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Clementine Arugula Cranberry Salad

This delicious Clementine Cranberry Arugula Salad features sweet clementines, dried cranberries, jewel-toned pomegranate seeds, vibrant clementine-pickled onions and crunchy butter-roasted pecans.

Course Salad, Side
Cuisine American
Keyword Clementine Arugula Salad
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6
Author Chris Scheuer

Ingredients

For the clementine picked red onions:

  • cup hot water
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 medium red onion halved and thinly sliced from stem to root end
  • cup rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup fresh clementine juice 2-3 medium size clementines

For the butter-roasted pecans:

  • 1 cup pecan halves
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the maple balsamic dressing:

  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 ½ teaspoons grainy Dijon mustard
  • 1 medium garlic clove finely minced
  • 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the salad:

  • 5 ounces arugula 6 cups
  • 3-4 medium clementines peeled and halved then sliced about ¼-inch thick
  • ¼ cup clementine pickled red onions more, to taste
  • cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup pomegranate arils or seeds
  • 2-3 tablespoons maple balsamic dressing more, to taste
  • ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese optional
  • ½ cup butter toasted pecans or to taste

Instructions

For the clementine pickled red onions:

  1. Combine hot water, sugar and salt in a medium size jar with a screw-on lid. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

  2. Add the onion, clementine juice and rice vinegar. Screw on the lid and shake well. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Can be made several days in advance.

For the butter toasted pecans:

  1. Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Line a sheet pan with foil for easy cleanup.

  2. Place the butter in a medium size microwave-safe bowl, cover it with a paper towel and cook on high power for 40-50 seconds or until melted. Add the pecans and salt. Stir well to coat. Turn the pecans out onto the prepared pan.

  3. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, stirring and redistributing every 5 minutes until medium golden brown. Remove from the oven to a paper towel line plate and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.

For the dressing:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well. Shake again before serving.

For the salad:

  1. Place arugula in a large salad bowl or serving platter. Top with the sliced clementines, drained red onions, dried cranberries, a scatter of pomegranate arils and the crumbled goat cheese (if using).

  2. Drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of the dressing. Top with butter-roasted pecans. Serve extra dressing at the table.

  3. You can also serve this salad on individual plates for a pretty presentation.

Recipe Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn't have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

Nutritional information not given since the recipe makes more dressing, picked red onions and pecans than what is needed for 1 large salad.