Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Chicken and Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
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Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad is one of the best salads you’ll ever eat! It’s packed with bright flavor and nutritious ingredients. And you’ll likely find yourself making this Orange Poppy Seed vinaigrette dressing on repeat. Who knew salad could be so good? The cranberries make this a perfect Thanksgiving green salad or holiday side dish!
Best Thanksgiving Salad Recipe
This salad is easily one of my new favorites! It has such exciting flavors that all blend so amazingly well together!
We all know that cranberry and orange were made to go together but when you add in creamy avocados, salty feta cheese, crunchy toasted almonds, and a slightly sweet poppy seed dressing incredible things just happen. I’d put this on my Thanksgiving menu, skipping the chicken and adding more autumn elements, like a butternut squash in bite-sized pieces. I think this would also be delicious with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and pomegranate seeds.
Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing
Then of course I added grilled chicken because I wanted to make a meal out of this, plus I just love the flavor of any kind of orange chicken so I knew this salad needed it. Pears or cherries would make great substitutions for the fruit, and you can get creative with the nuts too (my family loves pecans on everything for Thanksgiving dinner).
You can use another type of lettuce with this salad, pretty much any mellow type of lettuce will do, I just love spinach for its’ color and nutrition. This would also make an incredible Brussels sprouts salad or kale salad. Choose goat cheese if you want a milder taste, or blue cheese if you like even more tangy flavor.
Another thing I may try adding to this sometime would be bacon. I actually love the way bacon and orange pair together, plus nearly any salad (or any food for that matter) is better with bacon, right?
Let me know if this salad joins your Thanksgiving side dishes! Enjoy!
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Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Chicken and Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
Salad
- 1 lb chicken , grilled
- 9 oz baby spinach
- 2 medium avocados , cored and diced
- 1 cup crumbled feta
- 3/4 cup sliced almonds , toasted
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Add olive oil, canola oil, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard and salt to a blender. Pulse until well emulsified. Pour into a jar and stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl. Pour dressing over top and toss to evenly coat. Serve immediately.
- Recipe source: Cooking Classy