Mandarin Kale Salad With Cranberry Dressing And Pecans

A guilt-free and easy-to-make recipe for a quick salad fix.

Number of servings

CANDIED PECANS Ingredients

  • 1 cup pecan halves
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • 1 tbsp. Sunkist® mandarin zest
  • 0.25 tsp. salt

SALAD Ingredients

  • 6 Sunkist® mandarins or 2 Sunkist® Minneola tangelos
  • 1 bunch kale
  • 0.33 cup dried cranberries

DRESSING Ingredients

  • 0.5 cup purchased champagne or white balsamic dressing
  • 2 tbsp. of honey
  • 0.25 cup frozen (or fresh) cranberries

PREP TIME

Preparation: 15 minutes

CANDIED PECANS

Directions

  1. Make the candied pecans first: place the pecans in a non-stick sauté pan. Toast over medium high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring often.
  2. Add honey and cook pecans in honey until caramelized, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
  3. Sprinkle with zest and salt and spread out onto a lightly pan sprayed sheet pan to cool.

SALAD

Directions

  1. Peel and segment the mandarins and place in a large bowl.
  2. Remove any large ribs from the kale and then thinly slice. Rinse well and spin dry. Add kale to oranges along with dried cranberries.

DRESSING

Directions

  1. Blend the dressing, honey, and cranberries until smooth, and toss with the salad (try using a small smoothie blender or hand blender). Sprinkle with candied pecans.

    Variation:
    • Substitute the cranberries and honey with 1/3 cup of cranberry sauce for a quick dressing alternative, to use up that after-holiday-dinner cranberry sauce.
    • Add some sliced leftover turkey for a tasty salad add-on.