This spinach salad is loaded with strawberries, mandarin oranges, goat cheese, candied pecans, and a homemade creamy strawberry dressing. It's an incredible summery side salad or entree!
8ouncesmandarin oranges in 100% juice, drained, This is two 4 oz cups.
3ouncesgoat cheese
Instructions
Sticky Candied Pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add your ghee (or butter) and honey to a small pot on the stove. Melt over low or medium-low heat. Stir. Add the cinnamon. Stir again until well combined. Remove from heat. (You can also use the microwave to melt your ghee or butter. Be sure to use a microwave safe bowl. Stir in the honey and cinnamon.)
Place your pecan halves in a bowl. Pour the syrup mixture over your pecans. Stir until well coated. (I don't recommend trying to mix them up on the sheet pan. I find that the pecans don't get very well covered that way and you end up wasting a lot of the syrup.)
Spread the coated pecans in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Once cool, use a knife to chop the candied pecans. You can leave them in halves if you prefer. Set aside.
Strawberry Basil Dressing
While pecans are roasting, add all dressing ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.
Assemble the Salad
Assemble salads by layering spinach, strawberries, and mandarin oranges. Crumble the goat cheese on top. Add chopped Sticky Candied Pecans. Drizzle Strawberry Basil Dressing.
Notes
When I'm entertaining with this recipe I like to make the pecans earlier in the day and let them sit out to cool. That way the hardest part of the recipe is done well in advance. I then just blend the dressing, chop the finished pecans, and assemble the salads closer to the time my guests will arrive.Feel free to double the dressing ingredients if you'd like more. I do if I'm serving a crowd.Store any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 2 weeks. Shake or stir to eliminate separation before serving. This recipe easily creates 4 hearty side salads or 8 smaller (but still reasonably sized) side salads. You can also just turn it into 2 entrees. Nutritional information assumes 4 servings.