This festive vegan Christmas salad is the perfect side dish to serve with your holiday meal! Loaded with arugula, nutty wild rice, roasted pecans, juicy pomegranate arils, green onions, tart dried cherries, and tangy garlic dijon dressing; this hearty gluten-free salad is a major crowd pleaser!
This is my all-time favorite salad! I love the combination of flavors, textures, and colorful ingredients. The salad is made with a mixture of peppery arugula, tart dried cherries, nutty wild rice, sweet pomegranate arils, and roasted pecans tossed in a tangy garlic dijon dressing. It's incredibly tasty! This vegan Christmas salad is definitely a crowd-pleaser and it's the perfect vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free holiday side dish to serve your family and friends!
Ingredients You'll Need
This delicious and festive vegan Christmas salad recipe is made with a combination of fresh ingredients and pantry staples. Let's talk about the main ingredients and substitutions if you need them.
- Arugula: Arugula adds a light, peppery flavor to the salad and a beautiful pop of green. You can substitute fresh spinach, spring mix, thinly sliced kale leaves (that have been massaged first), or romaine lettuce.
- Roasted Pecans: Roasted walnuts or cashews are a good substitute for pecans. If you are nut-free, you could use pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or crunchy roasted chickpeas instead.
- Wild Rice: Wild rice tastes nutty and chewy, it adds so much flavor, texture, and heartiness to this salad! You can substitute brown rice, quinoa, farro, or einkorn wheat berries.
- Dried Cherries: You could substitute dried cranberries or goji berries.
How to Cut a Pomegranate (Mess-Free Method!)
I've tried so many different ways to cut a pomegranate, but this truly is the easiest, quickest, and the best way (that I've found!) to cut a pomegranate without making a mess!
Step #1 - Use a sharp knife to cut a 2-inch x 2-inch square into the top of the pomegranate and remove the skin (Photo 1).
Step #2 - Once you remove the top, you should be able to see the white membranes that separate the pomegranate into sections. Use your knife and make an incision along each of the membrane lines (Photos 2 & 3).
Step #3 - Gently pull all of the wedges away from the core of the pomegranate (Photo 4).
Step #4 - You can tear or cut each wedge away from the base of the pomegranate. Then use your fingers to gently pop off each of the pomegranate arils. If you run your fingers over the wedges, the arils should easily pop off and fall into the bowl below without any splattering (Photo 5).
You may need to peel off pieces of the membrane to remove all of the arils. Repeat with each wedge until all of the arils have been removed from the pomegranate (Photo 6).
How to Make Vegan Christmas Salad
First, cook the wild rice. The easiest way to cook wild rice is to cook it like pasta. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil. Salt the water and add the wild rice. Reduce the heat to a low simmer (medium-high), and let the rice cook for 40-45 minutes. Most of the grains will pop open and be chewy and tender. Drain any excess water and set aside to cool.
While the wild rice is cooling, prep all the salad ingredients. Roughly chop the arugula and pecans, slice the green onions, and remove the arils from the pomegranate.
In a small container, whisk together the dressing ingredients (Photo 6). Once the wild rice has cooled completely, you can combine all of the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl (Photos 1-5). Drizzle the salad dressing over the salad and mix it well to combine.
Serving Suggestions
I call this a Christmas salad because of its mostly red and green ingredients, but, I actually make this dish every year for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas because it's my mom's favorite and she always requests it! However, this recipe can be enjoyed at any time of the year. It makes a delicious side dish to go with any of the following main course recipes.
Can I Make This Salad in Advance?
Yes, you can make this salad the day before. Combine all of the ingredients except for the dressing in a large covered bowl and store it in the fridge. You can make the dressing in advance but wait until right before serving to add the dressing and then toss to combine.
How Long Does it Last in the Refrigerator?
Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge and it should stay fresh for 2-3 days. The dressing will cause the arugula to wilt a little bit, but it will still taste delicious.
Can I Freeze It?
No, this salad doesn't freeze well. The fresh arugula won't hold up to being frozen and defrosted. It's best to enjoy this salad fresh.
Notes & FAQ
- What else could I add to the salad? Vegan feta cheese crumbles would be a delicious addition to this salad. I've done this before and I used a block of Violife feta cheese, it was delicious!
- Should I serve this warm or cold? This vegan wild rice salad is best enjoyed cold (if you prep the ingredients ahead of time and they're chilled from being in the fridge) or at room temperature, if you make it fresh. If you eat the salad with hot rice, the heat will wilt the arugula and the salad won't have the best texture.
- Can I use raw pecans? Sure! To roast the pecans, arrange them on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake them at 350 degrees for 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned. You'll be able to smell them when they're done. Keep a close eye on them because they can burn quickly. Don't worry, if you accidentally burn the nuts, you can use a zester to gently grate any burnt parts off (yes, I've done this and it works!).
Success Tips
- Roughly chop the arugula into bite-sized pieces so the salad is easy to eat.
- Make sure the rice has cooled completely before you add it to the salad so it doesn't make the arugula wilt.
- To keep the salad oil-free, look for dried cherries that aren't coated in oil.
- If you want to prepare the salad the day before or more than 1 hour prior to when you're going to serve the salad, wait to add the dressing so it won't make the salad wet.
- Store the leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Want More Vegan Christmas Recipes?
Creamy Scalloped Potatoes Florentine
Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
Vegan Christmas Salad
Equipment
- Medium Pot
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Small Bowl
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice
- 5 oz baby arugula roughly chopped
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- 1 cup green onions sliced
- 1 cup roasted pecans roughly chopped
- 1 cup dried cherries
Garlic Dijon Dressing
- 3 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp fresh garlic minced
- ½ tsp salt (add more to taste)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- First, cook the wild rice. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil. Salt the water and add the wild rice. Reduce the heat to a low simmer (medium-high), and let the rice cook for 40-45 minutes. Most of the grains will pop open and taste chewy and tender. Drain any excess water and let it cool for 20-30 minutes.
- While the rice is cooling, prep all the salad ingredients. Roughly chop the arugula and pecans, slice the green onions, and remove the arils from the pomegranate.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Combine the cooled wild rice, arugula, pomegranate arils, green onions, pecans, and dried cherries in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and mix it well to combine all of the ingredients. You can eat it immediately or put it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Roughly chop the arugula into bite-sized pieces so the salad is easy to eat.
- Make sure the rice has cooled completely before you add it to the salad so it doesn't make the arugula wilt.
- To keep the salad oil-free, look for dried cherries that aren't coated in oil.
- If you want to prepare the salad the day before or more than 1 hour prior to when you're going to serve the salad, wait to add the dressing so it won't make the salad wet.
- Store the leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Excellent! I made this salad for Christmas dinner to my non vegan family and it was a success. Everyone loved it.
Made this DELICIOUS winter salad for Christmas dinner and it was an absolute smash hit! First time roasting pecans and I don't think I can ever have store bought again. The aromas and rich butter taste was just too good for words. I didn't have white wine vin for the dressing and used apple cider which tasted delicious too. I will definitely be making this one again.
Hi Stacey! Can I leave out the pomegranate seeds? Do you have a suggestion for a substitute? Thanks and Merry Christmas!
Hi Catherine! Normally, I would suggest substituting dried cranberries or dried cherries for the pomegranate seeds, but since the salad already contains dried cherries it doesn't really need dried cranberries too.
However, you could sprinkle a handful of raw fresh cranberries over the top for a pop of red color if you like. Fresh cranberries do taste a little bit tart, so keep that in mind. Hope that helps!
This salad was delicious. Great combination of flavors. Thank you!
Thank you, Andie! I'm so glad you enjoyed the salad!