Pomegranate Salad with Pears and Candied Pepitas

This pomegranate salad features mixed greens and butter lettuce tossed with pears, golden raisins, feta, and juicy pomegranate seeds. Finished with a fig vinaigrette and crunchy candied pepitas, it’s sweet, crisp, and truly amazing.

If you've never craved a salad before, you need to make this one! It's one of my all-time favorites and definitely crave-worthy.

I like to make the fig dressing and candied pepitas ahead of time, bur even if you don't, it's super easy to make! Nothing complicated here.

This pomegranate salad is great for holiday parties or potlucks! I like to serve it in a massive bowl with the dressing on the side so it doesn't wilt or get soggy.

Key Ingredients

• Greens - I love to mix different textures and flavors together! Sweet butter lettuce tastes great with mixed greens.
• Apple - I highly recommend a crisp tart variety like Honeycrisp or Pink Lady.
• Pear - This is a personal preference, but I think firm pears taste better in salad than ripe ones. If the pears too ripe, it can taste mushy.
• Feta - For that tangy, creamy addition. Goat cheese crumbles work great too!
• Pomegranate seeds - I highly recommend buying a whole pomegranate. The containers of pomegranate arils aren't as bright or fresh, and sometimes they tastes slightly fermented.
• Candied pepitas - These add such a delicious crunch to salads! Trust me on this one.
• Fig dressing - All you need for my homemade fig vinaigrette is olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fig jam, and spices! I double it so there's plenty for everyone.
• Golden raisins - Golden raisins are sweeter than regular raisins with no added sugar. I'm not even a big fan of regular raisins, but I LOVE these!

Instructions

Before you assemble the salad, make the fig dressing and pepitas! You can do this the day before if you like.

Make the pepitas

• Preheat oven - A lower temperature allows the sugar to caramelize without burning.
• Combine ingredients - Stir the nuts, brown sugar, maple syrup, and chili powder in a medium bowl.

• Bake - Make sure you put parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on the sheet pan first so the nuts don't stick. Dump the mixture onto it and spread it in an even layer. You want it to be touching, not spread too thin.

• Break apart - Bake the nuts, then let them cool completely before you try to break it into pieces!

Assemble the salad

There's more than one way to assemble a salad! You can make individual salad plates or make a big salad, then let everyone serve themselves. I prefer the latter.

• Combine the greens - Tear the butter lettuce into bite sized pieces and combine it with the mixed greens in a large salad bowl.

• Add the mix-ins - But reserve some for the end. The mix-ins tend to sink to the bottom of the bowl when you toss the salad, so it's nice to have some for the top. Plus it looks pretty!

• Toss the salad - Use salad tongs or servers to gently toss the salad. I wait to add the dressing so the salad doesn't wilt.
• Serve - Top the salad with the remaining toppings. Place the dressing in a glass that's easy to pour and put it right next to the large salad bowl.

Expert Tips

• Don't over-dress the salad. You can always add more dressing, but you can't take it out. Too much dressing can cause the greens to wilt!
• It's best to use fresh pomegranate arils. The ones in the package aren't always fresh and sometimes taste fermented and bitter. If it's the off-season, you can leave them out. The salad will still taste delicious.
• Feel free to use whichever greens you love or have on hand. I love the mixed green/butter lettuce combo!

Make-Ahead Tips

• You can make the dressing and the candied pepitas ahead of time. You can also seed the pomegranate.
• Store the dressing covered in the fridge in it's serving cup. It will be thick when it comes out of the fridge, you can let it sit for 30 minutes or you can give it a good stir to warm it up.
• Store the pepitas in a zip-top bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
• I like to remove all the seeds from the pomegranate ahead of time so I don't have to do it when I'm assembling the salad.

Variations

• Protein - You can make this salad into a dinner salad with some thinly sliced steak or grilled chicken.
• Dried fruit - I highly recommend trying this salad with golden raisins! But if you can't find them, dried cranberries or cherries work great too.
• Cheese - You can swap the feta with goat cheese or even gorgonzola if you like a stronger punch.

More Salad Recipes

• Fall Kale Salad
• Kale Crunch Salad (Chick-Fil-A)
• Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Basil Honey Vinaigrette
• Cherry & Arugula Salad
• Watermelon Salad with Honey Basil Vinaigrette