Chopped Salad with Oranges and Candied Pecans
This chopped salad with oranges and candied pecans is not only crazy nutritious, but out-of-this-world delicious. You could say I am pretty much addicted to this salad.
I’d venture to say that having a nice portion of this nutrition-filled salad a day would help ward off most illnesses. It is packed full of vitamins and minerals in the seasonal fruits, vegetables, cheese, and nuts.
In researching the benefits of pecans, I found that women who consumed nuts on a regular basis had better long-term cognition – better brain power!! How great is that?
Chopped Salad as a Meal
Often I eat salads as my main meal because they are full of nutrition and extremely balanced, especially if protein is added to the mix. A great addition to this salad would be orange and lemon marinated grilled chicken! Even the men in my family might consider it as a main dish.
One of my favorite ingredients in this salad is the orange slices. They add the perfect citrus flavor and are almost a dressing on their own because of their natural juices.
The flavors of the fruits marry perfectly with the nuts and mozzarella cheese. You can substitute any cheese you like in its place if you don’t like mozzarella.
This chopped salad is super colorful. If you want to add even more color, you can add a little spinach to the iceberg lettuce. In my opinion iceberg is a must for this salad, but a romaine will work, too. Iceberg has satisfying crunch and a mild flavor that makes it the perfect backdrop for the pop of flavors from the fruits.
Orange Lemon Vinaigrette is the perfect dressing for this salad.
This salad is a mainstay in my home and is always a hit at holidays, picnics, and cookouts!
Chopped Salad with Oranges and Candied Pecans
Ingredients
- 8 cups mixed greens
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup grapes, halved
- 3 oranges, sectioned and pith removed
- 1 cup mozzarella small balls
- 1 cup kiwi, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup strawberries, sliced
- 1 cup candied pecans
- 1 cup red onion, chopped
- Orange Lemon Vinaigrette
Instructions
- In a large serving bowl, mix the mixed greens and iceberg lettuce and use as the base for the other ingredients. Arrange grapes, oranges, mozzarella balls, kiwi, candied pecans, and red onion over the greens. Serve the salad with Orange Lemon Vinaigrette.
