Mexican Christmas Eve Fruit Salad (Ensalada de Nochebuena)

By
Robin Grose
Robin Grose
Food writer who lived in Mexico City for 20 years, learning key flavors and techniques to create Mexican food recipes.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 10/9/19
Mexican Christmas eve fruit salad recipe

The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

Prep: 40 mins
Cook: 35 mins
Total: 75 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
324 Calories
4g Fat
74g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 324
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 25mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 74g 27%
Dietary Fiber 6g 21%
Protein 4g
Calcium 61mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Fruit salads are traditional for the late-night dinner enjoyed in Mexico on December 24, and this one is one of the very best. Consisting of a colorful combination of fruits and vegetables bathed in a light dressing, Mexican Christmas Eve salad is beautiful, healthful, and delicious.

This very easy recipe has many steps, but many of them consist simply of peeling and slicing the ingredients. The recipe is, in fact, so easy that it is appropriate even for the least experienced of cooks. Though the salad does not keep for very long once it has been put together, the fruits, vegetables, and dressing can be prepared a day ahead and assembled at the last minute.

Serve this salad as they do south of the border, as a first course at a holiday dinner (Christmas or otherwise)—your guests will be delighted.

Ingredients

  • For the Dressing:
  • 2 cups/1/2 L of water
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 3 tablespoons apple or wine vinegar
  • For the Salad:
  • 2 medium-sized red beets (or 2 cans of sliced beets)
  • 1/2 head romaine lettuce
  • 1/2 medium jicama
  • 2 red or green apples (or one of each color)
  • 1/2 small to medium fresh pineapple (or 6 rings of canned pineapple)
  • 1 lime (cut into halves)
  • 1 large orange
  • 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1/3 cup peanuts (shelled and toasted)
  • Cilantro leaves

Steps to Make It

Make the Dressing

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for dressing
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. Place the water and sugar together in a medium-sized pan. Heat, stirring constantly, until you have a light, transparent syrup. 

    Place water on stove
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. Pour syrup into a glass jar and add the three tablespoons of lime juice and the vinegar. Place the lid on the jar and shake it well.

    Pour syrup into a glass jar
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  4. Pour the dressing into a little serving pitcher or pretty jar and refrigerate.​

    Add syrup
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

Prepare the Ingredients

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Christmas eve salad
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. If you are using fresh beets, wash them well and boil them in enough water to cover them for 30 to 40 minutes, until a fork inserted all the way the center goes in easily. Take the beets out of the water, peel them, and cut them into slices of about 1/3 to 1/2-inch each.  If you are using canned beets, drain them.

    Cut beets
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. Keeping them whole, wash and dry the romaine lettuce leaves. Leave the smaller leaves intact; cut the larger ones in half.

    Wash and dry lettuce
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  4. Peel the jicama and cut it into slices the same width as the beets.

    Slice jicama
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  5. If you have fresh pineapple, peel and core it, then cut into slices. If your pineapple slices are canned, drain them.

    Peel and core pineapple
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  6. Leave the apple peel on for color, or peel the apples if you prefer that. Cut them into 6 to 8 wedges per apple, discarding the stem, core, and seeds. Squeeze the lime halves over the apples, then toss them so that the juice with cover all exposed apple surfaces and prevent them from turning brown.

    Leave apple peel on
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  7. Peel the orange, taking off as much of the white part between sections as you can. Separate the orange into wedges.

    Peel oranges
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  8. Open up the pomegranate and remove the seeds, discarding the peel and tough white membranes.

    Remove pomegranate seeds
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  9. Pick the cilantro leaves off of the stems.

    Pick cilantro leaves off
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

Assemble the Salad

  1. On a large tray or on individual salad plates, place all of the fruits and vegetables in an attractive arrangement. For example, start with the lettuce on the bottom, then build layers of the rest of the ingredients in contrasting colors.

    Assemble salad
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds, peanuts, and cilantro leaves over the top.

    Sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. Bring the pitcher of dressing out of the fridge so that each diner can pour a little of it onto their salad once it is served.

    Add dressing
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska