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 serving this side dish with grilled chicken breasts and air-fryer salmon. It is always a huge hit at potlucks, and there are rarely any leftovers.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Vinegar: champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
- Orange juice: preferably freshly squeezed
- Olive oil: extra virgin
- Spring mix: spring greens blend 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.
- Mandarin oranges: fresh or canned
- Nuts: walnuts, pecans, almonds, or pine nuts. Or try sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
- Dried cranberries: or dried cherries
How to Make Mandarin Orange Salad
This is just the nutshell version of the recipe. See the recipe card below for ingredients and complete directions.
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.
Preparation Tips and Storage
- Mix the dressing up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge an hour before preparing the salad.
- Substitute 1 (15-ounce) can of mandarin oranges drained for the fresh mandarin oranges.
- 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.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, but remember that the greens will wilt quickly.
Recipe Variations
- Greens: other salad greens that work well in this recipe are arugula and baby spinach.
- Dried fruit: diced apricots, dates, or figs.
- Cheese: blue cheese, gorgonzola, goat cheese, or Parmesan Cheese.
- Nuts: pecans, almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, or pepitas.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can assemble this Salad up to 24 hours in advance, but don’t add the feta, walnuts, and dressing until right before serving. Remove the dressing from the fridge an hour before tossing the salad. Before serving, shake well to emulsify the vinegar and oil before drizzling on the salad. Drizzle lightly and toss to coat.
If you don’t like the flavor of feta, goat cheese, Parmesan, and cotija cheese are all good substitutions.
More Salad Recipes
Mandarin Orange Salad
Ingredients
Orange Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or 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
- Mix the dressing up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge an hour before preparing the salad.
- Substitute 1 (15-ounce) can of mandarin oranges drained for the fresh mandarin oranges.
- 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.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, but remember that the greens will wilt quickly.
Nutrition
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Kristine
This salad is great, but the orange vinaigrette dressing—it’s 11/10! We absolutely loved it. I’ll be making this on repeat. It’s really delicious!
Beth Pierce
Thank you Kristine! So glad that you like it!
Melissa
I have been making this salad nonstop. It is so easy to make and I love all the flavors and how well they come together.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Melissa! So glad that you like the salad.
suja md
This salad was so good. Thank You for sharing.
Tayler
I made this salad for lunch yesterday and it was amazing! I’ll be making it all summer long!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Tayler! So glad that you liked it!