Winter Salad & Warm Cranberry Honey Dressing makes eating salad outside of the summer months something you’ll crave. Big flavors and warm dressing will get salad back on your menu with a bang!
Do you find you eat salad all summer long and as soon as late September rolls around it goes on the back burner?
It’s soup recipes for the win instead?
Slow Cookers and Instant Pots cook away making hot hearty vegetable mixtures.
But eating a salad has seems best left for May and later. Until now.
This Winter Salad recipe is one you’ll crave in the summer months.
Similar to Fennel and Orange Salad, the beautiful colors, bright, delicious flavors will have everyone running to the dinner table every time it’s served.
How to Get Excited about Eating Winter Salad
Salad in the winter, when not eating it often, is like an oasis of sorts.
We all need our greens but a cold, light salad isn’t what we crave in the cold winter months.
There is a trick to get around this: big flavor and warm temperatures!
When making winter salad, combining seasonal fruits and vegetables creates exciting flavors and is visually beautiful,
‘We eat with our eyes first‘ really is true. The same goes for salads.
The prettier and more colorful, the more we want to eat them.
Winter produce has deeper flavor.
Combining the sweetness of fruit, some bitter greens, crunch from seeds or nuts creates an exciting, satisfying recipe.
Winter Salad Ingredients
This ingredients in this winter salad are simple.
They can be changed up to include any of your winter favorite ingredients too!
- Mixed Greens
- Pears
- Blackberries
- Pomegranate Arils (seeds)
- Pepitas (pumpkin seed kernels)
How to make Winter Salad
- Select two salad plates (or one larger plate if for a main dish portion).
- Divide the lettuce between the plates.
- Layer with the fruit, adding the pepitas on top.
- Drizzle with a few tablespoons of dressing and serve.
How Many Does this Winter Salad Recipe Serve?
This winter salad recipe makes two side salads or one entree salad. It can be doubled or quadrupled if serving a group.
Warm Cranberry Honey Dressing
Beautiful, pink Warm Cranberry Honey Dressing is full of healthy ingredients.
The vibrant flavors make eating salad addictive!
It will perk up the most ordinary of salad ingredients and is a great option for winter holiday salads.
Warm Cranberry Honey Dressing is a favorite to dress up any winter salad.
It is not only a beautiful presentation but full of antioxidants, polyunsaturated fats and Vitamin E (great for our parched skin and hair in the winter months).
Dressing Ingredients
- fresh cranberries
- honey
- shallots
- apple cider vinegar
- grapeseed oil
How to Make the Cranberry Dressing
The dressing is easy to prepare in a blender. Use it for any salads as well as this winter salad.
All the ingredients (except salt and pepper) are put in a blender and pulsed to make a smooth, silky dressing.
Warm the dressing briefly before serving for the best flavor. This can be done in the microwave.
Storing the Cranberry Dressing
Keep the dressing in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator.
Having it on hand makes it easier to add to greens or a full salad!
More Easy Dressing and Salad Recipes to Try
- Red Grape Jicama Walnut Salad with Mango-Jalapeno Poppy Seed Dressing
- 15 Salad Dressing Recipes to Get You Excited About Salad Again
- Mongolian Beef Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette
- How to Make Raspberry Vinaigrette
- Fennel and Orange Salad
Try These Recipes too
- Cranberry Goat Cheese Party Appetizer
- Cranberry Salsa
- Candied Pecans
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Recipe
Warm Cranberry Honey Dressing and Winter Salad
Ingredients
Ingredients for Warm Cranberry Honey Dressing:
- 1/4 cup fresh Cranberries
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 3 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Mustard (dry)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Shallots
- 1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
- Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste
Ingredients for side Winter Salad:
- 6 cups Mixed Greens (prepared mixed organic greens offer many options or use your favorite lettuce)
- 2 small ripe Pears , cored and sliced thinly lengthwise
- 20 large Blackberries rinsed
- 1/2 cup Pomegranate Arils (seeds)
- 6 tablespoons roasted Pepitas (pumpkin seed kernels; available in most bulk food areas of grocery stores)
Instructions
Instructions for Warm Cranberry Honey Dressing:
- Place all ingredients into a blender (except salt and pepper) and pulse to fully puree ingredients to emulsify the dressing. Warm for a few seconds in the microwave before dressing the salad.
Instructions for the Winter Salad:
- Place the greens on two salad plates (or one large plate if making one entree salad). Layer the pear slices, berries, pomegranate arils and pepitas on top of the lettuce. Dress with a few tablespoons of dressing and serve.
Nutrition
Originally published: November 16, 2014
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
This looks absolutely fab. Love the cranberries in a dressing – perfect for the season. Your photos are gorgeous!
Toni Dash says
Thank you Patricia! I too love the cranberries and with the honey they are balanced out without the dressing being too sweet.
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom says
Out of this world. It will be on my table soon!!!
Toni Dash says
I’m so glad you like it Kristen!
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
What a wonderful winter salad. Your photos are amazing!
Toni Dash says
Oh Renee, you are too kind! It is a delicious salad, I’ll confess. I can already feel the dryness of winter setting in making me want to eat more of it!
Beth @ The First Year says
Those gold plates, eekkk!! They are so cute! Great pictures Toni!
Toni Dash says
I love them too Beth! The wide border plates were my Great Grandmother’s the gold and green rimmed plates were my Grandmother’s. So lucky they picked up such fun pieces!
Kay @ The GO Mamast says
Such a pleasing recipe. Your photography makes me want to eat it even more. Nice job
Toni Dash says
What a kind comment Kay, thank you so much!
Aggie says
This is one salad I would really enjoy! It’s gorgeous and just bursting with seasonal flavor!! I love it Toni!
Toni Dash says
Oh I’m so glad you do Aggie! It has so many great seasonal flavors that ‘play well together’. The blend of the dressing also brings out the best in the cranberries without their severe tartness.
Meggan | Culinary Hill says
I was immediately drawn in by your photos, Toni! They are so absolutely gorgeous. Have such a succulent, delicious recipe doesn’t hurt either. I could eat this salad year-round! So pretty! Pinning!
Toni Dash says
Thank you so much Meggan! I definitely will be eating alot of this dressing in the next few months myself!
Rachel Cooks says
The salad is so pretty and pink! The dressing sounds yummy–I love having some homemade dressing in the fridge. Making a salad is a snap when your dressing is ready to pour.
Toni Dash says
Isn’t there just something about pretty, pink food Rachel? Like a pink frosted cupcake. Who can resist it?! I completely agree on keeping some homemade dressing in the fridge. If I start with that I’m much more apt to eat and prepare salads for my family.
Summer B. says
This looks scrumptious and beautiful!
Toni Dash says
Thank you so much Summer!
Jodee Weiland says
Toni, I love this recipe! What a delicious salad and salad dressing for the holidays…any time actually…thanks for sharing!
Toni Dash says
Thank you Jodee! I too love it. Candidly it’s the dressing that usually stands between me and eating a good salad. I love the seasonal nature of this one, the east of putting it together, it’s healthy nature and of course the beguiling pink color! It will be a staple on the ready in my fridge this winter!