This Holiday Salad is a perfect Salad to make for your Holiday Entertaining. It is colorful, well textured and super delicious. Homemade Cranberry Vinaigrette is cooked partially in Instant Pot and is finger-licking good.
Holiday Salad with Homemade Cranberry Vinaigrette
Easy & Delicious Holiday Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette made in Instant Pot
As much as we love PASTA here, we love our SALADS too. Well, I and the girls do. We can feast on the salad for a meal.
My husband thinks that salads are too healthy for him. LOL. He would never serve himself a salad but will gladly dig into our salad bowls for a bite or 2.
And that’s his salad journey. Short and Sweet. But Olive Garden Style Garden Salad is his weakness. He can have the whole bowl of it and still wouldn’t say a word. Well!
Coming back to this salad, I finished clicking this HOLIDAY SALAD, just before the girls came back from school.
They asked for an after school snack and I passed on a bowl of this salad to them. And they LOVED it. So much so, that LITTLE M (who is turning 8 this weekend) had the seconds.
YES!! Now the salad and the dressing is KIDS APPROVED SALAD too. Can somebody give me a high-five for that?
Cranberry Vinaigrette Instant Pot Recipe
Easy Cranberry Vinaigrette Recipe
I love love love using fruit vinaigrettes more than creamy Salad dressings. Hence this recipe is a keeper for me.
And I think that I will make a big batch of this Vinaigrette and store for future. Why? Because
♥ It is an Instant Pot Vinaigrette made with Cranberries. That means No Babysitting, No Mess Cleanup, and More time on Hand.
♥ It is addictive with the use of spices like cloves, black peppercorns, cinnamon, and paprika. Now that makes it a kick-ass Spicy Vinaigrette made at home.
♥ This Instant Pot Vinaigrette has NO PROCESSED SUGARS. Honey is used to make this Cranberry Vinaigrette.
♥ This Instant Pot Cranberry Vinaigrette can be easily made VEGAN by swapping Honey with Agave syrup or sweetener of your choice.
♥ Cranberry Vinaigrette is Gluten-Free.
♥ Also, this vinaigrette is free of any preservatives or additives.
♥ It is SALT-FREE too.
♥ Goes well with cheese or as a dipping sauce too.
Ingredients to make Cranberry Vinaigrette in Instant Pot
Few easily available ingredients are used in making this Vinaigrette.
- Cranberries
- Cloves
- Black Peppercorns
- Cinnamon
- Paprika
- Honey
- Red Wine Vinegar
Kitchen Gadgets used to make this Cranberry Vinaigrette
Cranberry Vinaigrette Instant Pot Recipe
The Best Holiday Salad
I am claiming it to be the BEST HOLIDAY SALAD. My top Reasons are –
♥ It is super EASY + SIMPLE + DELICIOUS Recipe for a Holiday Salad. To make it easier, you can buy everything pre-chopped from the market and then assemble it the last minute. Just make the vinaigrette before.
♥ It is all Vegetarian and can be easily made Vegan by skipping the Feta cheese and swapping honey in dressing with a vegan substitute.
♥ This salad is ADAPTABLE. Which means that you can easily personalize it.
♥ I would set this as a HOLIDAY SALAD BAR with toppings on the side. That way Vegan and Nut allergic Guests can easily personalize it. And you do not have to worry about different dishes for different people.
♥ Also, This adds so much color, texture and playfulness on the Holiday Table.
♥ Last but not least, adding a salad to your HOLIDAY DINNER TABLE, brings so much of balance in the whole meal. It is like a breath of fresh air amongst all the heaviness.
Therefore do consider adding a good SALAD to your HOLIDAY DINNER.
The Ingredients for HOLIDAY SALAD are
♥ Greens of your choice – Romaine, arugula, Baby Spinach, Ceaser Greens are some of the great greens to create a base for this salad. I have used Romaine.
♥ Honey Roasted Mixed Nuts – I used market bought. You may make these at home. Click here for the recipe idea.
♥ Apples & Pears – thinly sliced. You may buy this pre-cut from the market. Or even can use freeze-dried. You may use fruits of your choice. Oranges and strawberries would work very well too.
