Kale, feta, and pomegranate salad is loaded with superfoods and other flavorful ingredients: sweet pomegranate arils, finely shredded kale, salty feta, red onion, maple salted almonds, and a simple homemade vinaigrette. Bring as a dish to pass over the holidays, or start the New Year with something healthy and fresh!
Two years ago I published this kale, feta, and pomegranate salad with my rudimentary photography skills, so I thought it was time I rephotographed it and made it even more delicious (i.e. topped it with salted maple butter almonds. Oh YES, I did). So, if you need a little healthy holiday salad action in between servings of cookies... I've got you covered.
So what do you usually do for Christmas and New Years? Or whatever holiday(s) you celebrate around this season? My family celebrates Christmas, and for my entire life we've pretty much had the same tradition with a few minor changes here and there. Generally, we spend Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family, and Christmas Day with my dad's side. Unlike Thanksgiving, we keep it really low key and flexible in terms of food. Family members bring smaller dishes to pass, with lots of snack-y stuff, drinks, and holiday treats (but of course!).
I think this year my mom and I will be making this wild rice and pomegranate salad for our dish to pass on Christmas Day at my aunt's house. I'm pretty excited about it -- it'll be the first time I've brought one of my own recipes to a family gathering!
Two Tips for Kale, Feta, and Pomegranate Salad
- Kale. Finely shredding kale can be a HUGE pain... unless you use a kitchen shears or scissors. I'm serious on this one -- I like to place all the kale in a large bowl, and then, holding the kitchen shears handles with the scissors pointing into the bowl of kale, just start snipping away. Be sure to get all those kale pieces chopped up nice and fine. I find that this makes kale more pleasant tasting (more surface area to absorb the dressing) and easier to eat.
- Pomegranates. Lucky for you, I have a post ALL about deseeding these beauts. You can certainly buy the arils already deseeded -- paying for convenience is SO worth it sometimes -- but if you're interested, just click over to my post on how to deseed a pomegranate and be on your merry way to some kale, feta, and pomegranate salad.
The Salted Maple Butter Almonds
Now for a really important part: the salted maple butter almonds. They're ridiculously easy, and they add so much flavor! Try not to eat all of them before they make it to the salad, because I did that, and I was a little sad when I my salad didn't have any on top. And because of my lack of self-control. Oy. Need to work on that.
Anyway, these babies are easy. Simply heat a couplet tablespoons of butter over medium heat, drizzle a couple teaspoons of maple syrup in there, along with a generous dash of salt. Swirl that around in the pan for a minute or two until the butter is completely melted and the mixture is hot (but not boiling). Toss on about ¾ cup of slivered almonds, and sauté until fragrant, stirring occasionally and making sure they're evenly coated by the maple-butter-salt mixture. Once the almonds are done (a few minutes), remove them from heat and let them cool for a few minutes. This allows them to crisp up before they go into the salad, and you'll end up with that salty, maple-y, buttery crunch.
Other than that, this salad is incredibly simple and versatile. The dressing is all-purpose and would be good with anything -- I like to shake up the dressing ingredients in a mason jar or throw them into a blender to really emulsify it.
As always, the amount of ingredients I list in the recipe are suggestions, so you should feel free to adjust the ratios to your liking, and totally add ingredients that seem like they would taste good to you. Cooking is about being creative and getting inspired! When I make this salad again, I think I'll add some finely shredded cabbage or chopped apples for more sweetness and additional crunch.
Make this salad tonight, tomorrow, or this week! You'll need all these superfoods to bounce back after some holiday indulgence (which I highly encourage -- you gotta live!), not to mention some added protein or grains would make it an excellent meal prep idea to keep you eating healthy in the New Year.
Happy Christmas Eve, friends!
PrintRecipe
Kale, Feta, and Pomegranate Salad
This kale, feta, and pomegranate salad is loaded with superfoods and other flavorful ingredients: sweet pomegranate arils, finely shredded kale, salty feta, red onion, salted maple butter almonds, and a simple homemade vinaigrette. Bring as a dish to pass over the holidays, or start the New Year with something healthy and fresh!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 1x
- Category: Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- A generous pinch of salt
- ¾ cup slivered almonds
- 6 cups curly leaf kale, finely shredded and tough stems removed
- 1 pomegranate's worth of arils (use this tutorial to deseed or use 1 cup of store-bought arils)
- ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup red onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2-4 teaspoon honey (to taste)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- For the salted maple butter almonds: Melt butter and maple syrup over medium heat in a skillet, swirling it around with a spatula to combine. Before it starts to boil, add almonds and salt and stir with spatula to coat. Sauté the almonds until fragrant. Remove from heat and allow to cool while you assemble the salad.
- For the salad: Place shredded kale in a large bowl and top with pomegranate arils, red onion, feta, and salted maple butter almonds.
- For the dressing: Combine extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a small mason jar. Place lid on jar and shake well, until completely combined. Test to see if it's sweet enough, and if not, add more honey.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss well.
Notes
*Easily double or triple recipe if you're serving more than two or three people. Increase protein content with chicken, salmon, grains, or whatever sounds good to you.
*Don't forget about this tutorial on how to deseed a pomegranate!
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