Winter Pomegranate Salsa
Not sure what to make with that pomegranate you just picked up? This easy Pomegranate Salsa is a sweet and savory winter fruit salsa that goes well with tacos, grilled or braised meats, salads, and more!
★★★★★
Marisa says –
“Delicious!! Everyone who ate it yesterday LOVED it!”
My Favorite Salsa During the Cooler Months
You might say I like a fruit salsa. Okay, I LOVE a fruit salsa. From roasted cranberry salsa at Thanksgiving to mango salsa throughout the summer to strawberry mango salsa that I love serving as a dessert with cinnamon chips — I am all about fruit-packed salsas.
This pomegranate salsa is the latest in my fruit salsa lineup. It’s my go-to recipe in the depths of winter when seemingly nothing but root vegetables and squash are in season. Well, that and pomegranates!
Here’s why I love this pomegranate salsa recipe:
✔ Spicy and Sweet Flavors: This winter salsa recipe combines juicy pomegranate arils, fresh cilantro, spicy jalapeño (adjust it to your liking), sweet red onion, a hint of lime, and diced cucumber.
✔ Perfect for Christmas: Hear me out! This kind of looks a little bit like a Christmas salsa with all the red and green.
✔ Super Versatile: Serve scooped and eaten with chips, on top of a plate of greens for a tasty salad, over grilled meat or fish as a relish, or tossed with your favorite grain for a side dish.
Enjoy!
-Katie
How to Make Pomegranate Salsa
This is such a fast and easy salsa recipe! All you have to do is chop up and combine the following in a bowl:
- Pomegranate Arils — Purchase a whole pomegranate and seed it yourself, or buy a container of pre-packaged arils to save time.
- Cucumber — I suggest scooping out the seeds to prevent your salsa from becoming watery.
- Red Onion — Is much sweeter and less pungent than yellow onion, so it’s my top choice.
- Jalapeno — Omit the seeds for a milder heat.
- Cilantro — Fresh is best here.
- Lime Juice — Here are my secrets to squeezing the most juice from your limes.
Katie’s Tip: Now, I know cucumbers aren’t a winter veggie, but they don’t seem to have as degraded a quality during the off season and their flavor is a great match for the pomegranates. However, if you want to keep things strictly seasonal, you can omit the cucumber completely or try substituting it with diced celery or fennel for some color contrast.
Serving Suggestions
You can enjoy this pomegranate jalapeno salsa in so many different ways. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Scooped up with tortilla chips. Chips and salsa are a classic combo!
- On tacos. Try pairing this salsa with Instant Pot shredded chicken tacos, pork tacos, fish tacos, or even on top of taco salad.
- On grilled meats. The sweet and savory flavors in this salsa would go nicely with flank steak fajitas, Santa Maria tri tip, balsamic grilled chicken, and more.
- In salads. Add one of the grilled meat ideas from above, your choice of leafy greens, pepitas, and crunchy tortilla strips for a delicious entrée salad. You can also spoon it over this quinoa veggie bowl or winter chicken salad.
- Stirred into quinoa or rice. I have tutorials for making Instant Pot quinoa and Instant Pot rice, which is my preferred cooking method for both.
More Savory Pomegranate Recipes to Make
I have quite a few pomegranate recipes on my site, because it works in both sweet and savory dishes. Here are some all-time favorites:
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Pomegranate Salsa Recipe
Pomegranate salsa is the perfect winter salsa recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups pomegranate arils
- 1 1/3 cups diced cucumber, seeds removed
- 1 - 3 jalapeños, seeds removed and minced*
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 lime, juiced
Instructions
- Combine all of the prepared ingredients in a bowl, starting with using only 1 jalapeño.
- Stir to combine.
- Test for heat preference and add additional jalapeño if desired.
- Serve immediately, or chill until ready to serve.
Notes
Choose your Heat Preference:
- 1 jalapeño = mild salsa
- 2 jalapeños = medium salsa
- 3 jalapeños = hot salsa
Tip for Dicing Cucumbers: Cut cucumbers down the middle lengthwise. Scrape out all of the seeds and discard. Then, dice the remaining cucumber.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 55Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 3mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 3gSugar: 8gProtein: 1g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Disclosure: POM Wonderful has compensated for my time and provided coupons for POM POM Fresh Arils to create my recipe for Pomegranate Salsa. However, all experiences contained in this post are my honest opinion.
Try Making Salsa with Pomegranate!
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Alley @ Alley's Recipe Book says
I love the idea of replacing tomatoes with pomegranates! i just started juicing them with carrots and apples. but my favorite way to eat pomegranates is in salad with roasted chestnuts, feta, and spinach (perfect winter salad)!
Katherine C. says
I like to eat them by the handful! <3
Gianna says
Taking them all out, putting them in a bowl and eating them with a spoon!
Amanda says
Absolutely gorgeous Katie!! I am dying to get some POM now!
Jessica says
I love them on a salad!
Ruth Smither says
I like the arils in plain Greek yogurt. Yummy!
Amy says
For some reason I eat them with my fingers, which is kind of messy but then I have them longer than if I were scooping them up with a spoon. 🙂
Ash says
I LOVE them in my oatmeal! <3
Mary says
My whole family loves Pomengranted. I make jelly using POM juice! They are especially good on home-made scones.
Noelle says
Ooh, that sounds really good!
Linda Howard says
Our family drinks pomegranate juice every day, but we love to add the seeds to our morning cereal, also.
Laura says
I like the arils in a broccoli salad or mixed into any salad really; also like them in a yogurt parfait or just plain as a snack.
Linda F says
I like to eat them alone or mixed with cereal.
betsy ray says
i eat them in a salad sometimes i put in a smoothie i love them
Heather N. says
All by their delicious self but usually my kiddos gobble them up before I get any!
Lori H says
On salads! Green salads or grain salads.
Lillian says
mixed in with quinoa! I like to make quinoa with lemon juice/lemon zest, spinach and then once cookced add pomengranate seeds and goat cheese on top. So colorful and deliciosu…Looks like christmas 🙂
Katie says
That sounds delicious and great for lunch!