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+ servings

Vegetarian Christmas Salad

My super colorful Christmas salad recipe is perfectly festive, while being a slightly lighter vegetarian option. It's filling with grains, beans and veggies, but also full of treats like pomegranate seeds, honey pecans and crumbled blue cheese. The recipe is completely adaptable to your family's tastes and could be the ideal Christmas Eve or Boxing Day meal, or something to bring along to a holiday get-together!
5 from 1 rating

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (185 g) cooked grains, I use a quinoa - bulgur mix
  • 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • ½ cup (80 g) pomegranate seeds
  • ¼ cup (12 g) mint, chopped
  • cup (60 g) blue cheese crumbles, you can swap in feta
  • 2-3 cups (80 g) baby spinach
  • ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) red onion, minced

Roasted Vegetables

  • 1 lb (450 g) chestnut mushrooms, de-stemmed and quartered
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 large sweet potato, cubed
  • ½ tsp cinnamon

Honey Pecans

  • 1 cup pecans, whole or halves
  • 1.5 tbsp honey

Dressing

  • 2 tsp orange zest
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tbsp dijon mustard
  • ½ tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp cider vinegar

Instructions 

  • Heat the oven to 200C / 400F.
  • Prepare your grains, if they aren't pre cooked. Set them cooking according to package instructions. Once ready, scoop 1 cup into a bowl and leave to cool.
    1 cup cooked grains
  • Prepare the sweet potato. In a mixing bowl, toss the cubes in the cinnamon and add just enough olive oil to coat each cube lightly. Scatter on a baking sheet.
    1 large sweet potato, 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Prepare the mushrooms. Feel free to re-use the same bowl, it is fine if some cinnamon gets on them too. Toss them with enough olive oil to lightly coat them, and the balsamic vinegar. Scatter on another baking tray (it can be the same one if large enough - but it needs to be about 18 inches or 45 cm long to fit both ingredients comfortably)
    1 lb chestnut mushrooms, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • Roast the sweet potatoes and mushrooms for 20-30 minutes until the sweet potato is soft and the mushrooms are browned and reduced.
  • Prepare the pecans. Cover a plate with parchment / baking paper and set to one side. Heat a frying pan (no oil) on a low heat. Add the pecans and allow to toast until lightly browned and fragrant. Pour the honey into the pan. It will quickly bubble up and reduce. Mix with a spatula to coat the pecans and remove from the heat very quickly, pouring them out onto the plate with parchment paper. Try to keep them to a single layer, not overlapping. Sprinkle with a little salt, and leave them to cool.
    1 cup pecans, 1.5 tbsp honey
  • Prepare your dressing by whisking all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
    2 tsp orange zest, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard, 1/2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp cider vinegar
  • When the sweet potatoes and mushrooms are ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool while you begin to assemble the salad.
  • Add the spinach, onion, pomegranate seeds, mint, cannellini beans and grains to the bowl.
    1 can cannellini beans, 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, 1/4 cup mint, 2-3 cups baby spinach, 1/4 cup red onion
  • Pour the dressing over the top. Toss the salad to mix through.
  • Add the blue cheese (or feta), pecans (you may need to break them up a little if they're sticking together) and vegetables to the bowl. Toss to mix through.
    1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles, 1 cup pecans
  • Serve!
Calories: 638kcal, Carbohydrates: 85g, Protein: 22g, Fat: 28g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 456mg, Potassium: 1342mg, Fiber: 16g, Sugar: 19g, Vitamin A: 13697IU, Vitamin C: 12mg, Calcium: 241mg, Iron: 7mg