Winter Cucumber Pomegranate Salad (Vegan Side Dish)

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This is the perfect vegan side dish for your holiday and wintery meals! So festive, beautiful, and truly delicious! It tastes even better than it looks! I adapted this recipe from one of my Iranian students that I am teaching english to. Pomegranates are native to Iran and are used as decoration and recipe staples around the holidays. This salad can really be consumed any time of year but the colors and flavors perfectly compliment winter dishes. So let’s take a closer look!

A Closer Look…

Aside from being vibrant and beautiful, this salad is packed with nutritious health benefits! Pomegranate, mint, and cucumber all have great nutrient profiles that benefit us in many ways! Let’s take a look at all of these luscious ingredients that make up this vegan side dish.

The Ingredients

Pomegranate

This fruit is a power house of nutrients! They are full of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, and more! They are also full of antioxidants that help keep that immune system strong! Also, pomegranates help reduce inflammation when consumed regularly. I like to add them to smoothies or drink the juice of pomegranates pretty regularly but there are many ways to use them.

Mint

Mint is another great herb that has many benefits. It is obviously a great cure for bad breath but it has many other uses! Mint is also great for easing digestion pain and easing symptoms of IBS. Great in tea, salads, and more! Another popular summer salad to add mint to is watermelon salad.

Cucumber

Cucumber is loaded with vitamins like vitamin K, potassium, and magnesium. It is also great in aiding with great hydration, diabetes, and weight loss. It is also easy to add to your regular diet in salads, water, and more!

Dressing

I just used olive oil, salt, and pepper to dress this salad. It is already packed with flavor so it doesn’t need much added to it!

All simple, easy, healthy, and great ingredients that compliment any wintery meal! I paired this dish with a vegan Wellington which was great! Also enjoy on the side of sandwiches like this Saucy Seitan Sandy (Vegan Seitan Sandwich). Use leftovers for breakfast or an easy snack.

So give this beautiful vegan salad a go and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Print Recipe

• 2 medium cucumbers
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
• 2 medium pomegranates
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried mint (optional)

1

Peel the cucumber and slice into rounds.

2

Cut the rounds in halves, fourths, or dice (depends on how large you want the cucumber).

3

Put in a serving bowl and set aside.

4

Wash and slice up the fresh mint leaves. Add to the cucumber.

5

Slice the pomegranates in half and remove all the seeds. *

6

Add the seeds to the cucumber and mint.

7

Toss together with your hands or a couple large spoons.

8

Add in the olive oil, salt, pepper, and additional dried mint if preferred.

9

Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 2-3 days.

*To remove the seeds from the pomegranates easily: Cut in half, take one half and cut out the white fleshy skins in wedge shapes around the edge of the pomegranate, loosen the half up bending back and forth gently in your hands, turn the half upside down and place in the palm of your hand, beat the back of the half with a large spoon or meat hammer, most of the seeds will fall out super easily, repeat with the other half. *Video how to coming soon!