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This winter kale salad recipe with pomegranate and pistachio is quick and easy to make, and full of deep, rich colors thanks to seasonal produce. It has a great balance of creamy and crunchy textures, and sweet, salty, tart, and nutty flavors.
A lot of people tell me that they think of salad as summer food and soup as winter food. Not me though! I will happily dive head-first into a steaming bowl of soup in the hottest months. And I’m not one to pass up a beautiful salad full of seasonal produce and sit down to salad as a meal, even on the chilliest of days.
This beautiful salad is full of deep, gem-toned colors. It features sweet/tart fresh pomegranate, and nutty, crunchy pistachios. Fresh pears add sweetness. Crumbly queso fresco adds salty flavor and creamy texture. And lastly, a sweet and tangy balsamic-based salad dressing accents all the other flavors perfectly.
This salad serves four as a side dish or two as a main course. If you want to make it a bit heartier of a meal, roast up some squash to top the salad. Or make a pot of quinoa to add to it. Or instead, just serve this salad with fresh crusty bread alongside.
If you’re looking for holiday salad ideas, bookmark this one! The beautiful red and green colors make it a great salad for Christmas.
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Winter Kale Salad Dressing Ingredients (aka Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette)
- Balsamic vinegar – For fruity, tart flavor. Instead of regular balsamic, cherry balsamic vinegar is also a great choice here.
- Cherry preserves – Instead of honey in this vinaigrette, cherry preserves add rich, sweet/tart fruity flavor.
- Water – To achieve the right consistency.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – Olive oil balances the vinegar’s tartness and helps create an emulsion. Also, olive oil helps your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in the produce.
- Salt and black pepper – To make sure the salad dressing isn’t bland.
Winter Kale Salad Ingredients
- Kale – I like to use lacinato kale (aka Tuscan kale or dinosaur kale) for its gorgeous dark blue/green color, and slightly milder/sweeter flavor. (This type of kale also tends to be more tender than other kale varieties.)
- Pears – Pear is a lovely fruit that’s underutilized in my kitchen! Pears lend soft, creamy texture and sweet, juicy, almost floral flavor with notes of honey and vanilla. You can substitute with apple if you like, but pear really makes this salad special.
- Pomegranate arils – Also called pomegranate seeds, this adds sweet/tart flavor, crunchy/juicy texture, and a ton of antioxidants and other nutrients (you can read about the health benefits of of pomegranate on Healthline).
- Pistachios – For crunchy texture and nutty flavor.
- Queso fresco – This is a mild, slightly salty fresh Mexican cheese. You can crumble it or cut it into cubes for this salad. If you can’t find queso fresco, you can substitute with ricotta salata, feta, or a log of goat cheese (chèvre) instead.
PRO TIP: When you’re putting together a salad, choose ingredients that provide different flavors and textures. For example, here I used pistachios for crunch and queso fresco for creaminess.
Instructions
- Make the dressing. Whisk together all ingredients and set aside. (PRO TIP: You can make this vinaigrette ahead of time; store it in a covered glass jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.)
- Compose the salad. Arrange all ingredients on a large platter.
- Serve. Serve the salad along with the dressing to drizzle on top.
Tips For the Best Winter Kale Salad
- I like to use unsalted dry roasted pistachios in this salad for deep nutty flavor. If you have raw pistachios on hand and want to roast them, it’s easy to do so: 1) shell them, 2) spread them in an even layer on a baking tray, and 3) roast them in a preheated 350F oven until they’re starting to turn golden and smell nutty, about 7 to 10 minutes, shaking the tray once halfway through.
- If you have salted pistachios on hand, you can use them but use an unsalted cheese instead of regular queso fresco to avoid the salad being overly salty.
- Instead of pomegranate seeds, you can add lightly sweetened dried cranberries to this salad.
Winter Produce
Why Eating in Season Matters
There are a lot of benefits to eating seasonally and eating locally:
- Firstly, it helps support your local farmers.
- Secondly, items are fresher and so they usually taste better and are richer in nutrients.
- Thirdly, it’s more sustainable because the food you’re eating is local, not shipped in from another part of the world.
- Additionally, eating local food in season is typically cheaper because 1) supply and demand (for example, think about how cheap zucchini is during the middle of summer!), and 2) it traveled less to reach you.
Winter Fruits and Vegetables
Here are a few examples of winter fruits and vegetables to help you get started eating seasonally this winter.
Fruit:
- Grapefruit
- Kiwi
- Lemon
- Oranges
- Passionfruit
- Pear
- Persimmons
- Pomegranate
Vegetables:
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Chard
- Kale
- Leeks
- Parsnips
- Turnips
- Winter squash, such as delicata, butternut, and acorn
Frequently Asked Questions
There’s no cooking involved, so some of the components of this salad can be made ahead of time. You can prep the kale and pomegranate seeds up to 3 days ahead and store them in separate containers in the fridge. Wait until right before serving to slice the pears and assemble the salad.
Raspberry vinaigrette, honey lemon vinaigrette, or a store-bought balsamic vinaigrette are all good options here.
More Winter Salad Recipes to Make
- Detox Roasted Delicata Squash, Pardina Lentil, and Kale Salad with Maple-Pear Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Creamy Russian Beetroot Salad
- Harvest Kale Salad with Roasted Acorn Squash, Toasted Hazelnuts, and Apple Cinnamon Vinaigrette
- Creamy Poppy Seed Kale Slaw with Red Pear, Toasted Pepitas, and Golden Raisins
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Chickpeas, Kale, and Pearl Couscous
Let’s Connect
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Winter Kale Salad Recipe with Pomegranate and Pistachio
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Ingredients
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cherry preserves (see Notes)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Salad:
- 6 cups chopped kale
- 2 pears thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
- 1/4 cup dry roasted pistachios coarsely chopped
- 4 ounces queso fresco cubed or crumbled (see Notes)
Instructions
Make the Dressing:
- Whisk together all ingredients and set aside.
Compose the Salad:
- Arrange all ingredients on a large platter.
Serve:
- Serve the salad along with the dressing to drizzle on top.
Notes
- Serving Size and Nutrition Information: This salad recipe yields 4 side dish servings or 2 main course servings. The nutritional information was calculated based on 4 servings.
- Vinaigrette Storage: You can make this vinaigrette ahead of time; store it in a covered glass jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Cherry Preserves: You can use any type of dark fruit preserves you like in this salad dressing! Red currant is also one of my favorites.
- Queso Fresco: If you can’t find queso fresco, you can substitute with ricotta salata, feta, or a log of goat cheese (chèvre) instead.
- Serving Suggestion: To make this salad a bit heartier, add roasted winter squash or cooked quinoa, or serve it along with crusty bread.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on January 6, 2020 and updated on February 18, 2026.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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