This Christmas Salad is a must on any festive dinner table this year. Really easy to put together, and it's made up of ingredients you probably already have in your fridge leftover from other meals.
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This Christmas Salad is full of flavour and texture, and it has a little something for everyone. A bed of spinach, rocket (arugula) and shredded sprouts (trust us on this one), then some chunks of beetroot and clementine segments.
All brought together with a sweet dressing made with honey and pomegranate molasses. Finally, it's topped with flaked almonds, dried cranberries and some crumbled goats cheese. The ultimate festive salad!
Sometimes Christmas food can feel a bit heavy, so this lightens things up a little with lots of flavour and it is a great salad recipe for Christmas to feed a hungry crowd as it's easy to double or triple. Just make sure you have a bowl big enough to serve it in! It's easy to make vegan too.
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Christmas Salad Ingredients
- Greens -A mixture of raw spinach, rocket (arugula) and shredded Brussels sprouts. You can use romaine, iceberg and little gem or you could swap the spinach for kale, but make sure to massage kale first to soften it.
- Fruit and vegetables - Chunks of cooked beetroot make it nice and filling, and segments of clementine lighten it up a little and add some sweetness to this Christmas salad. You could add chunks of roasted veg that you might have leftover from your Christmas dinner and add some slices of apple too.
- Dressing
- Toppings - We used some flaked almonds, dried cranberries and then some crumbled goat cheese. You could use walnuts or pecans instead of almonds and swap the dried cranberries for raisins or dried cherries. Got some blue cheese leftover from your Christmas cheeseboard? Use that instead of the goat's cheese.
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
How to Make a Christmas Salad
- Step 1: Put all the dressing ingredients in another bowl and mix well.
- Step 2: Put the greens into a large bowl.
- Step 3: Put the beetroot and clementines in the bowl with the greens and pour over the dressing and mix well.
- Step 4: Put into a serving bowl and add the almonds, cranberries and goat's cheese.
Christmas Salad Dressing
This Christmas salad recipe has so much going for it, but really it is the dressing that brings it to life.
We used a basic olive oil and apple cider vinegar with salt and pepper base and then added some finely diced shallots, a squeeze of the best quality honey we could find and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses.
If you haven't tried pomegranate molasses before, get yourself a bottle. Not only does it add loads of flavour to salad dressings, but you can use it to sweeten iced tea, as a glaze on salmon or meat, mix it into dips or just drizzle it on roasted vegetables. It has so many uses.
If you want to make this dressing a little more special, and festive, add a splash of champagne to it.
Dannii's Top Tips
- If you want to make this in advance, then prepare everything separately and then dress it just before serving so the salad doesn't go soggy.
- To make this salad vegan, leave out the cheese (or use a vegan alternative) and swap the honey for maple syrup.
- Make the most of Christmas leftovers and toss some leftover shredded turkey into this.
- Why not get creative with this salad and form it so it looks like a wreath. Put the dressing in a small bowl in the middle and build the greens around it and then "decorate" it with the toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this is a good dish to prepare in advance, so you have less to do on the big day. Put all of the greens, fruit and vegetables together, make the dressing up and get the toppings together and then keep them all separate.
About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve the salad, mix everything together. Don't dress the salad in advance, because the salad will get soggy.
An undressed salad will store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. If you have already dressed the salad and you have leftovers, then it will keep for up to 24 hours, but it might get a little soggy.
More Salad Recipes
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Recipe
Easy Christmas Salad
Ingredients
- 40 g (2 cups) Rocket (arugula)
- 50 g (1.66 cups) Spinach
- 10 Brussels sprouts - shredded
- 1 Clementine - peeled and de-segmented
- 10 g (1 tablespoon) Flaked almonds
- 20 g (0.25 cups) Dried cranberries
- 2 Cooked beetroot
- 40 g (0.25 cups) Goat's cheese - crumbled
- 3 tablespoon Olive oil
- 3 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1 pinch Sea salt
- 1 pinch Ground black pepper
- 2 Shallots - finely diced
- 2 tablespoon Pomegranate molasses
Instructions
- Put 3 tablespoon Olive oil, 3 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon Honey, 2 tablespoon Pomegranate molasses, 2 Shallots and 1 pinch Sea salt into a bowl and mix well.
- Put 40 g Rocket (arugula), 50 g Spinach and 10 Brussels sprouts into a large bowl.
- Put 2 Cooked beetroot and 1 Clementine into the bowl with the greens and pour over the dressing and mix well.
- Put in a serving bowl and top with 10 g Flaked almonds, 20 g Dried cranberries and 40 g Goat's cheese.
Recipe Tips
- If you want to make this in advance, then prepare everything separately and then dress it just before serving so the salad doesn't go soggy.
- To make this salad vegan, leave out the cheese (or use a vegan alternative) and swap the honey for maple syrup.
- Make the most of Christmas leftovers and toss some leftover shredded turkey into this.
- Why not get creative with this salad and form it so it looks like a wreath. Put the dressing in a small bowl in the middle and build the greens around it and then "decorate" it with the toppings.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Charlotte Ayling says
Love this salad, Dannii! Made it for Christmas last year and will do so again for 2025. Lovely zingy flavours - a feast for the eyes and taste buds.
Debbie says
Tastes clash
Dannii Martin says
What tastes do you think that clash? As with everything, it's a preference thing. However we have made this every Christmas for about 10 years and it always goes down very well. In fact, this year I am making double portions.
Claudia Lamascolo says
The colors are so beautiful what a pretty addition to the holiday table!
Toni says
This salad is such a showstopper!! Perfect for the holidays!
Gina says
I'm a firm believer that every holiday dinner still needs a green salad! Love the festive ingredients in this one - perfect for Christmas dinner.
Nic says
So fun and so yummy- a great break from the heavier Christmas foods!
Savita says
What a delicious-looking salad! Can't wait to try it out.
Jo Allison says
This is my kind of Christmas salad, so vibrant and delicious plus good for you too! I will so be adding it to my menu this year.
kim says
Such a tasty, colorful addition to the Christmas dinner spread! Can't wait to whip it up!