Apple, Mandarin Orange, Pear and Feta Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

Apple Mandarin Orange Pear and Feta Spinach Salad is the ultimate fall salad! It has delicious fresh flavors, beautiful colors and when finished with this Orange Poppy Seed Dressing no one can resist. It’s sure to be one of your fall favorites!

The flavors, the colors, the textures, the sweet, the salty, the tang it’s all spot on .You get those tender spinach leaves laden with crisp sweet apples, bright tangy oranges and those soft and juicy mellow pears.

Then you add toasted crunchy pecans and salty feta to that blend and finally finish it all off with the most irresistible Orange Poppy Seed Dressing!

With love and full tummies ~ Mama Bear 

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Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients :

Salad:

• 9 oz. baby spinach
• 3 small mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
• 2 small red gala apples, cored and diced
• 2 bartlette pears, cored and diced
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Orange Poppy Seed Dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

For the dressing:

• Add all of the dressing ingredients to a jar, cover with lid and shake to emulsify. 
• Chill for 30 minutes if possible. Shake again just before pouring over salad.

For the salad:

• Layer spinach, apples, mandarin oranges, pears, pecans and feta into a large salad bowl. 
• Drizzle with dressing and toss to evenly coat. Serve immediately.

A Salad People with Request Again & Again :

• This a salad that everyone is going to remember. And not only that they’ll be begging you to make it again, and again!
• But for a shortcut you can just tell everyone it’s Autumn/Fall Spinach Salad with Best Dressing :).
• It’s basically and autumn version of the beloved strawberry spinach salad with poppy seed dressing.
• If you like fruit and if you like salads you will be head over heals crazy about this one.

Notes :

• For make ahead you can prep the dressing a day or two in advance and chill in the refrigerator, crumble the feta, and toast the pecans. Then wait to cut up the fruit so it doesn’t brown until your ready to serve.

• Serve this salad right away. That soft spinach leaves will start to wither pretty quickly once that dressing is added if they sit.

How to Let Those Colors Shine :

• If you want to be super particular and to let the colors shine you can layer the fruit over the top with the skin side of the apples and pears facing upward (in other words just cut them keep them together and move them skin side up when you transfer them to the salad, if that makes sense).

• And looaaddd on that dressing! It is just too good!

Source: Cooking Classy