Pomegranate Salad aka Dixie Salad

Recipes

Dixie salad is a Thanksgiving family favorite dish. I’m from southern Utah, and I have vivid memories of picking pomegranates for fresh eating and this salad. It tastes more like a dessert, but we always ate it as a salad on the same plate as the rest of our dinner.

The pomegranate, nut, and apple combination gives it a good crunch, while the grapes, whipped cream, and other fruits add a delicious sweetness. It’s one you won’t want to miss!

A white dish filled with pomegranate salad topped with pomegranate seeds and pecans, showcasing a creamy fruit mixture.

Watch me make this recipe!

Ingredients

  • Equal portions of chopped bananas, chopped apples, seedless grapes, and drained pineapple tidbits (I did about 1 cup of each)
  • 1 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Mexican vanilla

Step 1

Dice the bananas, apples, and grapes. Do yourself a favor and get one of these fruit choppers. Everything comes out uniform, and it’s quick. Add everything into a bowl. I didn’t have any pineapple, darn it.

A hand is chopping small cubes of apples on a wooden cutting board with a stainless steel mixing bowl in the background.
A hand is placing a red apple into a fruit dicer, with diced apple slices being collected into a clear container below.
A hand operates a fruit dicer, cutting grapes into small pieces for the salad, with other ingredients on the countertop.

Step 2

This is my method for cutting a pomegranate – cut the ends off each side and cut a vertical slit in the skin, just enough to open up the fruit. I like to split it a part with my hand, put the fruit seed down in my palm, and use a spoon to tap the arils out in my palm over a bowl. Throw all the arils into the bowl, reserving some for the garnish.

A hand holds a pomegranate as it is being sliced on a wooden cutting board, with a mixing bowl in the background.
A hand uses a spoon to scoop out pomegranate seeds from a halved pomegranate, preparing ingredients for the salad.

Step 3

Give the pecans a rough chop and add them to the bowl.

A person chopping pecans on a wooden cutting board, with a bowl of pomegranate seeds and whole pomegranates on a kitchen counter in the background.

Step 4

Whip the cream and sugar until stiff peaks form, then fold in the vanilla. I used a handheld immersion blender with a whisk attachment. I used regular vanilla, which turns the whipped topping a little brown, so ideally, you’d use clear vanilla.

A hand-held mixer is used to whip heavy cream in a measuring cup on a white countertop, with ingredients like vanilla and sugar nearby.
A close-up of an electric hand whisk blending cream in a glass measuring cup, with vanilla extract and other ingredients on the counter.

Step 5

Add the whipped cream mixture to the fruit and stir well. Transfer the salad into a nice casserole dish and garnish with additional pomegranate arils and pecans.

A spatula is used to scoop whipped cream into a mixing bowl filled with chopped apples and grapes, blending the salad ingredients.
A metal mixing bowl filled with prepared Dixie salad, a creamy pomegranate salad, with a wooden spoon resting inside the bowl.
A serving dish filled with Dixie salad, also known as pomegranate salad, topped with red pomegranate seeds and chopped pecans for garnish.


Check out these other dessert recipes for my Raspberry Pretzel Pie or my Pumpkin Cake!

Are you interested in other Thanksgiving recipes or need ideas? If so, I created a complete guide on hosting a Friendsgiving / Thanksgiving dinner party. Download it below!

2023 Thanksgiving Hosting GuideDownload
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