Baby Kale Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Spicy Candied Pecans
This kale salad with pomegranate is made with baby kale and topped with juicy pomegranate and sweet and spicy pecans. It's like candy, only good for you. It's a great side dish for your holiday table.
This kale salad with pomegranate tastes like candy.
No, we're not trying to trick you into eating your veggies. But with all the spicy-sweet candied pecans and sweet and slightly sour pomegranate seeds, the kale is really just a vehicle to help get more of these in your mouth.
It's delicious!
READ MORE: BEST Kale Salad Dressing
What is baby kale?
Baby kale is simply tender, young, kale leaves. You can eat the whole leaf without having to remove the stem as it is still very delicate.
The flavor is milder than fully grown kale, which makes it a good choice if you don't love kale.
You'll often find it sold in packages near the salad greens in the produce section of your grocery store.
Can I use regular kale instead?
Yes! But you will have to remove the stem and chop the leaves first.
And don't skip massaging the kale; it's extra important with fully grown kale. You can also let the dressing sit on the kale leaves for 10 minutes before you eat them, to help soften them even more.
Question: How do you get the pomegranate seeds out of a pomegranate? Do you have any super tricks you'd like to share? Our method involves 15 frustrating minutes at the kitchen counter, and a whole bunch of pomegranate juice sprayed everywhere. There must be a better way. If you've got one, can you share it in the comments?
Popular kale salad recipes
- Kale Apple Salad
- Bacon Kale Caesar Salad
- The Best Kale Salad
- Crispy Kale Salad with Roasted Beets
- Sweet and Creamy Kale Waldorf Salad
Baby Kale Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Spicy Candied Pecans
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
Spicy Candied Pecans
- 1 cup pecans
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 pinch EACH: sea salt, pepper, and cayenne powder
- ½ teaspoon butter, optional
Salad Dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 pinch sea salt
The Salad
- 4 cups baby kale, packed
- Seeds from 1 pomegranate
- ground pepper, to serve
Instructions
- Toast the pecans in a frying pan over medium heat until fragrant and light brown, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn them. Add the maple syrup, salt, pepper, and cayenne powder. Cook, stirring frequently until the pan is dry, about 2-3 minutes. Stir through the optional butter, if using. Place pecans on a piece of parchment paper in a single layer and set them aside to cool.1 cup pecans, 4 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 pinch EACH: sea salt, pepper, and cayenne powder, ½ teaspoon butter
- In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the kale and massage it gently.3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 pinch sea salt, 4 cups baby kale
- Plate the salad and top with the candied pecans, pomegranate seeds, and some fresh ground pepper.Seeds from 1 pomegranate
THIS!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znJgWpk71ZQ It’s a life-changing method for deseeding pomegranates…although I’m a lot more violent and my pomegranates definitely look a little beat up after 😉 Love the looks of this salad, those candied pecans are calling my name!
Brilliant! I’m so doing this next time. 🙂
What gorgeous vibrant colour! A fantastic salad!
Thank you!!
This looks so tasty! I was expecting your old photos to be bad, but they’re actually pretty good 🙂
Thank you! Ya, these old pics weren’t too bad. I’ve had some pretty atrocious ones, though!!
Hi,I grew up where we had trees full of Pomegranate, so we did it every day and feel up big bowls, put them in the freezer and eat them like frozen candies. I cut the Pomegranate in half ( when at the end the crown is on one side) , than I take a plastic bag , put my hand in it like a glove. Put one half of the Pomegranate in my hand with the seeds facing down into my hand.Put this hand over a big bowl . Now I get a heavy spoon and bang on the outside of the Pomegranate. In few bangs the seeds will start falling into your hand.
I agree, this is the best method I learned it from Jamie Oliver, he called it spanking the pomegranate, works like a charm … Cut it thought the ‘waist’ hold cut side down over a large bowl and spank it with a wooden spoon and presto seeded Pom!! brilliant!
I’m going to try that next time. Thank you for the tip!
What a yummy recipe! Pecans are not that common here i Denmark, so i think i would give it a try with almonds instead. As far as deseeding a pomegranate, i simply cut it in half. Over a large bowl hold one of the halfs with cut side down and against your palm. Does it make sense? Then bang on the fruit with the back of a wooden spoon. This will shake the seeds right out, falling to your hand and into the bowl, including those lovely juices. Repeat with other half. Just make sure to choose a bowl big enough to avoid juice splatter all over the kitchen;-)
The way I make spicy pecans is to make simple syrup, boil the nuts in that for 5 minutes. On the side mix together some cayenne or if you have it, togarashi mixed with brown sugar and cinammon. I do everything to taste so I don’t have specific quantities. Then take the nuts and coat them in that mixture while they are still wet from the simple syrup, then bake them on a pan in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or so. Again watch them so they don’t burn. Let them cool and when they cool they really crisp up for you.
As far as my experience with pomegranate, you don’t want to just slice the thing open, make some 4 slices in the perimeter around the outside and rip the thing apart. Then as most everyone else has said, put the portions in a bowl of cold water and that helps release them. I make my own pomegranate juice for cocktails because its stupid expensive otherwise.
Hey Doug,
Sounds like we make spicy pecans in a pretty similar way, except I omit the oven part. I’ll sometimes add cayenne or other flavours depending on what I’m going for. A splash of bourbon is great too 🙂
The way that I get the seeds out is to roll it on the counter while pressing down lightly, cut a pomegranate in half and then literally turn it inside out. All the seeds are easily accessed that way….I have not tried doing this in a bowl of water like the above suggestions, but that sounds helpful too.
Hey Karen,
I bet that rolling the pomegranate gently really helps to loosen some of the seeds. I will give that a shot!
Hi Kristen!
Your website of recipes is great…have sampled some recently at Bruce & Lisa’s! Yum!
Lisa suggested I tell you Stu’s secret weapon for Pomegranite seed removal. Last summer he discovered it at Save On Foods beside the pomegranites & it has made pomegranite life so much simpler…google Shoham Pomegranite Seed Removal Tool on the internet..it is awesome,cheap & actually works!!!!!!
Hey Elaina and Stuart,
Thank you so much!
I’m usually not one for kitchen gadgets but this one looks like one I’ll have to pick up. If I saw it in the store I’d probably question whether or not it worked. So awesome to know it does! Thanks so much for sharing that!!
I cut the pomegranate in half — the put it in a bowl of cold water — and remove the seeds under the water. That way the pomegrante juice doesn’t splash everywhere………Love this salad!! So good and looks so nice……thanks
That’s a great trick. I will definitely try that next time. Thank you!!
I don’t know if you have tried this before, but if you open up the pomegranate, then put everything into a bowl full of water and carefully peel away the seeds, all the seeds will sink and the non-seed parts will float. That’s how I do mine anyway =)
Hey Vivien,
Thanks so much for the tip! I will definitely try that next time!!
Your recipe looks great! To peal a pomegranate, put it in a bowl of water in the kitchen sink. You can cut into one section with a knife then just use your hands for the rest. The trick is to do it submerged. Sounds crazy and still a bit messy but it works!
Hey Juli,
You’re the third person who said they use that trick. You must be on to something!! Thanks for sharing and I’ll definitely try that next time 🙂