♥ Pomegranate Arils – you may take these out at home or buy ready to use pomo arils from the market.
♥ Feta Cheese – I think blue cheese or goat cheese will work well too. Any Salty crumbly cheese would be a good fit.
♥ And of course, the Cranberry Vinaigrette made in Instant Pot.
You will need the following to serve the HOLIDAY SALAD
- Large Salad Serving Bowl
- Salad Plates or Bowls
- Tongs for Salad
- Salad Forks
- A Salad Dressing Bowl or Bottle
Holiday Salad with Homemade Cranberry Vinaigrette
Some Vegetarian Instant Pot Recipes from simplyvegetarian777 are
Madras Lentils, Red Thai Curry, Vegan Beef Stew, Asian Sweet Corn Soup, Red Kidney Beans Curry, Saag Aloo and many more.
Some Vegetarian Holiday Sides from simplyvegetarian777 are
Holiday Pasta Primavera, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Pineapple Relish, Green Beans with Caramelized Onions & Cranberry Chutney, Pan-Grilled Asparagus in Barbeque Sauce and more.
Some Delicious Vegetarian Salads from simplyvegetarian777 are
Asian Chopped Salad, Mung Sprouts Salad, Koshambri Indian Salad, Chickpeas Greek Salad and more.
Recipe for Holiday Salad and Cranberry Vinaigrette
Holiday Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Holiday Salad Ingredients
- 1 large Salad Bag ( I used Romaine) Use your favorite greens or a mix
- 1 large Apple (red delicious variety) cored and Thinly sliced
- 1 large Pear cored and Thinly sliced
- 1 large or 1 cup Pomegrenate pearls or arils
- 1/2 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled use goat or blue cheese if you like
- 1 cup Nuts, Honey Roasted
- To Taste Cranberry Vinaigrette
Cranberry Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 2 cups Cranberry, fresh
- 1 cup Water
- 6-7 Cloves
- 6-7 Black Peppercorns
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Paprika or Cayenne pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup Honey or use more to taste
- 1/3 cup Red Wine Vinegar
Instructions
Cranberry Vinaigrette in Instant Pot
- Place the inner pot inside the Instant Pot. Plug it in. Place cranberries + water + cloves + black peppercorns + cinnamon stick + paprika in the inner pot. Close the lid and set the valve to SEALING. Press the Manual/Pressure Cook Mode and set it on HIGH/MORE for 5 minutes. Once the timer goes off, follow QR (quick release manually).
- Once it cools down a bit, transfer it in your high-speed blender. Now add honey and red wine vinegar to the blender. Blend it till smooth. I did not use any salt. If you would like, add to your taste.
- Cranberry Vinaigrette is ready. Once it completely cools down, store in an airtight bottle.
Making HOLIDAY SALAD
- This is the easiest thing to do. You can do it 2 ways for the party.
- 1. Set it like a HOLIDAY SALAD BAR and let everyone make their own salad with their choice of ingredients. Or just add fruits to the greens and set everything else as an optional topping for vegans or people allergic to nuts.
- 2. Take a large salad bowl. Spread greens at the bottom. Layer apples & pears. Top with pomegranate pearls and Feta Cheese. Sprinkle Nuts and drizzle the Cranberry Vinaigrette on top.
- Your HOLIDAY SALAD is ready to be put out on your HOLIDAY TABLE.
I am sure you will be making this recipe soon. Do leave your feedback in comments if you try it.
Can’t make it now? Pin this HOLIDAY SALAD with CRANBERRY VINAIGRETTE for Later.
Holiday Salad with Homemade Cranberry Vinaigrette
In my kitchen, you will always EAT HAPPY & STAY HAPPY.
Sonal
Lynn
How long does this dressing last? Could I process it in a hot water bath after made
to give as a gift at Christmas
simplyvegetarian777
Hello Lynn,
This recipe has good amount of vinegar. It should have good shelf life. I gifted some of it to my friends. As far as canning goes, I am not sure because of the acid of the vinegar.