Easy Mexican Christmas Eve Salad (Ensalada de Nochebuena)
Don’t miss this traditional Ensalada de Nochebuena or Mexican Christmas Eve salad. This easy to make festive salad is part of the Mexican holiday table and it’s full of delicious taste and textures. Traditionally made with beets, apples, oranges, jicama, roasted peanuts, and , pomegranate seeds, and served as an appetizer or side dish.
Traditional Mexican Christmas Eve Salad
Ensalada de Nochebuena (noche buena) also known as ensalada navideña is a festive dish that’s made with seasonal fruit and showcases the colors of Christmas.
It’s incredibly easy to make and mostly just consists of slicing and chopping. It’s traditionally part of the Mexican Christmas Eve dinner table and it gives the festive meal a burst of freshness.
This fruit salad is one of my holiday favorite treats and even though I can make it any time of year, I do look forward to eating it every Navidad.
As always, each Mexican household has their own variation to the salad.
But the more popular ingredients used are boiled beets, apples, oranges, jicama, roasted peanuts, and pomegranate arils.
Many people, like me, also use romaine lettuce and make a salad dressing with lime juice, orange juice, oil, salt and pepper.
Some people add sugar to balance out the tartness.
The result is a refreshing salad that has a tender and crunchy texture, is sweet, savory and a little tart, and gives the Christmas table a festive color that’s hard to resist.
💡There is a Mexican apple salad that is incorrectly called ensalada de nochebuena, but the actual name is ensalada navideña de manzana or Christmas apple salad. That one is made with chopped apples, pineapple, peaches, celery, pecans and dressed in a creamy dressing of crema mexicana and condensed milk.
Fun Facts About Mexican Christmas Salad
• Did you know jicama is a root vegetable just like beets?
• Did you know noche buena literally translates to “good night”?
• Traditionally made with seasonal ingredients, the beauty of this salad is that you can use whatever you have on hand.
• The more traditional recipes use candied peanuts instead of roasted peanuts.
• Did you know that you can serve noche buena salad in layers in a salad bowl or you can chop up everything and just mix it all together.
Ingredients
The following ingredients are what I use to make ensalada de noche buena, take a look at the substitute suggestions or feel free to reach out with questions.
Romaine Lettuce: Use your favorite lettuce just not iceberg because it’s pretty bland…or you could omit the lettuce altogether.
Beets: Regular red beets that need to be boiled and peeled.
Apples: I like to use red apples because of the color, but you can use your favorite too.
Oranges: If you don’t have any you can use mandarin oranges.
Jicama: The texture is similar to a water chestnut and it’s mild in flavor.
Peanuts: Unsalted and roasted or if you don’t have them you can use pepitas or pumpkin seeds.
Fresh Pomegranate: If you can get it locally, if not omit.
Parsley: I like to sprinkle the salad with it but you could also use cilantro or just omit it.
Dressing: I use fresh orange juice, lime juice (or lemon juice in a pinch), olive oil, agave syrup, and salt and black pepper. In a pinch you could sub the agave for sugar or maple syrup.
How to Make Ensalada de Noche Buena
Step 1 Prep The Beets:
Place the beet(s) in a deep pot and cover with plenty of water. Boil until you can insert a knife easily. Drain and allow to cool before peeling of all the skin. You can uses a paper towel or just your fingers to easily peel away the skin. Next, slice in half then into small slices.
Step 2 Make The Dressing:
Pour the orange juice, lime juice, agave, olive oil, salt and pepper into a small bowl. Mix until well combined , taste and adjust seasoning if desired, then set aside.
Step 3 Chop The Veggies:
Core the apple and slice into thin slices, peel and slice the orange into slices or wedges making sure to remove any seeds. Peel and chop the jicama into small cubes and separate the lettuce leaves.
Step 4 Plate:
You can serve everything layered on a large shallow serving platter or salad bowl or serve individually like I do.
Place 3 to 4 lettuce leaves on the plate then arrange sliced beets on top, next place the orange slices then the apple. Sprinkle with the jicama cubes and the roasted peanuts and pomegranate seeds if using.
Drizzle with the dressing then sprinkle some finely chopped parsley and serve.
Alternative Method
Another method for preparing the salad is to chop all the ingredients into small even-sized bits and mix everything together in a large bowl. In this case the lettuce is omitted.
Can This Ensalada de Nochebuena be Made Ahead of Time?
Yes! You can boil, slice, and chop everything the night before or morning of and just put it together right before serving. The dressing you can mix ahead of time too!
For the chopped and mixed method it will make the colors even brighter and more festive for the next day.
How to Serve
Serve as an appetizer or as a side dish to your Christmas Mexican food. It goes perfectly with other Mexican Christmas dishes like tamales, pozole, bacalao, champurrado, buñuelos, ponche navideño and more.
In actuality, you don’t need to be serving a Mexican Christmas dinner to enjoy this festive addition to your holiday table.
How to Store
Whether you’re making this ahead of time or have leftovers to store, you can either place in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Gracias
I’m so happy you stopped by. If you have any questions or want to let me know how you liked this recipe, do leave a comment. Muchas gracias, I appreciate you!
More Mexican Salads to Try
- Ensalada de Nopales
- Mexican Bean Salad with Avocado and Corn
- Meatless Ensalada de Pollo
- MexicanTuna Salad
- Mexican Macaroni Salad Recipe
Mexican Christmas Eve Salad (Ensalada de Nochebuena)
Ingredients
- 1 medium beet
- 1 large red apple
- 1 cup chopped Jicama
- 1 large orange
- ½ cup roasted peanuts unsalted
- 1 large pomegranate just the arils or seeds
- 1 large head romaine lettuce
- ¼ cup parsley finely chopped
Dressing Ingredients
- ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
- 2.5 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1.5-2 Tablespoons agave
- ¼ teaspoon Salt and pepper adjust to taste
Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the beet then place in a deep pot and cover with plenty of water. Boil for 25 minutes or until you can insert a knife easily.
- Drain and allow to cool until you can handle it (you can put it in ice water). Use a paper towel or with your hands remove the skin, Cut in halve then slice into thin wedges.
- Make the dressing by combining all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Peel and chop the jicama into small cubes. Core the apple and slice into thin wedges, peel and slice or chop the orange. Remove the pomegranate arils and separate the lettuce leaves.
- You can serve on a shallow serving platter by layering the ingredients then drizzling the dressing over them. Or serve on individual plates or bowls. Watch the video for a visual guide.
- Alternatively you can chop all the ingredients and mix in a large glass bowl. In this case omit the lettuce.
Notes
Nutrition
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Nancy Lopez is a food blogger and author of the cookbook Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Born in Mexico, raised in the US, and currently living in Southern Mexico, she has followed a meatless diet for almost 10 years. It is her passion and mission to share all she has learned about vegan Mexican cooking and vegetarian Mexican recipes. Mexican Made Meatless is a blog dedicated to preserving the authentic flavors of Mexican cuisine just without the meat. It’s a place to celebrate Mexican culture and all it’s delightfully delicious traditional foods. Read more…
