This Winter Salad Recipe with Kale and Pomegranate is full of deep, rich colors thanks to winter 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 in January.
This salad serves 4 as a side dish or 2 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 along with some fresh crusty bread alongside.
Winter Salad Recipe
This winter kale 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 add salty flavor and creamy texture. And lastly, a sweet and tangy balsamic-based salad dressing accents all the other flavors perfectly!
Winter Salad Ingredients:
- Kale
- Pears
- Pomegranate arils
- Pistachios
- Queso fresco
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.
Winter Salad Dressing Ingredients:
- Good-quality balsamic vinegar
- Cherry preserves
- Water
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
Winter Produce
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.
Here are a few examples of winter fruits and vegetables to help you get started eating seasonally this winter!
Winter Fruits:
- Grapefruit
- Kiwi
- Lemon
- Oranges
- Passionfruit
- Pear
- Persimmons
- Pomegranate
Winter Vegetables:
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Chard
- Kale
- Leeks
- Parsnips
- Turnips
- Winter squash, such as delicata, butternut, and acorn
More Winter Salads:
- Detox Roasted Delicata Squash, Pardina Lentil, and Kale Salad with Maple-Pear Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Crunchy Asian Cabbage Salad
- Harvest Kale Salad with Roasted Acorn Squash, Toasted Hazelnuts, and Apple Cinnamon Vinaigrette
- Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw
- Roasted Acorn Squash with Arugula Salad
- Creamy Poppy Seed Kale Slaw with Red Pear, Toasted Pepitas, and Golden Raisins
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Chickpeas, Kale, and Pearl Couscous
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith
Winter Salad Recipe with Kale and Pomegranate
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cherry preserves
- 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 pistachios shelled and coarsely chopped
- 4 ounces queso fresco cubed or crumbled
Instructions
For the Dressing:
- Whisk together all ingredients and set aside.
For the Salad:
- Arrange all ingredients on a large platter.
To Serve:
- Serve the salad along with the dressing to drizzle on top.
Helpful Tips
- This salad recipe yields 4 side dish servings or 2 main course servings.
- 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.
- Instead of queso fresco, you could use crumbled goat cheese or crumbled feta cheese here.
- Use any type of dark fruit preserves you like in this salad dressing! Red currant is also one of my favorites.
- To make this salad a bit heartier, add roasted winter squash, cooked quinoa, or crusty bread.
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items. Thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
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