Pomegranate seeds, which have a fleshy layer called an aril that surrounds them, are a great source of antioxidants. They can add fresh texture, bright color, and extra taste to a wide range of dishes.
1. Toss Them in Salads
Pomegranate seeds are juicy and slightly tart, adding a burst of flavor to a wide variety of salads. Add them to mixed lettuces or spinach with plenty of veggies and other fruits, such as fresh orange slices or diced apples. They bring crunch, a bright taste, and plenty of nutrients.
2. Blend Them in Smoothies
Add the seeds rather than pomegranate juice to your blender if you want to get more fiber from your fruit. Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin. The health benefits of pomegranates. Try them with pineapple, banana, and yogurt (or your preferred smoothie base). For one smoothie, use about 1/2 cup of seeds. Sprinkle a few on top to make your smoothie colorful, healthy, and flavorful.
3. Glam Up Desserts
The deep color and shine of pomegranate seeds are an easy way to enhance a dessert, from a traditional trifle to fruit and nut-topped yogurt.
You can bake them into a cobbler with apples or peaches. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, and toss a few pomegranate seeds and chopped mint leaves on top.
Pomegranates can even go well with chocolate desserts, adding a contrasting flavor.
4. Swirl Into Mocktails
Pomegranate seeds can make a party or holiday drink more festive and colorful as well as healthier:
- Mix ginger ale with sparkling water, add some crushed mint, lime, and pomegranate juice (squeezed from seeds or from the store), and you have a healthy, mojito-like drink without the alcohol.
- Add some juice to a non-alcoholic punch with orange juice and other fresh fruit slices, with a few bright, crunchy seeds floating on top.
5. Create a Sauce
To make two pints of sauce, you’ll need about 10 pomegranates:
- Extract the juice from the arils by putting them in a blender and then straining them, or you can mash them in a bag and squeeze the juice out or strain it. Aim for four cups of juice.
- Put it in a saucepan, add 1/2 cup lemon juice and a cup of sugar, and simmer it for about five to 10 minutes.
- Let it cool and pour over fruit and yogurt, or drizzle it over butternut squash or other root veggies, with some toasted chopped pecans.
6. Make a Relish or Salsa
The pomegranate seeds add fresh notes to your condiment or dip.
- Make a relish with chopped arils, ginger, orange zest, honey, and a dash of salt.
- To make a pomegranate salsa, chop green onions, cilantro, jalapeňo pepper, and avocado, and add olive oil.
Serve however you would typically offer a relish or salsa.
7. Add to Your Protein
Pomegranates can add spark to basic chicken dishes:
- Try them in a chicken salad with chopped walnuts and pieces of mandarin orange.
- Mix seeds into honey and glaze chicken thighs or salmon.
- You can try them in a pot roast to add piquancy.
- Add in shredded, Mexican-inspired beef dishes for a twist.
8. Sprinkle on Toast or Oatmeal
An easy way to get the antioxidants and fiber that pomegranates contain is to put some on your breakfast:
- Sprinkle them over avocado toast.
- Add them to your oatmeal.
- Mix them with cottage cheese and other kinds of fruits, like berries.
9. Eat Them Plain
You don’t have to do a thing with pomegranate seeds once you remove them from the husk. They are delicious on their own, or maybe mix them with a few pistachios.
You can also dry pomegranate seeds in a low oven until they are a little crisp and eat them like nuts, or freeze them for future use.
How to Select and Prep Pomegranates
Look for a deep red fruit with shiny skin that scratches easily and has slightly flat sides.
Consider food prep gloves and a top you don’t mind getting juice on, since pomegranates can be messy:
- Cut the top with the stem off and use a knife to score the skin the long way around to mark two halves.
- You can put the pomegranate in a bowl of water, which keeps the juice from spraying around.
- Pry it apart into the two halves.
- You can pull the seeds out in the water, or put the sections, seed side down, on a board and hit them with a large spoon or other kitchen implement to make the seeds fall out.
- If there is any white pith, remove it, because it is bitter.
Pomegranate Nutrition
One cup of pomegranate seeds has the following nutritional values:
- Calories: 144
- Fat: 2 grams (g) (saturated fat 0.21 g, trans fat 0g)
- Cholesterol: 0 milligrams (mg)
- Sodium: 5.2 mg
- Carbohydrate: 32.5 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Sugar: 23.8 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
- Vitamin C: 17.7 mg
- Iron: 0.52 mg
- Calcium: 17.4 mg
- Potassium: 410.6 mg
- Phosphorus: 62.6 mg
Pomegranates are an excellent source of polyphenols, which are potent antioxidants. They have three times as many antioxidants as green tea.
