This easy Mandarin Orange Salad combines spring mix, mandarin oranges, toasted walnuts for texture and crunch, dried cranberries, and feta cheese, all tossed with a tangy six-ingredient orange vinaigrette. I love to serve this side dish with grilled chicken and grilled salmon. It is always a huge hit at potlucks, and rarely are there any leftovers.
How to Make Mandarin Orange Salad
Combine the champagne vinegar, orange juice, orange zest, honey, Dijon mustard, and olive oil in a mason jar. Shake vigorously and season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Add the spring greens, mandarin orange segments, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, crumbled feta, and red onions to a large bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to coat. For best results, serve promptly.
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Spring greens are a blend of assorted baby greens and baby lettuce. The young greens included in the mix could be arugula, green chard, kale, red chard, baby spinach, endive, or radicchio. Some of the baby lettuces included might be green oak leaf, red leaf, red oak, tango loose leaf, or red or green romaine lettuce.
- Mix the dressing up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge an hour before preparing the salad.
- Without a doubt, homemade salad dressing tastes much better than bottled salad dressing every time.
- Substitute 1 (15-ounce) can of mandarin oranges drained for the fresh mandarin oranges.
- Dried cherries are a tasty substitute for dried cranberries.
- Other nuts to work with include pecans, almonds, and pine nuts. Or try sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
- To keep it fresh, purchase a small block of feta and crumble it yourself. If you don’t like the flavor of feta, goat cheese, Parmesan, and cotija cheese are all good substitutions.
- Drizzle the dressing and toss to coat right before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge but keep in mind that the greens will wilt quickly.
How far in advance can I make Mandarin Orange Salad
You can assemble this Salad up to 24 hours in advance but don’t add the feta, walnuts, and dressing until right before serving. You can prep the orange vinaigrette up to 48 hours in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. A clean mason jar works well for this. Remove the dressing from the fridge an hour before tossing the salad. Just before serving, shake well to emulsify the vinegar and oil before drizzling on the salad. Drizzle lightly and toss to coat.
More Salad Recipes
Mandarin Orange Salad
Ingredients
- Orange Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Salad Ingredients
- 10 ounces spring mix
- 6 mandarin oranges segmented
- ¾ cup toasted walnuts
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
Instructions
- Combine the champagne vinegar, orange juice, orange zest, honey, Dijon mustard, and olive oil in a mason jar. Shake vigorously and season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
- Add the spring greens, mandarin orange segments, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, crumbled feta, and red onion to a large bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to coat. For best results, serve promptly.
Notes
- Spring greens are a blend of assorted baby greens and baby lettuce. The young greens included in the mix could be arugula, green chard, kale, red chard, baby spinach, endive, or radicchio. Some of the baby lettuces included might be green oak leaf, red leaf, red oak, tango loose leaf, or red or green romaine lettuce.
- Mix the dressing up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge an hour before preparing the salad.
- Without a doubt, homemade salad dressing tastes much better than bottled salad dressing every time.
- Substitute 1 (15-ounce) can of mandarin oranges drained for the fresh mandarin oranges.
- Dried cherries are a tasty substitute for dried cranberries.
- Other nuts to work with include pecans, almonds, and pine nuts. Or try sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
- To keep it fresh, purchase a small block of feta and crumble it yourself. Goat cheese, Parmesan, and cotija cheese are all good substitutions.
- Drizzle the dressing and toss to coat right before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge but keep in mind that the greens will wilt quickly.
Nutrition
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Alexandra Goddard
The photo of the salad clearly has red onion, but none is listed in the recipe.
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the heads up. I will look at my notes.
Sandra
I really love the combination of flavors! Seriously amazing!
Erin
This was so good! It was a hit on our table! Everyone loved it.
Elizabeth
Such a delicious salad. The orange citrus dressing was fabulous! I will make this again and again.
Erin
This salad was absolutely fantastic! The orange vinaigrette complimented it perfectly.
Amanda
This salad would be perfect for those hot summer days that are upon us!
Edgar
I am such a big lover of salad. This is a new one to me and I am very ready to try it out with some beef, as a “road-test”! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Rose
What a great salad! We absolutely loved it. All the ingredients work so well together and taste was delicious.
Marysa
This sounds like such an interesting salad! I haven’t had mandarins in a salad before. Looks so yummy!
Amber
Looks amazing. I have been trying to eat more plant based meals and this looks I great addition to my lunch menus.
Michelle
This salad is so vibrant and tasty. Perfect as a main meal or side dish. It was a huge hit with my family.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Michelle! So glad that you liked it!
Jen Vinuya
This is such a great salad! Packed full of flavors! I will definitely make it again!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Jen!
Elizabeth
I love mandarin oranges, so this recipe hits the spot! The homemade vinaigrette is so easy to make. Can’t wait to bring it to my next church potluck meal.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Elizabeth! Enjoy!
Justine
This was so good. I loved that orange vinaigrette, it really tied the whole thing together.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Justine! I could not agree more!
Tara
Such a wonderful and refreshing salad! I absolutely love the variety of flavors and textures. So easy too!