Pomegranate Salad with Cider Dressing

This gorgeous pomegranate salad is perfect for the holiday season! Filled with a cornucopia of colorful produce, it's a fresh, festive side dish.

Pomegranate salad in a bowl

This pomegranate salad recipe is the perfect way to add a little color to any fall or winter meal. As we approach Thanksgiving, I feel like foods become more and more brown. I know – we all love cheesy, bready things, but if I’ve found one calling in life (er.. in blog-life), it’s to find and bring forth the colorful foods of every season.

Here, I pack as many as I can into one stunning salad. This pomegranate salad has apples and squash, onions and greens, carrots and kohlrabi, and pomegranates, of course! We flipping love pomegranates. They add vibrancy to any dish. I love sprinkling pomegranate arils on everything throughout the fall and winter, especially over hearty salads like this. In addition to being delicious, they’re known for their antioxidant goodness, and they’re a good source of fiber – like we needed more reasons to love pomegranates.

Pomegranate salad recipe ingredients

Pomegranate Salad Recipe Ingredients

I like to think of this pomegranate salad in three parts: the cooked components, the raw components, and the dressing:

  • The cooked components include acorn squash, cipollini onions, farro, and halloumi cheese. I roast the squash, onions, and halloumi, and I cook the farro on the stove using this method. The roasted veggies give the salad a sweet, caramelized flavor, which contrasts wonderfully with the hearty, savory halloumi. If you can’t find cipollini onions, feel free to substitute a regular red onion in their place. To make this recipe gluten-free, omit the farro, or use quinoa or wild rice instead.
  • The raw components give the salad lots of pop and crunch. They include tangy feta cheese (goat cheese would be great too!), crisp carrot ribbons, shaved kohlrabi, baby greens, fresh herbs, apples, walnuts, and pomegranate seeds!
  • The salad dressing ties the whole thing together. It’s tangy mix of apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and extra-virgin olive oil. It tastes fantastic with the sweet roasted squash, onions, apples, and pomegranates!

Together, these components combine to make a salad that’s hearty and satisfying, but bright and poppy too. I think you’re going to love it!

Acorn squash and onions on a baking sheet

Roast the squash, onions, and halloumi, cook the farro, and whisk together the dressing. Then, slice up the raw ingredients. When all the components are ready, assemble the salad, and serve!

Shaved kohlrabi

Pomegranate Salad Serving Suggestions

Thanks to the halloumi, feta, farro, and roasted squash, this pomegranate salad is hearty enough to be a meal on its own! Make it for a light and healthy dinner, or prep the components ahead of time for lunches all week.

Of course, it’s also a fantastic fall or winter side dish. Serve it alongside eggplant Parmesan, creamy mushroom polenta, a cozy soup, or one of these hearty pasta recipes:

In addition, this pomegranate salad would be a great recipe to add to a Thanksgiving or holiday menu. Pair it with traditional side dishes like green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and roasted Brussels sprouts. If you’re looking for more holiday sides, check out this post, and don’t forget the pie for dessert!

Pomegranate salad in a bowl

More Favorite Fall and Winter Salad Recipes

If you love this pomegranate salad, try one of these delicious salad recipes next:

4.9 from 9 reviews

Pomegranate Salad with Cider Dressing

 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
I love this pomegranate salad for a Thanksgiving feast, but it would be delicious for any fall or winter dinner. Serve it as a side dish, or enjoy it as a meal on its own!
Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
For roasting
  • 1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed, sliced into ¼-inch pieces
  • 1 cup halved cipollini onions or shallot wedges
  • 8 ounces halloumi, cubed
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dressing
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
  • 1½ cups cooked farro
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley and/or cilantro)
  • Handful of mixed salad greens
  • 2 small kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and sliced paper thin (or 2 additional carrots)
  • 2 carrots, peeled into ribbons
  • ½ apple, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts or pepitas
  • ⅓ cup pomegranate arils
  • ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
  • Handful of microgreens (optional)
  • Fresh lemon juice, to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the squash and onions on one, and the halloumi on the other. Drizzle the squash, onions, and halloumi with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 20 to 30 minutes or until the squash is tender, the onions are soft, and the halloumi is golden brown around the edges.
  2. Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, toss the kohlrabi with a drizzle of the dressing and toss to coat. In a medium bowl, combine the farro, herbs, and about ¼ of the dressing.
  4. Assemble the salad on a large platter with the farro, mixed greens, squash, onions, halloumi, kohlrabi, carrots, apple, and the walnuts or pepitas. Drizzle with the remaining dressing, as desired, and sprinkle the pomegranate arils and feta cheese on top. Season to taste. I like to add a good squeeze of lemon at the end, or just before serving for extra pop. Top with the microgreens, if using.

Special thanks to POM Wonderful for partnering on this post!

30 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Ashley
    11.21.2021

    Is there a video of you putting the salad together/layering this? I want to make this for presentation alone! Also.. a handful of mixed greens? Isn’t the mixed greens the base of the salad? Thanks!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.22.2021

      Hi Ashley, ha, there’s not but that would have been a pretty video, thank you for the suggestion :). I gently toss the greens with the farro as I assemble the first layer. So there’s not really a mixed green base, but there are a few greens in there. A shallow bowl or rimmed platter is key here.

