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This Mandarin Orange Salad, featuring a tender spring greens, sweet mandarin oranges, and a fresh citrus dressing, is a bright and fresh side salad bursting with flavor! Even better? This simple salad comes together in 5 minutes and is picky eater approved!
Our Favorite Kid-Friendly Salad
This Mandarin Orange Salad is the salad for picky eaters--both the picky kids AND picky adults.😉 Specifically, a green salad--because if your picky eaters are like mine, they have no issue devouring a fruit salad or a carrot raisin salad, but getting them to devour fresh greens can be a bit of a challenge.
Not so with this recipe! Thanks to delicate greens, juicy mandarin oranges, tart cranberries, and a citrus dressing, the sweet flavor wins over the pickiest of eaters, while it isn't cloyingly sweet, so even the more sophisticated palates enjoy this salad.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
PS. Parents of picky eaters don't give up hope. 10 years after originally sharing this recipe with you, my kids now devour salad of all kinds -- think homemade Caesar salad, Copycat Panera Greek salad, and even a cold asparagus salad!
Notes on Ingredients
You will find the full list of ingredients, along with quantities in the recipe card. Below is a quick glance at what you need and tips to help you make the right selection.
- Greens: I recommend preparing this salad using a base of tender, soft greens, such as a spring mix, leafy green lettuce, or baby spinach.
- Mandarin Oranges: This is one instance where I feel like the canned product is better than fresh. Canned mandarin oranges are sweet, seedless, and already prepped! But most importantly they are tender and bite-size which makes them really easy to eat in a salad.
- Cranberries: Dried cranberries add a nice texture and tart bite to the salad.
- Nuts: The nuts are optional but, add a nice crunch to the salad. Use toasted almonds, pecan, or walnuts.
- Citrus Salad Dressing: The dressing is made with orange juice concentrate, honey, rice vinegar, olive oil, and salt.
- Orange juice concentrate: Not orange juice. That concentrated flavor really adds the most bang for your buck in this dressing, plus is naturally sweet, meaning you can use less added honey, yet still have a perfectly sweet result.
- Honey: Feel free to use maple syrup in place of honey for a vegan-friendly mandarin orange salad.
- Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar is the best option for the citrus dressing, as it is super mild in flavor and pairs well with the natural sweetness in the mandarin oranges.
How Make Mandarin Orange Salad
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare Dressing. Whisk together the thawed orange juice concentrate, salt, pepper, honey, and rice wine vinegar in a small mixing bowl or glass jar. Drizzle in olive oil and whisk again until well combined and emulsified.
- Combine Salad Base. In a large serving bowl, toss the greens with mandarin oranges, cranberries, and nuts, if using.
- Dress and Serve. Toss the salad with 2 tablespoons of the salad dressing and serve with the remaining salad dressing on the side. Serve immediately for best results.
Serving Suggestions
As I mentioned earlier, this Mandarin Orange Salad is a huge hit with the kids, as the flavors are simple and on the sweeter side. And when paired with Homemade Hamburger Helper or Homemade Chicken Tenders, you have the ultimate kid-friendly meal!
But it is also loved by adults and makes a tasty addition to a spring brunch when paired with Quiche Lorraine or Overnight Ham and Egg Breakfast Casserole and complements entrees like Stir Fry Chicken and Bok Choy and Orange Chicken.
More Tasty Salad Recipes
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Mandarin Orange Salad
Ingredients
Mandarin Orange Salad
- 10 ounces spring mix, or spinach
- 11 ounces mandarin oranges, drained
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Citrus Salad Dressing
- ¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Citrus Salad Dressing
- In a small mixing bowl or glass jar, whisk together the ¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed), 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add in ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and whisk to incorporate.
Mandarin Orange Salad
- If needed, drain canned 11 ounces mandarin oranges well, patting dry with a paper towel if needed.
- In a large serving bowl, toss together the 10 ounces spring mix with 2 tablespoons of the prepared dressing. Add in the mandarin oranges, ⅓ cup dried cranberries, and ¼ cup sliced almonds and serve with additional dressing on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wonderful dressing! I added thinly sliced red onion and sliced avocado. One of the best salads I’ve ever had!
Thanks for sharing, Sheri!
I want to make this salad for Easter dinner! can you tell me if the dried cranberries are plain, or sweetened? I have only ever seen sweetened. thanks! can't wait to try this!
Hi Donna! I would recommend sweetened. Enjoy and happy Easter