Recipe: Mandarin Orange and Spinach Pasta Salad
Are you looking to spruce up your salad game? This Mandarin Orange & Spinach Pasta Salad adds a nice twist by blending a pasta salad with a traditional green salad.
Spinach is the star ingredient of this recipe, packed with vitamin K for healthy bones and blood clotting, as well as good amounts of iron and vitamin C. The tricky thing about non-heme iron (the iron found in plant sources) is that it is not absorbed as well as heme iron (the type found in animal products). Certain substances in plants, such as phytic acid, can further impair the absorption of this non-heme iron.
Some nutrients increase non-heme absorption though, and vitamin C is one of them. The non-heme iron in spinach is better absorbed when eaten with a source of vitamin C. The mandarin oranges and cranberries add an extra boost of vitamin C to help you take in even more of spinach’s coveted iron!
Enjoy this sweet and savory dish as either a side salad or consider topping it with a favorite protein to make it a Plate Method entrée.
Mandarin Orange and Spinach Pasta Salad
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 12 oz box farfalle (aka “bowtie”) pasta noodles
- 5 oz bag fresh spinach leaves (approx 5 cups, loosely packed)
- 1/2 C dried cranberries
- 1/2 C slivered almonds
- 10.5 oz can or 2 snack cups (4 oz each) of mandarin oranges, drained
- 1/4 C cilantro leaves, roughly chopped (optional)
Dressing
- 1/3 C teriyaki sauce
- 1/3 C rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil + 1/3 C olive oil (or 1/2 C olive oil)
Directions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. (Usually, add pasta to 6-8 cups boiling water in a pot on the stove over high heat. Return to a boil and cook for 8-15 minutes or until tender.) Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, prepare the dressing. Combine teriyaki sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, sugar, and oil in an empty jar or a small mixing bowl. Tighten the lid firmly and shake it to combine it in the jar or whisk it together in the bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, combine pasta, spinach, dried cranberries, slivered almonds, mandarin oranges, and cilantro.
- Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad and toss to coat.
- Serve in bowls as a side dish (4 servings) or as a main entrée with your favorite protein (2 servings).
Swaps
- For the pasta: penne, rotini, zucchini noodles, or extra spinach
- For the spinach leaves: chopped kale, romaine lettuce, spring mix
- For the dried cranberries: pomegranate seeds, dried apricots (chopped)
- For the slivered almonds: sliced almonds, pine nuts, cashews, peanuts
- For the rice wine vinegar: apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, orange juice, lime juice
Recipe modified from: https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/mandarin-pasta-spinach-salad-with-teriyaki-dressing