This simple salad is my answer to fresh flavors through the winter months. Citrus season is in full swing, and what better way to celebrate than with a delicious salad? The sweet and savory combo is extra tasty here and will leave you wanting to make this one again. Add in a creamy ginger dressing and some crunchy toasted almonds and this salad becomes something you look forward to in the winter. And for another fun variation, try using your favorite peanut dressing, or my peanut sauce.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Spinach – is most easily available and tasty during the colder months. But feel free to sub in your favorite salad mix or something crunchy like romaine lettuce. Chicken – is the perfect flavor to add protein to this salad. Green onions – are the perfect mild onion flavor here, but we also love mixing it up with slivered red onions as well. Mandarin oranges – fresh Mandarin oranges sliced or broken into sections are the tastiest here. But I’ve also used canned Mandarin orange segments, just look for the kind without added sugar. Cabbage – I love the crunch and color of purple cabbage sometimes called red cabbage here. But you can use green cabbage as well. I used to use slivered red bell pepper as well in this salad, but it’s been hit or miss lately. So feel free to leave out the optional pepper. Slivered almonds – or any toasted nut you love works here. I love the flavor of the almonds with the ginger dressing but also use cashews and peanuts. Cilantro – is also optional, but adds lots of tasty fresh flavor. Creamy Ginger Dressing – bottled or from my recipe below works so well with these flavors. But peanut sauce or your favorite peanut dressing is a seriously good variation as well.
Step 3: Arrange all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Start with the spinach as a base, then scatter everything on top for the prettiest salad. Or you can serve everything separately and let each person toss together their own salad to taste. I really hope you enjoy this Mandarin Chicken Salad! If you do get a chance to make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. This recipe was originally published in 2018, but has been updated with nutritional information, tips, and new photos in 2022.
