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Home » Recipes » Salads

My Favorite Holiday Salad

November 20, 2023 by Lisa Goldfinger 11 Comments This post may contain affiliate links

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Holiday Salad Pinterest Image, a mixed green salad with orange segments and toasted pecans.

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.

leafy salad on a small plate with baby romaine, orange segments, toasted pecans and cranberries.

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.

Small saucepan with cranberries soaking in orange juice, a cutting board with an orange that has been zested, the zester and the orange zest.

  • 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. 

toasted pecans on a sheet pan, oranges cut into segments on a cutting board with a knife.

  • 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. 

leafy salad on a small plate with baby romaine, orange segments, toasted pecans and cranberries. A large bowl of salad in the background.

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:

  • Butter Lettuce Salad with Citrus Honey Vinaigrette
  • Insalata Tricolore: Classic Italian Salad of Arugula, Radicchio and Endive
  • Raw Kale Salad with Honey Lemon Parmesan Dressing
  • The Best Green Salad

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!

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Recipe

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leafy salad on a small plate with baby romaine, orange segments, toasted pecans and cranberries.

My Favorite Holiday Salad Recipe


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 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

Instructions

  1. 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. 
  2. 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).
  3. 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

Did you make this recipe?

If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #panningtheglobe

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!

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Entertaining, Quick and Easy, Salads, Thanksgiving Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Christmas, holiday recipes, new year's eve, Thanksgiving

Reader Interactions

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  1. Kathth

    December 15, 2024 at 12:28 pm

    Loved this! Made it for a Christmas lunch with vegetable lasagna with white sauce. The acid of the salad complemented the richness of the lasagna. Not difficult to make, nor did it take a lot of time. I will make it again this holiday season!

    Reply
  2. Louise M

    November 20, 2023 at 7:38 am

    I've been making this for many years, since you first posted it. I agree, here's no better salad than this for a dinner party. The cranberry orange dressing is fantastic. The pecans and oranges make the salad so pretty and so delicious. My guests always ask me for the recipe. I've sent a lot of my friends your way.

    Reply
  3. Martha

    December 22, 2019 at 1:58 pm

    Beautiful colors in this salad, and it tastes as good as it looks! I love the use of seasonal ingredients, oranges is salads are underrated!

    Reply
  4. Lori Erokan

    November 15, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    Lisa, just wanted you to know that the link to your Amazon story isn't working. It says "come back later." So be sure to remind us to check it out, once it is available...if you don't, I might forget!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      November 15, 2017 at 3:22 pm

      Thank you Lori! Amazon discontinued the service and I didn't realize I had the link there. I just updated the post.

      Reply
    • Lisa

      November 15, 2017 at 3:24 pm

      Lori, if you're interested in my recommendations, look for my holiday gift guides. Here's the link to my 2016 gift guide: https://www.panningtheglobe.com/panning-the-globe-holiday-gift-guide-2016/ It's filled with all my favorite things - most of the stuff you can buy on Amazon.

      Reply
  5. Ruth Fields

    January 06, 2014 at 7:31 pm

    I enjoyed this wonderful salad at a gala New Year's Eve celebration. Congratulations Lisa on this terrific blog!

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      January 06, 2014 at 8:29 pm

      Thank you Ruth!

      Reply
  6. Mindy Sieber

    November 26, 2013 at 10:23 pm

    Two quick things:

    1. That salad looks fantastic! Can't wait to try it.
    2. I love your cookbook selection on your new Amazon store! Congrats on setting that up, and thank you!!!

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      November 28, 2013 at 9:17 am

      Thanks Mindy!

      Reply
  7. Betsy Brand

    November 26, 2013 at 6:49 pm

    Can't wait to try this! Photography is beautiful.

    Reply

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Holiday Salad Pinterest Image, a mixed green salad with orange segments and toasted pecans.

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