Dessert

Crunchy Chopped Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Mixed Seeds Recipe

ByNoah Steele January 12, 2026January 12, 2026

Introduction

This crunchy chopped salad is vibrant, fresh, and packed with textures and flavors. Featuring juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumber, tender lettuce, and a zesty lemon dressing, it’s perfect for a light lunch or a colorful side dish.

A white plate with blue stripes holds a colorful salad made of green lettuce leaves as the first layer, mixed with chopped red tomatoes and yellow bell pepper pieces scattered throughout. Thin slices of cucumber add a fresh green touch along with small red pomegranate seeds spread on top. There are also tiny green sprouts and pumpkin seeds scattered over the salad, giving it varied textures. The salad is lightly dressed with a golden sauce that glistens on the vegetables. The plate sits on a white marbled surface with a white dotted cloth nearby, and a woman's hand holds a white spoon in the corner. A glass of water with a lemon slice and a jar with yellow dressing are in the background. photo taken with an iphone --ar 4:5 --v 7

Ingredients

1 lemon
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey

10 cherry tomatoes (use a mixture of different colours, if you like)
½ cucumber

2 Little Gem lettuces
1 punnet of cress
100g pomegranate seeds

25g mixed seeds (sunflower and pumpkin seeds recommended)

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare your workspace by placing a damp tea towel or kitchen paper under your chopping board to keep it steady.
Step 2: Cut the lemon in half and juice both halves using a citrus juicer. Pour the juice into a small bowl or jam jar. Add the olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and black pepper. Shake or whisk to combine and set aside.

Step 3: Halve the cherry tomatoes, then halve each piece again to create quarters. Place them in a large salad bowl.
Step 4: Cut the cucumber lengthwise into four sticks, then slice across to create small triangular pieces. Add them to the bowl with the tomatoes.
Step 5: Remove the hard stalk from the lettuces, then cut each lettuce into quarters. Chop each quarter finely into small ribbons and add to the bowl.

Step 6: Snip the cress directly into the bowl using kitchen scissors. Weigh and add the pomegranate seeds and mixed seeds to the bowl.
Step 7: Drizzle roughly half of the dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat all ingredients. Serve immediately, reserving the remaining dressing for another use.

Tips & Variations

For extra crunch and flavor, toast the mixed seeds in a dry pan over low-medium heat until they pop, then cool before adding to the salad.

This salad is very versatile—add chopped green beans, avocado, sweetcorn, or grated carrots to use up leftover veggies and create new flavor combinations.

Storage

Store the salad and leftover dressing separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator. The salad is best eaten fresh but will keep for up to 1 day. Toss again before serving. The dressing can be stored for up to one week.