Citrus and Pomegranate Fruit Salad
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Reset and refresh with this bright, juicy fruit salad made with pomegranate arils, grapefruits, and oranges.
Looking to reset after the holidays? This light and refreshing fruit salad with oranges, grapefruits, and pomegranate seeds is just the thing. The fruits soak in their own juices, creating a beautiful magenta syrup you’ll want to sip straight from the bowl. It’s super easy to throw together with just three ingredients and works perfectly for a quick breakfast, a company brunch, or even a light and healthy dessert.
Pomegranates are filled with ruby-red seeds called arils, which burst with tart-sweet juice when you bite into them. They’re rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, making them a great winter treat. When shopping for pomegranates, choose ones that feel heavy for their size and have smooth, blemish-free skin. And if cutting one up isn’t your thing, pre-packaged arils are a great option—you’ll need about 1¾ cups.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Citrus and Pomegranate Fruit Salad
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin with the pomegranate. Before you cut into it, put on an old shirt you don’t care about because the juice squirts and stains and an apron alone won’t cut it. Starting at the crown, cut a cross into the fruit about halfway down.
Holding the pomegranate facing down over the bowl, break it apart into quarters. (Do this over a stain-proof surface.)
Squeeze each quarter firmly over the bowl to release the seeds and juices. Bend each quarter back to release more seeds. Don’t worry about getting all the seeds out. What you really want is the juice, so squeeze the fruit again to release the juice from any remaining seeds.
You’ll be left with this. In the bowl, you’ll have plenty of juice and seeds, along with some of the white membrane. Pick out any bits of the white membrane so all that remains are seeds and juice.
For the oranges and grapefruits, cut a slice off the top and bottom of each fruit so they sit flat on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, work your way around the fruits to remove all the skin and pith.
Cupping the fruit in one hand and working over the bowl, carefully cut the segments out from between the membranes. (Be sure to cut only until you reach the middle of the fruit!)
Firmly squeeze the remaining membranes over the bowl to release all the juices.
Taste the fruit salad and add up to 1 tablespoon of sugar, only if necessary.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve the fruit salad in bowls, so the juice can be spooned up with the fruit.
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Winter Citrus & Pomegranate Fruit Salad
Reset and refresh with this bright, juicy fruit salad made with pomegranate arils, grapefruits, and oranges.
Ingredients
- 1 large pomegranate (or 1¾ cups ready-to-eat pomegranate arils, with juices)
- 2 large navel oranges
- 2 pink grapefruits
- 1 tablespoon sugar, if needed
Instructions
- Place the pomegranate on a surface that won’t stain. Starting at the crown, cut a cross into the fruit about halfway down. Put a large bowl in the sink and, holding the pomegranate crown side down over the bowl, break it apart into quarters. Squeeze each quarter firmly over the bowl to release the seeds and juice, then bend each quarter back to release more seeds. (Don’t worry about getting all the seeds out. What you really want is the juice, so squeeze the pomegranate again to release the juice from any remaining seeds still attached to the fruit.) Pick out any bits of the white membrane so all that remains in the bowl are seeds and juice.
- For the oranges and grapefruits, cut a slice off the top and bottom of each fruit so they sit flat on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, work your way around the fruits to remove all the skin and pith. Cupping the fruit in one hand and working over the bowl, carefully cut the segments out from between the membranes. (Be sure to cut only until you reach the middle of the fruit!) Firmly squeeze the remaining membranes over the bowl to release all the juices. Taste the fruit salad and add up to 1 tablespoon of sugar, only if necessary. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve the fruit salad in bowls so the juice can be spooned up with the fruit.
- Note: Pomegranate juice will stain wooden cutting boards and some countertops. To be safe, you can cut pomegranates on disposable plastic shopping bags.
- Note: Nutritional information does not include the tablespoon of sugar.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 168
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 41 g
- Sugar: 28 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 4 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Thank you for inspiring me to try new recipes. Your photos and clear directions make it easy. This was the first time I’d eaten a pomegranate and I discovered how delicious they are. My knife skills are progressively improving.
CAN YOU MAKE THIS THE NIGHT BEFORE
Yep!
Thank you for this festive, healthy recipe, and the helpful tutorial and photographs. Now I know how to section citrus fruits!
I made this fruit salad for New Year’s Eve dessert. It was delicious, beautiful and simple.
I actually found it difficult to section the oranges as pictured so I instead cut in half like a grapefruit, ran my kn
Exactly what I needed to start the new year. Easy and absolutely refreshing. I felt wonderful after eating this and can’t wait to devour the rest tomorrow! Thanks again Jen, your recipes are amazing.
To seed a pomegranate mess free, just dig out the top with a small knife, score it in quarters. Fill a bowl with water, and pull the pomegranate open into quarters into the water. Bend each quarter back and seed into the water. The white pith will float to the top. Pour the water off with the white pith, and strain. Perfect, and mess free.
The salad looks stunning!
My granddaughters and I made this recipe with white grapefruit and navel oranges fresh from the yard plus some store bought pink grapefruit. Very refreshing and colorful dish! Sectioning the fruit was time consuming because we made a large bowl but it was well worth the effort.
So simple and so delicious. In my part of the world you have to make it when pomegranates are in season. When I wanted to repeat this recipe, pomegranates were no longer available.
A delicious and refreshing dish. The pomegranate seeds added both color and crunchiness. The entire family enjoyed it!
I made this fruit salad for a club meeting. It was a big hit, and people were using this salad to top someone else’s dessert. Luckily the other person wasn’t offended. My knife skills are not the best, so my salad wasn’t as pretty as Jenn’s.