Fresh spinach salad topped with pomegranate seeds, crisp pears, crunchy pecans, feta cheese, and creamy poppyseed dressing.
Heads up: I’ve teamed up with Diamond of California Nuts to bring you this amazing salad recipe because I personally love the brand and their products!
Isn’t pomegranate the official fruit of winter? Do seasons have official fruit mascots? Because each of the United States has an official state bird and (I recently learned…) a state bug. If there is an official state bug, there should definitely be an official fruit for each season. Here’s my opinion for seasonal fruits:
Spring: The Strawberry. (And other assorted berries…)
Summer: The Orange. (And similar citrus fruits…)
Fall: The Apple. (And possibly the cherry…)
Winter: The Pomegranate. (Preferable to accompany the pear.)
Agreed? Excellent. The official seasonal fruits have been established.
This salad screams CHRISTMAS to me. The deep red pomegranate seeds, plus two shades of green in the spinach and pears, and a little dash of white from the feta cheese. It’s definitely a Christmas salad. That being said, if I can get my hands on a pomegranate in June, you better believe I wouldn’t pass up this salad.
You could pair a fruity or balsamic vinaigrette with this salad, but my ultimate favorite is this creamy poppyseed salad dressing. It goes so well with the pomegranate, pears, pecans, and feta. And the great thing about a salad like this is that you could easily turn it into light n’ hearty main dish by throwing some grilled chicken on top. Mmmmm. Now I’m craving the salad!!!
What people are saying about this Pomegranate Pear & Pecan Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
“My new favorite salad! I did add Granny Smith apples and my husband accidentally bought glazed pecans instead of regular but I wouldn’t change a thing. It was Aaaahhhmazing! The poppyseed dressing was super simple and utterly delicious!! Thank you!!” – Twyla
“OMG! I seriously think I ate 3 or 4 servings of this by myself. I didn’t even care about my main course. I just couldn’t stop eating this. This salad is guest-worthy. I’m inviting friends over and impressing them with this one. And hopefully I won’t eat over half of the salad meant to serve a crowd so there will be enough to go around! 
You are amazing and brilliant!” – Amanda
“I think I found my new favorite salad dressing!!! I made this tonight and added a cup of raspberries as you suggested in another post. I plan on trying it on your recipe for cranberry sunflower salad. I also made it with 1/3 cup greek yogurt and 1/3 cup light mayo as you mentioned. I think it turned out great!! I get bored with eating salads but this will definitely help me stay on track with eating healthy! Thank you!!!” – Deanna
“I made this salad for a garden club meeting today with great success! I used splenda 3 tablespoons instead of sugar to make the dressing sugar-free and it was delicious! Love your recipes, thank you!” – Donna
Pomegranate Pear & Pecan Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1-2 pears - cored and thinly sliced
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup pecans - whole, or roughly chopped, (such as Diamond of California Pecan Halves)
Dressing
- ⅔ cup mayo - (see notes)
- ½ cup Half & Half - (I used fat free), or ither milk, see note
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 4 teaspoons poppyseeds
Instructions
- Blend all salad ingredients together (except for poppy seeds) until smooth. Stir in poppy seeds. Cover and chill until ready to use.
- In a large bowl toss spinach leaves, sliced pears, pomegranate seeds, feta cheese, and pecans. Serve with poppyseed dressing.
- *If preparing ahead of time, toss together all salad ingredients except for pears. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Add pears just before serving.
Notes
**You can sub plain greek yogurt for the mayo. This will create a different flavor but it will be healthier. I suggest trying 1/3 cup mayo, 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt before you dive into full greek yogurt. 🙂 Milk: (any percentage of milk will work- the higher the percentage, the creamier your dressing will be)
I love your official seasonal fruits. Can we add pear to the fall list too? This salad feels like it balances the line between fall and winter, which is perfect for the weather we’re having over here. That poppyseed dressing sounds AMAZING – I want to put it on all of my salads.
Request: APPROVED. Pear shall henceforth be our transitional fall-to-winter fruit. Genius!!
This salad not only looks beautiful, it sounds delicious as well! What an awesome salad recipe…thanks for sharing!
This is such a perfect mix of textures and flavors and the poppy seed dressing ties it all together!
Love the colors and ingredients of this salad. We’ve been munching on pomegranates like no tomorrow, because I found a local place I can buy them for less than a buck each 🙂 I miss those days back in So. Cal. when poms just grew on bushes on any old sidewalk. Poppyseed dressing is a staple for us, and your recipe for it looks great.
Pecans go so well in salads! This salad is (almost) too pretty to eat! 🙂