A festive and delicious orange and pomegranate salad with seasonal citrus, tender spinach, and creamy rosemary-buttermilk dressing.
Updated: December 2023
Get the newsletter
Are you signed up for the Right Now newsletter? It hits inboxes twice a week with exclusive recipes and seasonal ingredient inspiration. Subscribe today!
In between endless errands and too-long to-do lists, I’m dreaming of warm and festive times with family in the weeks to come. When I get some downtime, I’m dreaming up what to serve for holiday gatherings. And while the main dish of our Christmas feast is still undecided, I’m certain that this vibrant, jewel-toned orange and pomegranate salad will have a place on the table.
Make it at Home or Take on the Road
Juicy citrus and pomegranate arils meld beautifully with tender baby spinach, fresh rosemary, and tangy buttermilk-orange dressing, making for a balanced and delicious holiday salad. The dressing and ingredients can be prepped quickly, just ahead of a big meal. If you’d like to take the salad on the road, simply prep the pomegranate arils, orange slices, and buttermilk dressing ahead of time, and then toss it all together just before serving.
Embrace Winter Citrus
While it may come from farther away, seasonal citrus is trickling in at local grocers. Right now, classic navel oranges and Mandarins are fresh and delicious. Later on in the month, look for Cara Cara and blood oranges. Whatever citrus you select, it will be delicious in this beautiful salad.
Working with a Whole Pomegranate
Besides finding fresh and delicious citrus, you’ll want to pick up a ripe pomegranate. Stores generally sell pomegranate arils ready to go, but I highly recommend picking up whole pomegranates. They’re much fresher, and despite what you may have heard, very easy to pop out and seed.
If you’ve never worked with whole pomegranates before, simply make a shallow cut all the way around the top and pop it off. Then look for the papery segments dividing the sections of pomegranate arils. Make a shallow cut along these seams and use the back of the knife to knock the pomegranate shell to loosen the seeds. Then, crack it open in segments and collect the seeds. This video tutorial is super helpful.
A Jewel-Toned Centerpiece
This simple orange and pomegranate salad makes a wonderful holiday centerpiece! Serve it on a big platter or in a shallow bowl with big sprigs of fresh rosemary for the greatest visual appeal.
A festive and delicious orange and pomegranate salad with seasonal citrus, tender spinach, and creamy rosemary-buttermilk dressing.
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 tablespoon orange zest plus 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon minced rosemary leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk, well shaken
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cups baby spinach leaves
- 3 medium oranges, mandarins, or other sweet-tasting citrus
- 1 medium pomegranate
- 1/2 a medium shallot, sliced paper thin
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, plus several sprigs for garnish
- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
-
To make dressing, whisk to combine shallot, zest, juice, vinegar, mustard, rosemary, and salt. Set aside for 5 minutes, then whisk in the buttermilk. Whisking vigorously, add the olive oil in a slow drizzle. Set dressing in the fridge while you prep the other ingredients.
-
To prep the citrus, slice the top and bottom off of the oranges. With downward strokes, carefully slice off the peel, removing white pith while sparing as much flesh as possible. Cut peeled oranges into 1/2-inch thick slices.
-
To prep the pomegranate, use a shallow cut to slice to top off. Examine the pomegranate, and make 4 shallow lengthwise cuts along the edges where you see the papery divisions between segments. Use the back of the knife to knock the pomegranate all over and loosen arils. Separate segments and gather arils.
-
In a medium bowl, toss spinach with several spoonfuls of dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste.
-
Spread dressed spinach on a large platter and tuck oranges throughout. Scatter with pomegranate arils and sliced shallots. (You may not be able to use all of the arils - reserve those for another use.) Finish with a final drizzle of dressing, a scattering of rosemary leaves, a pinch of sea salt, and several twists fresh pepper.
-
If needed, this salad can be prepped up to 30 minutes ahead, and keep chilling in the fridge. If you need to travel with the salad, prep the citrus, pomegranate, and dressing, and then assemble once you’ve arrived at your destination.
It looks beautiful ad incredibly appetizing.
Looks like it should be in a magazine!
This is one of the most beautiful food photos i have ever seen in my life!
It looks so tasty! I will try this recipe as soon as I can!
Making this for Thanksgiving today. So beautiful and fresh!
Hi Allison, That is so great to hear! I bet it was gorgeous on your Thanksgiving table. I really appreciate the feedback.
I just saw this — I made a similar salad last week, and loved it so much. Your dressing sounds really interesting, I just used oil and pomegranate molasses.
This salad is wonderful! We made it for both Thanksgiving and Christmas! Thanks.
My family enjoyed this recipe so much for Thanksgiving that we made it again on Christmas! Thank you.
I made this today for the Christmas dinner & very bit of it was eaten!
Surprising because this is a family that doesn’t like eating vegetables!!!
Salad looks wonderful.. I can’t seem to find the number of servings the above proportion makes? Am I missing it? Can anyone help? — I need to make it for a larger group and need to know how many side servings the above recipe makes so I can figure out multiples. THANKS!!!
Hi Deb, The serving info is located at the top of the recipe card. This recipe makes 4 servings as a side. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks for asking for the serving size..I couldn’t find it either in recipe or on card top.
I made this for Turkey Day. Very yummy! Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for the recipe!