Here's a fantastic winter holiday Salad recipe that's easy to prepare and will delight your guests. It contains mixed baby greens dressed in a bright and zesty cranberry orange vinaigrette and topped with fresh orange segments and toasted pecans. It's the perfect starter for a hearty Thanksgiving feast or an elegant dinner party.

This has become my go-to holiday salad for entertaining because it plates up beautifully and is full of fresh seasonal ingredients that are all in perfect harmony - delicate greens, tangy cranberries, juicy sweet oranges, zesty vinaigrette and rich crunchy toasted pecans - without question, the best salad of the season for a sit-down dinner.

How to make the best holiday salad

This is just a recipe overview; you will find the full ingredients and directions in the recipe card towards the bottom of this post.

Make the Vinaigrette: Soak the cranberries for 30 minutes in hot orange juice to soften and infuse them with orange flavor.While the cranberries soak, zest the oranges and whisk up the rest of the vinaigrette: orange juice, vinegar, olive oil, orange zest, salt and pepper. Drain the cranberries and stir them into the vinaigrette.

Toast the pecans: My favorite way to toast pecans is on a baking tray in a 350º oven. It takes about 8 minutes for perfectly toasted pecans.
Segment the oranges: An easy way to cut an orange into sections is to slice off the ends and prop the orange on its side so you can see the thin lines of pith separating the sections. Cut along those lines. Then slice the skin off the bottom of each segment. For more details, visit my post on how to segment a grapefruit or check out The Pioneer Woman's method of segmenting oranges.

Assemble the salad: When you're ready to serve, toss the orange segments with a bit of dressing. Put the greens in a large bowl and toss them with the rest of the dressing. Divide the greens among individual plates and arrange the orange segments and pecans on top.

How to prep this holiday salad ahead of time

Entertaining is fun and it can also be stressful, especially if you're in charge of the cooking. The salad you serve at your holiday fête should be special but it should not stress you out to prepare. What makes this salad truly exceptional is its rich blend of flavors and textures, and the added bonus is that you can prepare all the components at least a day in advance.

Make the vinaigrette up to a day ahead - store it in an airtight container in the fridge and be sure to bring it to room temperature before using it.
Wash the lettuces up to a day ahead - Wash the lettuces and spin them dry in a salad spinner or pat them dry with a dish towel. Spread the leaves out on a big sheet of paper towels. Lay another big sheet on top. Roll up the leaves from one end and put the roll into a large ziplock bag. Store the lettuce in the fridge for up to 48 hours. The leaves will be clean and crisp when you're ready to use them.
Segment the oranges up to a day ahead - store them in the fridge.
Toast the pecans up to a week ahead - store them in an airtight container in the fridge and bring them to room temp before using them.

Other delicious leafy salads from Panning The Globe:

If you're cooking for company this holiday season, be sure to check out Our best easy party food recipes. It includes my best tips to help you host a fabulous party with amazing food that can be prepared with minimal stress.

Here's My Favorite Holiday Salad Recipe. If you try this I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

My Favorite Holiday Salad Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

Author: Lisa Goldfinger
Total Time: 45 mins
Yield: 6 1x

Print Recipe

Description

A fantastic seasonal salad for the winter holiday season, perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas or an elegant dinner party.
Adapted from 1998 Bon Appetit

Ingredients

Scale

1 ¼ cups orange juice, divided (fresh squeezed if possible)
⅓ cup dried, sweetened cranberries (6 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest from one orange
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
6-8 cups baby romaine or mixed baby greens
3 small navel oranges, segmented, peel and white pith removed.
¾ cup toasted pecans

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Bring 1 cup of orange juice to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in cranberries. Leave the cranberries to soften in the juice for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside. The soaking liquid is not needed for this recipe.
Whisk ¼ cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 teaspoon orange zest, ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Slowly pour in the 3 tablespoons of olive oil while whisking, then stir in the soaked cranberries. Dressing can be made up to a day ahead (see notes).
To assemble the salad, put the orange segments into a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of the dressing and toss. Put greens into a large bowl and toss with the rest of the dressing. Divide greens between 6 plates. Arrange orange segments and toasted pecans on top of the greens and serve.

Notes

Here's a great way to toast pecans. Spread pecans out in a single layer on a baking tray and toast them in the middle of a preheated 350º oven for 6-8 minutes.

Do you want to prep this salad ahead of time? The dressing can be made up a day ahead and stored in an airtight container the fridge. Bring to room temp before using. Pecans can be toasted several days ahead and stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. Bring to room temp before using. Oranges can be segmented a day ahead and stored in the fridge.

Prep Time: 40 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Category: Salad
Method: no cook
Cuisine: American

This post was first published in November, 2013. It has been refreshed and updated with more relevant and helpful details added to the written post and revised, clearer instructions in the recipe card. The recipe itself has not been altered because it is great just the way it is!

My Favorite Holiday Salad

How to make the best holiday salad

How to prep this holiday salad ahead of time

Other delicious leafy salads from Panning The Globe: