Homemade Pomegranate Vinaigrette recipe is the perfect way to dress up winter salads! This pomegranate salad dressing is made in less than 5 minutes with healthy ingredients - including whole pomegranate seeds. It's paleo, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free.
To me, salad is a must-have side dish at any and every food-centered gathering. This Pomegranate Vinaigrette is the perfect homemade salad dressing for your winter salads!
It's packed with fresh pomegranate seeds and a dash of lemon juice, giving it a sweet and tangy flavor! This Pomegranate Vinaigrette is gluten, dairy & refined sugar free! And it's paleo and vegan, so it's perfect for any and every person who will dine at your table this season! Oh, and did I mention that it's ready in 5 minutes or less!
Pomegranate Dressing: Ingredients & Substituions
This recipe only has a handful of ingredients, but here are a few possible substitutions!
- Pomegranate seeds. You can use pomegranate juice to make this recipe, and then there would be no blending required. However I love the nutrients added from using whole seeds!
- Olive oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe. I recommend avocado oil or canola oil if you don't have olive oil.
- Maple syrup. The maple flavor really adds to the fall/winer taste of this dressing, however you can substitute honey with great results.
- White balsamic vinegar. Regular balsamic vinegar tastes great in this recipe too, however the color will change if you use a dark balsamic. Apple cider vinegar also tastes great.
- Dijon mustard. Substitute your favorite mustard, but please don't leave it out. The mustard acts as an emulsifier and keeps the dressing from separating!
How to quickly de-seed a pomegranate
Pomegranates are our favorite winter produce item, we literally buy cases of them at eat them in days. I am well aware that the thing that keeps most people from buying pomegranates is how much work they are to deseed.
Well this video called The Fastest Way to De-Seed a Pomegranate changed my life. I literally can have 6 large pomegranates ready to eat in under 10 minutes thanks to this method!
How to make Homemade Pomegranate Vinaigrette
This pomegranate dressing recipe is very easy to make Just place the ingredients in the container of your Vitamix (or other high powered blender) and blend until smooth. Using a Vitaimx ensures a silky-smooth dressing.
NOTE: The only thing to note is that it's important to add the liquid ingredients first, then the rest for easy blending.
Pour Into a Jar/Serving Container
Once you have finished blending the pomegranate salad dressing, transfer it from the blending container to a glass storage or serving container. I love this salad dressing bottle - I use it all the time. But any glass or ceramic vessel works well
Store
If you don't plan on using the pomegranate dressing right away, or have leftovers, store it in an airtight container with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I don't recommend freezing this recipe.
Serve
Serve this pomegranate vinaigrette on top of your favorite salad! Here are some suggestions:
- Try it on this burrata salad.
- For the perfect winter salad use this pomegranate dressing on this Brussel Sprout Salad.
- Make your own homemade croutons to dress up whatever salad you make! Also try these cornbread croutons.
- For another use of pomegranates, this beet and pomegranate smoothie is a nutritional powerhouse.
Recipe FAQs
Salad dressing is a condiment that I always make at home because it's easy and so much healthier than store-bought varieties. You exactly what is in your dressings (and can pronounce all the ingredients).
This Pomegranate Vinaigrette is packed full of nutrition, which adds to the health benefits of enjoying a hearty winter salad rather than negating some of them with processed ingredients.
Yes, they are one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Pomegranates are loaded with fiber and antioxidants, both of which have amazing health properties. This is why I chose to create a pomegranate dressing using the whole seeds instead of just juice (even though the juice is still nutritious as well).
This recipe lasts for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.
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Pomegranate Dressing (Pomegranate Vinaigrette)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup pomegranate seeds
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 TBS lemon juice
- 1 TBS white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in your Vitamix (or other high-powered blender).
- Blend on low speed and gradually increase to high.
- Continue blending on high for 30-60 seconds or until your dressing is smooth and all pomegranate seeds have been blended.
Video
Notes
Store
If you don't plan on using the pomegranate dressing right away, or have leftovers, store it in an airtight container with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I love this salad dressing bottle - I use it all the time. But any glass or ceramic vessel with a lid works well.Ingredient Substitutions
- Pomegranate seeds. You can use pomegranate juice to make this recipe, and then there would be no blending required. However I love the nutrients added from using whole seeds!
- Olive oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe. I recommend avocado oil or canola oil if you don't have olive oil.
- Maple syrup. The maple flavor really adds to the fall/winer taste of this dressing, however you can substitute honey with great results.
- White balsamic vinegar. Regular balsamic vinegar tastes great in this recipe too, however the color will change if you use a dark balsamic. Apple cider vinegar also tastes great.
- Dijon mustard. Substitute your favorite mustard, but please don't leave it out. The mustard acts as an emulsifier and keeps the dressing from separating!
Nutrition
The photos in this post were taken by Jamie from Dishing Out Health!
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through a link you clicked on here, I receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine!
Kaitlan
OH. MY. GOSH!! This dressing is AMAZING! I'm low key addicted to Wendy's Apple Pecan salad and wanted to make it at home to save money. This dressing is awesome! I substituted white balsamic vinegar for regular. The only thing I would change up is i would add a little more dijon mustard to add a tad more zest and balance out the sweet flavor, but that's just my personal preference 🙂 My blender also isn't good enough to blend up all the seeds, so I just strained the dressing and it turned out great. 10/10 recommend this recipe!
Amanda
Oh my gosh!!! Seriously the best dressing ever! I just made a batch to put in the fridge for Thanksgiving, and I literally drank what didn’t fit in my jar. It’s that good.
So. Ridiculously. Good. Thank you Laura for another AMAZING recipe!
Laura
Thank you Amanda!!!! I'm so glad you love it as much as we do!
Carrie
How much pomegranate juice should I use if I am substituting that for the pomegranate seeds? Thank you.
Ruthie
I’ve been buying pomegranate dressing for almost $4 a small jar and decided to give this recipe a try . I used the Pom Pom juice but ended up adding a handful of pomegranate seeds.as well. This recipe is delicious and I’m thankful I don’t have to buy a jar from the store every week anymore.
I bought a bunch of pomegranates from Costco and seeded them and froze the seeds so I could have them in my salads all year long.
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe .
Debbie
Fantastic, my new winter fave! How long will it keep in the fridge? It goes quickly here but thinking how far in advance I can make it? Perfect dressing!!
Rebecca Johnston
I’m really sensitive to acidic salad dressings, but this one couldn’t be more perfect! It had the right balance of sweetness and complimented my arugula and beet salad perfectly!! Thank you for staring this incredible recipe! Definitely a keeper in my book.
Sofia Mosquera
No wonder,....DELICIOUS..!!
Veronica
This pomegranate vinaigrette really enhances the flavor of the salad, it's absolutely delicious!
Laura
Thank you Veronica! So glad you love it!