
This fruity seasonal salad not only tastes delicious, but it will also brighten your winter meals with its vibrant color and crunchy texture. Serves 4.
Ingredients for the salad:
4 ounces baby spinach
2 ounces arugula
2 pears, unpeeled, cored, and sliced
1 cup candied pecans (see below)
1 cup pomegranate seeds
Ingredients for the candied pecans:
1 cup raw pecan halves
2 tablespoons date syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Ingredients for the citrus vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons orange zest (from 1 orange)
½ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ tablespoon date syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons shallot, minced
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss together the pecans, date syrup, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Then spread the nuts in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast for 7-8 minutes. Watch closely to make sure they don’t burn.
- Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together in a jar.
- Assemble the salads by adding the baby spinach and arugula to a large bowl. Then add ½ cup of the dressing to the greens and toss it together. Divide the dressed greens among the serving plates and top the greens with the pear slices, candied pecans, and pomegranate seeds.
- Spoon a little extra dressing over the top of each salad and serve.

Elspeth Feldman, Director of Culinary Arts at Vegan News Daily, is also known as “The Speedy Vegan.” She is an author, educator, and cooking instructor with a dynamic global following dedicated to her online and broadcast work, focusing on a whole-food, plant-based approach to everyday and special-occasion meals that are, in her words, “delicious, nutritious, fresh, and fast.” Her cooking classes are available on her blog, TheSpeedyVegan.com, and her cooking videos are on the Vegan News Daily YouTube channel. She was born and raised on a dairy farm in Zimbabwe and has traveled extensively, having lived in England, Greece, and Australia before settling down in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. with her husband of 31 years, Paul. In her cooking, she brings a distinctively global context to her creations and loves to turn classic meat-based meals into fabulous, whole-food, plant-based vegan creations that are prepared without sugar, salt, or oil. Follow her on Instagram @TheSpeedyVegan.