  2. Melaine Gough
    11.18.2021

    Hi! What do you use if you cannot find Halloumi?

    • Ashley
      11.21.2021

      I looked for substitutes online and saw paneer as an option! I’m familiar with that from Indian dishes and I think it would be a suitable replacement!

      • Jeanine Donofrio
        11.22.2021

        Oh paneer would be a fantastic substitution!

  3. Elisa
    01.02.2021

    This was delicious when I made it! The only caveat would be if you have leftovers. The squash is a mushy texture compared to all the other ingredients in the salad and that’s not something I look for as a texture in saladsThe first serving I had was amazing though! I’ve never cooked with halloumi before this and there will definitely be grilled halloumi the next time I grill. Definitely a beautiful salad with all the produce in it!

  4. Elisa
    12.30.2020

    Do you cool the roasted ingredients or serve it warm?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      12.30.2020

      Hi Elisa, you can serve it warm or at room temp. By the time you assemble the salad, it’s likely that the roasted ingredients will be somewhat cooled off.

  5. Dolly Mac from bestfriendshipday.com
    09.23.2020

    thanks for sharing lovely pomegrante recpe of salad. Never thought this healthy fruit can also be served as salad.

  6. Karen
    01.26.2019

    Do you eat the skin on the acorn squash?

  7. Julianne
    12.06.2018

    This salad was AH-mazing.

  8. Anna
    12.03.2018

    Love this salad! Feels hearty but still “salary” and not too heavy (I used lots of spinach for the greens).

    I made a few changes but mostly kept it as is. Replaced half the oil in the dressing with sesame oil, removed the parsley/cilantro as well as the feta to lighten it up a little, though I do think the feta would be good in here. Replaced walnuts with spiced pistachios. The Farro I made for another dish as well and that recipe called for saged honey in the Farro which I thought gave it a nice touch. Will be making this again.

  9. KT HOM
    11.18.2018

    Having a dinner party the week after Thanksgiving and this will be the perfect compliment for our meal! I love trying new foods, too. Thank you for starting my day out with a smile from ear-to-ear ^_^

  10. Mary
    11.10.2018

    I make so many of your recipes, thank you! This one was a big hit as it puts together so many of our favorite ingredients. My husband, however is not good with cleaning things like bones or skin from squash and he ends up wasting a lot of the squash, which druves me nuts. To cut it off for him after its sliced and cooked seems labor intensive. What might you suggest?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.10.2018

      Hi Mary, I’m so glad you loved it! I feel you, I’m always giving my husband a hard time about leaving the edible squash skin behind :). You could roast a different squash – delicata squash has a thinner skin than acorn, or you could peel and roast butternut squash cubes or even sweet potato cubes. I hope that helps!

  11. Rhonda @ Change In Seconds
    11.07.2018

    Wow just discovered this site! This salad is gorgeous!

  12. Gaby Dalkin
    11.07.2018

    This fall salad is a beaut!!!

  13. Kim
    11.07.2018

    Can’t find farro here in Spain….alternative suggestions pls?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.07.2018

      Hi Kim – you could use any grain – quinoa or wheatberries would work!

  14. Emily from carvingajourney.com
    11.06.2018

    I love how colorful this is for a fall post! I am always excited for food in the fall but always feel like it will be heavy and fatty. This colorful meal looks so light and refreshing!!!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.07.2018

      Hi Emily, I feel the same way, I love light and bright foods 🙂

      • Melaine Gough
        11.18.2021

        Hi! What do you use if you cannot find Halloumi?

        • Jeanine Donofrio
          11.19.2021

          Hi Melanie, I’d just use extra crumbled feta cheese.

  15. Andrew
    11.06.2018

    Your pictures of the salad is great. I tried to make a “simplified” version of this recipe last night and it worked out pretty good actually. As I have a pretty bad local shop, I was only able to get about 70 % of the ingredients needed, lol.

    I am always skeptical when I see cilantro being used in a recipe, but (luckily), my local shop didn’t have that either.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.06.2018

      Hi Andrew, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and that it was flexible to work with… ha, the cilantro was optional anyway 🙂

  16. Susan
    11.05.2018

    This salad sounds wonderful. I personally think that the kohlrabi would add significantly to the interest factor for the salad. Their flavor is always much milder than other cabbage relatives. It will be interesting trying to find halloumi, though – I’ve never seen it in any of my local grocery stores.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.05.2018

      Thanks Susan, I hope you love the kohlrabi! I find halloumi at Whole Foods, I’ve also picked it up at smaller co-op stores. You could use extra feta if you can’t locate it, but the roasted halloumi really is wonderful.

      • Susan
        11.05.2018

        Thanks for the heads up about Whole Foods. Our only store is a 45 minute drive each way from where we live… I’m hoping I can find it at Sprouts, or maybe even Albertsons, since they’ve gotten much better in the last couple of years.

        • Rachel
          11.07.2018

          They carry it at Jons as well if you have one of those near you.

          • Susan
            11.07.2018

            Thank you! Unfortunately I live in El Paso, TX, which is great for Mexican ingredients, but not much else. And we have only one major grocery chain (Albertsons), plus some smaller, local ones. Our population isn’t real diverse, so there is a lot less choice for “odd” ingredients.

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.