This festive Persimmon, Pomegranate, and Spinach Salad with a Maple Citrus Vinaigrette is easy to make and perfect for holiday dinners, using fresh produce available from late fall through winter.

a white plate with Pomegranate, Spinach, & Persimmon Salad and a fork


Despite my tendency to go a little crazy with Christmas baking, I actually do try to keep things somewhat balanced and healthy around the holidays by making sure we eat a variety of seasonal produce. Just because it's winter doesn't mean there aren't great fruits and vegetables to be found!

Some of our favorites include citrus fruit like grapefruit and oranges, along with pears that are also in season during the winter. Pomegranates and persimmons ripen and are perfect for eating during the winter months as well, making them an obvious choice for a winter salad.

I love a good spinach salad, especially when paired with an easy, delicious homemade dressing. Spinach is one of those things that I almost always have in my fridge because I add it to smoothies or eggs on a regular basis, or I will use it to throw together easy salads like this one to serve with dinner.

This beautiful, vibrant salad is perfect for a holiday dinner with the dark green spinach leaves and purplish red pomegranate seeds, and rich orange hues of sliced fuyu persimmon mixed in.

A plate of salad made with sliced persimmons, pomegranate seeds, spinach, red onions, and pecans, with a Maple Citrus Vinaigrette.
side view of Pomegranate, Spinach, & Persimmon Salad with a fork and fruit in the background

Just be sure when shopping for your ingredients at the store that you grab the Fuyu type of persimmon, not the bigger, bitter Hachiya that are really only used for baking. Hachiya are sort of acorn-shaped with a pointed bottom and are ripe when they are very soft, to the point of sometimes being described as gelatinous.

Fuyu persimmons, on the other hand, can be eaten out of hand or sliced into a salad like this when they are still hard or just slightly soft. They have a mild, sweet flavor and smooth texture.

Fuyu persimmons are smaller and squat, with a flat bottom, and you can eat the entire thing peel and all, with the exception of the leaves on top that you slice off or any of the large black seeds that you might find inside.

two persimmons

Pomegranates are one of my girls' favorite treats and they always beg for them whenever we go to the grocery store. I love to use them in salads like this one or another favorite winter salad made with pears, pomegranate, and swiss cheese with a homemade poppy seed dressing over romaine lettuce.

The easiest, cleanest way that I have found to get the seeds (or arils) out is by slicing off the very top, then scoring down the sides of the pomegranate where you can see the thicker, white lines that divide it into segments.

Once scored, the pomegranate can be sort of peeled open like a flower, exposing the seeds for easy removal like you can see in these pictures.

pomegranate opened to reveal berries

My girls will happily sit and pick at a pomegranate opened up like this until they have devoured every last aril! But it's also easy enough for me to just pop the seeds out without getting juice everywhere so that I can add them to salads or yogurt or whatever.

Pomegranate, Spinach, & Persimmon Salad

The maple citrus vinaigrette is absolutely wonderful and compliments the other flavors of this persimmon, pomegranate, and spinach salad perfectly. I love the crunch of the toasted pecans!

The pinch of cinnamon is absolutely delicious and gives the dressing that little something extra that makes it feel even more festive. But I have also made this dressing with cumin instead of cinnamon, and that's delicious as well.

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Persimmon, Pomegranate, and Spinach Salad with Maple Citrus Vinaigrette

5 from 12 votes
Amy Nash
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
This festive Persimmon, Pomegranate, and Spinach Salad with a Maple Citrus Vinaigrette is easy to make and perfect for holiday dinners, using fresh produce available from late fall through winter.

Ingredients
  

For the Salad

  • 4-5 ounces baby spinach
  • 1-2 Fuyu persimmons sliced
  • ½ cup pomegranate seeds about ½ a large pomegranate
  • â…“ cup toasted pecans roughly chopped
  • â…“ cup thinly sliced red onion

For the Vinaigrette

  • 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Place the spinach, persimmons, pomegranate seeds, pecans and red onions in a large bowl.
  • In a small jar, combine the orange juice, vinegar, maple syrup, lime juice, cinnamon, olive oil, and season with salt & pepper.  Seal tightly with a lid, then shake well until combined.
  • Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients, then toss together gently.  Alternatively, you could arrange the salad ingredients on four individual plates and serve the dressing on the side. 

Notes

For a different but equally delicious flavor profile, try swapping cumin for the cinnamon.  It's just a pinch of either ingredient but it makes a big difference in taste.  Both are wonderful with the maple and citrus flavors of the vinaigrette.

Nutrition

Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Sodium: 25mg | Potassium: 424mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 2681IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @HouseOfNashEats or tag #houseofnasheats!

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About the author

Hi, I'm Amy

I enjoy exploring the world through food, culture, and travel and sharing the adventure with mostly from-scratch, family friendly recipes that I think of as modern comfort cooking.

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Reader questions and reviews

  1. How WONDERFUL!! I only recently tried persimmon for the first time and it was glorious so I am looking for recipes to make with it! This recipe features so many of my other favorite flavors too, so I am eager to give it a test run! Thank you for the inspiration!

  2. 5 stars
    Confession: I've never had a persimmon. The color is beautiful though and I love the look of this salad. Next time I see them in the store...

    1. Honestly? Me too! At least not until recently. But after trying some at a friend's house I went out and bought a bunch so I could make this salad! They are absolutely delicious this way or sliced on toast with avocado!

  3. 5 stars
    Such beautiful colors! I love how you paired the salad with a maple citrus vinaigrette. Definitely perfect for the cooler months.

  4. 5 stars
    How funny, I just published a post about unusual winter fruits. It is great to have some fresh seasonal fruit for lunch or dinner. The liver needs a break. This salad idea sounds fantastic and the Dominican Convent where we go to Mass has a persimmon tree full of fruits. It is time to go and collect some

  5. 5 stars
    This has some of my very favorite winter fruit on it! I'm still waiting to find persimmons here this year- I need to go hunt some down!!