A salad is just a salad, right? Not at the holidays. A few small touches and some extra ingredients go a long way in making people happy and creating a side that is holiday-worthy.
This Christmas salad is all about the toppings: tangy cheese, sweet and savory pecans, and fresh fruit, all dressed in a lightly sweetened vinaigrette that has a touch of warmth from cayenne pepper. Of course, the toppings are adaptable to your preferences and what you have on hand, but we’d suggest sticking to the vinaigrette; it will play well with whatever toppings you use.
Learn how to make this Christmas salad, and whether or not you serve it for a holiday meal, you’ll soon find this is a family-favorite side.
Christmas Salad Ingredients
This Christmas salad layers fresh spinach with fruits, nuts, and cheese. Here’s what you’ll need:
Oranges: Around Christmas, oranges are reaching peak season and have their best flavor. You can use any type you prefer. Blood oranges are extra special if you can find them.Rice vinegar: Provides the acidic tang for the salad dressing, but it’s not as assertive as distilled vinegar and a little sharper than apple cider vinegar.Pure maple syrup: Warm and complex sweetness for the salad dressing.Dijon mustard: Helps emulsify the salad dressing and also lends tang.Cayenne pepper: You don’t need much, but it rounds out the flavor of the dressing with some heat. You can use freshly-ground black pepper for a milder heat if you prefer.Kosher salt: For seasoning the salad dressing.Olive oil: The bulk of the salad dressing. Use a high-quality oil since you’ll be able to taste it with the fresh salad.Baby spinach: These spinach leaves are smaller so they’re more tender and easier to eat with the salad’s other ingredients.Apple: Adds crunch and juiciness.Blue cheese: For a good balance of tang and funk. Pick one that leans sweeter if you’re buying from a cheesemonger who can help you select.Dried cranberries: Adds a great chew to the salad with tangy bursts.Candied pecans: The candied nuts adds a bit more sweetness and crunch to the salad.
Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf; Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
How To Make Christmas Salad
In just 15 minutes, you can bring together this most impressive side. Here’s the key steps for this Christmas salad recipe; the full recipe is further below:
Make the salad dressing. Use a whisk or a glass jar to combine the ingredients and shake until well combined and emulsified.Toss spinach with salad dressing.Assemble salad. Place spinach on a platter, and top with remaining ingredients just before serving.
Tips for the Best Christmas Salad
There isn’t much chance you’ll get this salad wrong, but the Southern Living Test Kitchen provides a few great pointers:
Use baby spinach for this salad. It’s more tender than mature spinach and doesn’t have long legs that need to be trimmed or get in the way when chewing.Dress the salad right before serving, then top with all the goodies so they don’t sink to the bottom of the platter or a bowl.Place cut citrus on paper towels to absorb any excess juices before putting them on your dressed salad. Your salad can go from dressed to overdressed with excess juice.We suggest you buy blocks or wedges of cheese and crumble it yourself. Pre-crumbled cheeses often are coated in an anti-caking agent that can impact texture.
Make-Ahead Instructions
For the best results, this salad should be assembled just before serving, but you can get ahead in two key steps. First, slice and juice the oranges up to a day in advance. Then, make the salad dressing and refrigerate it for up to three days before assembling the salad.
Christmas Salad Variations
Feel free to get creative with the ingredients and adjust to what you like or have on hand. Here are a few suggestions to spur your creativity:
Cheese swap: Substitute blue cheese for crumbled goat cheese or feta.
Leaf leap: You can substitute spinach for a spring mix.
Nut flip: If you don’t want or can’t find candied pecans, plain pecans would work. We suggest toasting the pecans first, however, for the best flavor.
More Salad Recipes
For your holiday feast, these other salads are great with the meal’s centerpiece, too:
Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf; Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless