Goat cheese. The tangy flavor of the goat cheese pairs so well with the juicy orange and tart sweet pomegranate. If you’re not a fan, substitute it with feta cheese or omit it altogether to make it dairy-free.
- Pecans. The pecans may be substituted with your favorite nuts or seeds.
How to make this recipe
This arugula pomegranate salad recipe is very easy to make. Simply toast the nuts, prep the ingredients and the dressing, toss and serve!
It’s best served immediately after tossing with the dressing.
Pro tip: Deseed your pomegranate, and prepare the dressing and toast the pecans a few days in advance. Salad components may be prepped ahead of time and assembled just before serving.
Prepare the pomegranate dressing
Pro tip: Prepare the pomegranate dressing in advance as it will keep for up to 2 weeks.
- Place the pomegranate juice, orange juice, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper in a mason jar.
- Secure the lid and shake vigorously to emulsify.
Prepare the pomegranate salad
Pro tip: Toast the nuts up to 3 days in advance, and prep the salad ingredients ahead of time and store separately until you’re ready to toss the salad.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until browned and fragrant. Set aside.
- While the pecans toast, prep your ingredients. Place the arugula, orange, pomegranate, red onion and goat cheese in a large bowl.
- Toss with the desired amount of dressing and top with the pecans.
Recipe FAQs
The flavor of pomegranate is similar to cranberries except that it’s sweeter. It has a great tart-sweet flavor and red garnet hue that makes every dish special.
Pomegranate is extremely versatile and pairs well with a wide variety of produce including berries, apples, pears, citrus, winter squash and greens such as kale and arugula. It’s also wonderful with dairy such as goat cheese, cream cheese, feta and brie, and is a great addition to cocktails and sangria.
Like other fruit juices, pomegranate juice does contain a decent amount of sugar. Be sure to purchase pomegranate juice with no sugar added to keep it to a minimum.
Serving suggestions
This pomegranate salad recipe is extremely versatile. It makes a weeknight dinner special, or it’s elegant enough for special occasions.
- It’s great served alongside white bean turkey chili or pumpkin soup.
- Serve with spatchcock chicken or oven baked pork chops for a delicious weeknight dinner.
- It makes a lovely date night side dish with pan seared steak or blackened salmon.
- It’s a festive addition for the holidays and pairs well with slow cooker ham or roasted turkey breast.
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: Deseed the pomegranate, prepare the dressing and toast the pecans a few days in advance. Salad components may be prepped ahead of time and assembled just before serving.
- I highly recommend checking out my post on how to deseed a pomegranate as you’ll save money and it’s so easy!
- Salad is best served immediately after assembling.
- Nutrition information includes all of the dressing, but you probably won’t need it all. Store leftover dressing in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
More salad recipes you’ll love:
- 15+ Fall Salad recipes
- Arugula fig salad
- Beet orange salad
- Butter lettuce salad
- Citrus salad
- Kale caesar salad by Gimme Some Oven
- Persimmon salad
- Radicchio salad
- Spring mix salad
- Wild rice salad
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Arugula Orange Pomegranate Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces
- 5 ounces arugula
- 3 clementines or 1 navel orange; peeled and sliced or segmented
- 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion or sub with green onions
- 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1/4 cup pomegranate juice I used POM, which has no added sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil add 1-2 more tablespoons if the dressing is too tangy for you!
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Toast the pecans
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until browned and fragrant. Set aside.
Assemble the salad
- While the pecans toast, pre your salad ingredients. Place the arugula, orange, pomegranate, red onion and goat cheese in a large bowl.
Prepare the dressing
- Place the pomegranate juice, orange juice, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper in a mason jar. Secure the lid and shake vigorously to emulsify.
- Toss the salad gently with the desired amount of dressing (you probably won't need it all), then top with the pecans. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Pro tip: Deseed the pomegranate, prepare the dressing and toast the pecans a few days in advance. Salad components may be prepped ahead of time and assembled just before serving.
- I highly recommend checking out my post on how to deseed a pomegranate as you’ll save money and it’s so easy!
- Salad is best served immediately after assembling.
- Nutrition information includes all of the dressing, but you probably won’t need it all. Store leftover dressing in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
4 Comments on “Arugula Orange Pomegranate Salad”
I used shaved Parmesan  in place of blue cheese, canned oranges and forgot the onion…guests devoured it. So fresh and delicious!
Thanks for sharing your feedback and I’m glad you enjoyed the salad! 🙂
Just made this and it came out great! Everyone loved it. Will be adding this to my winter salad go tos.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it April! 🙂