It’s another day, and another very #AmbitiousThanksgiving recipe. I call this recipe the Zac Efron Salad. It’s sexy, sweet, savory, feel-good and definitely delicious enough to put on your Thanksgiving table. In fact, it may just sing to you and give you a six pack. Zac, you sure know how to treat a lady good.
By the way, I know I haven’t been writing much in blog posts lately, but we’re still working through our new site (it’s been SO time consuming and frustrating), but good news is that we hope to have it up and running by the end of the year!
Which means a new website for you to explore, discover and most importantly a better mobile experience.
On a good note, I’m super excited about this beautiful salad. A little green is an absolute MUST during the week before and after Thanksgiving too, and in my opinion a delicious spinach salad can do no wrong.
I do have to be completely honest with you though: I first made this salad last winter, but forgot about it in my recipe drafts and then time went too quickly (as it always does) and pears were no longer seasonal, so I decided to wait until now to post. WHAT A NAUGHTY GIRL.
But hey, it’s finally here in all it’s glory and I’m very excited for you to make it.
What ingredients are in this pomegranate spinach salad?
The recipe is a combination of my favorite seasonal fruits and veggies: roasted sweet and savory sweet potatoes (or you can use butternut squash), juicy ripe pears (they’re the best this time of year), gorgeous pomegranates, crunchy toasted pecans, goat cheese, and a very delicious balsamic dressing. All over a bed of nutritious spinach.
It’s a salad that you can feel good about eating, but definitely doesn’t sacrifice flavor.
I hope you love this salad. It’s festive and delicious — enjoy! xo.
See how to make the pomegranate spinach salad:
If you get a chance to make this salad, let me know by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below!
More healthy salad recipes to try:
Winter Roasted Butternut Squash Black Lentil Salad with Grapes + Arugula
Curry Roasted Cauliflower Sweet Potato Salad
Roasted Sweet Potato & Arugula Salad with Turmeric Honey Mustard Yogurt Dressing
Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Kale Salad with Apple, Gorgonzola & Candied Pecans
Butternut Squash and Kale Salad with Pomegranate, Toasted Almonds + Goat Cheese
Roasted Sweet Potato, Pear & Pomegranate Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- For the sweet potatoes:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into ½ cubes (can also use cubed butternut squash)
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or coconut sugar or maple syrup)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- For the pecans:
- ½ cup pecans
- For the salad:
- 2 (6 ounce) bags organic spinach (about 8-10 cups spinach)
- 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds, from 1 pomegranate
- 2 medium ripe bartlett pears, thinly sliced
- ½ cup goat cheese (or can use feta)
- For the dressing:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, brown sugar, minced garlic, cinnamon and cayenne. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and pour mixture over the top. Season with salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Roast for 20-30 minutes until sweet potatoes are fork-tender, tossing a bit halfway through. They should get a little crispy on the edges.
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While the sweet potatoes are cooking, you can toast the pecans on the stovetop: Add pecans to a pan and place over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 2-5 minutes until pecans are fragrant and slightly golden brown on edges. Remove from heat and transfer to a cutting board. After a few minutes, chop the pecans into big pieces. Set aside.
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In a mason jar or small bowl, add all of the dressing ingredients. Shake or mix well to combine. Taste and add additional salt/pepper, if necessary.
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In a large bowl, add the spinach, pomegranate seeds, pear slices, and cooked sweet potatoes. Top with toasted pecans and goat cheese crumbles. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing, then toss to coat. Add to bowls and serve with extra pecans and goat cheese, if desired.
Recipe Notes
If you are serving this to a crowd/gathering, I recommend layering it on a platter. First add spinach, sweet potatoes, pear, pomegranate. Drizzle with dressing, then top with pecans and goat cheese. Do not toss together.
To make dairy free: Leave off the goat cheese.
To make vegan: Leave off goat cheese and use pure maple syrup in the dressing instead of honey.
38 comments
Just gorgeous! I love everything about this recipe. The ingredients are great, but I love the seasoning for the sweet potatoes.
So happy to hear that, Mimi!
Made this for Thanksgiving, and it’s amazing!!
I’m eating this salad right now and love it so much I couldn’t actually wait to say thanks. But THANKS!!!!!!! It’s so good.
I’m so glad you like it, Megan! One of my favs this season 🙂
Making it for Thanksgiving. I will keep you posted. It looks amazing!!
I hope everyone loves it! Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
Hi Monique! Thank you! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I made the salad and it was a big hit. It was the best salad ever. I had added a little bit of finely diced red onion. I sent your recipe to a lot of people and mostly likely be sending it to more throughout the holidays since this my new favorite salad. Thanks again!!
So happy to hear that, Sheli! The red onion sounds great in here 🙂 Perfect for the holidays.
How would you recommend making this ahead of time if having to drive somewhere for thanksgiving ? Cutting fruit prior but avoiding it browning?
How would you recommend making this ahead of time if having to drive somewhere for thanksgiving ? Cutting fruit prior but avoiding it browning?
This looks amazing. I’m the worst cook in the world but I’m going to use as inspiration to become a better cook. I was asked to bring something to thanksgiving this year so I’m going with your salad. Eeeek!!!! I’m nervous. To make sure everything looks beautiful how far ahead of time should I make this?
This looks amazing. I’m the worst cook in the world but I’m going to use as inspiration to become a better cook. I was asked to bring something to thanksgiving this year so I’m going with your salad. Eeeek!!!! I’m nervous. To make sure everything looks beautiful how far ahead of time should I make this?
Perfect recipe to bring! This one’s super simple and delicious. You could layer everything in a bowl and keep it in the fridge the day before or morning of, and then dress the salad when you’re ready to serve 🙂
Love this recipe! I was just wondering what you would suggest as an alternative to balsamic vinegar?
Apple cider vinegar would be good, but I would use less.
So many fantastic flavours in this salad, and it looks beautiful on the plate as well!
Absolutely! The colors really pop 🙂 Perfect for lunch or a party.
Oh My! This is a match-made-in-heaven: roasted sweet potatoes + pears + pomegranates + pecans + goat cheese + a balsamic dressing. Thank you so much, Monique! This recipe is so awesome I’ve added it to a mini recipe roundup for flexitarians.
All the goods in here! And love that – tons of flexitarian recipes on my site too 🙂
This was absolutely amazing! I made the vegan version tonight and it went down a treat. A great, luxurious salad with beautiful, seasonal ingredients. Thank you for sharing!
Love that! So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Great salad; left out the sweet potatoes because it was for Thanksgiving. Easy – except for getting rid of the spinach stems.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed.
I just made this for lunch, and it was fantastic! I love your website. Every single thing I’ve tried so far has been outstanding. You are my first and usually last stop when searching for healthy and delicious recipes. Thank you so much!
Amazing! So happy to hear that, Mary 🙂
So excited to make this for Thanksgiving! Can this be prepped ahead of time? Wondering if it should be served warm or if it can be room temperature?
Perfect for Thanksgiving! Room temp is great so feel free to prep ahead and save the dressing until you’re ready to serve.
Excellent Excellent Excellent!!!! Made it today. Very satisfying and the FLAVOR!! Wow!! I’ll be making it again….THANKS for sharing!
So happy you loved this one!!
I made this salad for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! Usually salads aren’t a hit, but it was light and refreshing with all of the heavy food. I didn’t have coconut oil and it was still delicious. Recommended!
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
This salad is delicious ! I used butternut squash instead of sweet potato and it was still tasty. A little too much spice on the squash for me and my family, so next time I will use less cayenne! Thank you for a delicious salad that I served at thanksgiving
Perfect! And yes feel free to cut back on the cayenne next time 🙂