This homemade Pomegranate Vinaigrette salad dressing recipe is the perfect way to dress up your winter salads! It’s packed full of nutrition and flavor…and is ready in less than 5 minutes! Plus it’s paleo, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and refined-sugar free!
Who else is fully embracing the Christmas season?! 🎄🙋🏻 This is my favorite time of the year and we are just loving it! I have already inundated you with dessert recipes, and the chocolatey, sugary goodness is far from finished. However, today I’m bringing you a healthier holiday recipe that showcases my favorite winter produce item…pomegranates!
To me, salad is a must-have side dish at any and every gathering where a meal is involved. It ensures that no matter what someone’s dietary restrictions may be, there will be something for them to eat. 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!
How to quickly de-seed a pomegranate!
When I say that pomegranates are our favorite winter produce item I am not exaggerating. Recently, we bought 3 cases of poms from Costco…and ate them all within two weeks. I am well aware that the thing that keeps most people from buying pomegranates is how much work they are to deseed {and consequently eat}.
Well this video called The Fastest Way to De-Seed a Pomegranate changed my life. I literally can have 6 giant pomegranates ready to eat in under 10 minutes thanks to this method! Plus, if I’m having a bad day whacking a pomegranate as hard as I can with a wooden spoon is a great way to let out all sorts of emotions! 😉
How to make Homemade Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Use a Vitamix!
This recipe is super straight forward. Just toss everything in your Vitamix {or other high powered blender} and blend away!
Why should you make homemade salad dressing?
Salad dressing is a condiment that I always make at home…because it’s SO easy! Plus, by ditching store-bought varieties you will know exactly what is in your dressings {and be able to pronounce all the ingredients}, which is always a great thing!
This Pomegranate Vinaigrette is packed full of nutrition! Don’t negate the health benefits of a giant bowl of green goodness by loading it with unhealthy dressing! Making your own dressing is a great way to nourish your body before loading it full of Christmas cookies!
Homemade Pomegranate Vinaigrette: Substitutions
This recipe only has a handful of ingredients, but her are a few possible substitutions!
- Pomegranate seeds. I guess you could 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 on hand.
- Maple syrup. I loveeee the taste of maple syrup in this pomegranate vinaigrette recipe, however you can substitute honey with great results as well!
- White balsamic vinegar. Regular balsamic vinegar tastes great in this recipe too, however the color will not be as pink and pretty if you use a dark balsamic!
- Dijon mustard. Feel free to sub your favorite mustard, but please don’t leave it out. The mustard acts as an emulsifier and keeps the dressing from separating!
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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.
Nutrition
#Eat Seasonal December
This Pomegranate Vinaigrette recipe comes to you as part of one of my favorite times of the month…our Eat Seasonal recipe group! Every month an amazing group of bloggers joins together to encourage all of our wonderful readers to eat seasonally!
My sweet friend Becky over at The Vintage Mixer posts seasonal produce guides every month to showcase the beautiful fruits and vegetables that are fresh and available to cook and bake with! Check out her December Seasonal Recipe Guide to learn what’s in season {hello pomegranates}!
So here it is…a treasure trove of beautiful recipes that are perfect to make in December from some seriously talented bloggers! Click on the links below for some December cooking inspiration! Join in the fun by tagging your photos with #eatseasonal!
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!
taylor johnson @tayloright
This pomegranate vinaigrette dressing looks so divine! Thank you for sharing Laura!
Laura
Thank you Taylor!
Gene Eliades
Excellence recipe. I loosely followed the quantities as I like to follow my instinct and the only substitute was- instead of maple syrup, some almond flavored sugar substitute my wife uses in her coffee, maybe half of tsp. I wish I took a picture of the salad I made but there is nothing left of it. Wild greens, red pepper, mixed cherry tomatoes, feta, a bit of cucumber, almonds and pecans, crushed….
The beef roast turned out very good and the wild mushroom risotto was as lovely as usual but it was the salad with pomegranate dressing that stole the show.
From Canada with love!
Jessica @FitnessEquipmentsLab
Hi Laura, The pomegranate vinaigrette look perfect. the color is beautiful 🙂
Raina
I want to keep this color but don’t have white balsamic. Have you tried substituting white vinegar for the white balsamic? Thanks!
Sonja
I have 2 pomegranates sitting in my fridge now, will this equal 3/4 cup seeds?? Also, how long will this keep in the fridge? Thanks!
Laura
Hey Sonja! That will probably be a little more than 3/4 cup seeds, although that depends on the size of your pomegranates and they vary quite a bit in that department! It should keep for up to a week!
Kelly
Could this dressing be preserved by canning? If so, how? Also, what is the equivalent of Pom juice to the 3/4 cup of seeds? Thanks
Laura
Hey Kelly! I am not familiar with the canning process, as that hasn’t been something I have explored in my culinary adventures yet! 🙂 I would use 1/2 cup of pomegranate juice for the 3/4 cup of seeds!
Robin Hamilton @Wellness Wires
Oh my! This pomegranate vinaigrette was delicious – and so easy to make! Will have to try this for my family. Thanks so much!