A close up of Cranberry Orange Lettuce Salad

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Description

This Cranberry Orange Lettuce Salad with an Orange Poppy Seed Dressing is a nice winter salad when citrus fruit is at its’ peak. The addition of dried cranberries and crunchy toasted pecans complement each other to create a delicious yet simple green salad.

I have a large collection of green salads and I look forward to making variations of this one from late fall all the way through winter. This is my seasonal strategy, having different recipes for each season. Citrus fruit is at it’s peak in winter so enjoy the many varieties you see at the grocery store.

PIN Cranberry Orange Lettuce Salad for later…

Cranberry Orange Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing and toasted pecans.

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Orange Segments vs Canned Oranges

In December I make this salad with canned mandarin oranges. It’s super easy and the bright orange colour of canned mandarin segments look very festive. For an everyday salad at that time of year I’d use fresh mandarins, they must don’t have that bright orange colour.

For a nicer version, like I wanted for this photo, I used naval orange segments cut to remove all the peel and pith. The culinary term for these are citrus supremes but I call them gourmet. You could say it’s tedious but I love eating grapefruits and oranges like this so I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

Get The Tools – Cranberry Orange Lettuce Salad

When it comes to salads my dressing is always homemade. I learned to make homemade vinaigrette dressing when I first became interested in cooking and I still do. I never really liked the taste of store bought dressing so that’s just what I do.

Homemade salad dressing keeps for weeks in the fridge and I always have a few on the go. I keep salad dressing bottles and I try to label them right away (I love may Dymo label maker). These bottles keep your dressings fresh and uncontaminated. For me the label also acts as a reminder of what salad to make when I see them in the fridge.

Let me know in the comments below if you made this salad or if you changed it up a bit.

More Recipes – Winter Salads & Cranberry-Orange Recipes

Click on the (hard to see) text on the bottom of each image to go to the recipe/blog post.

A platter of gluten free Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Tomato Cumin Dressing on a bed of arugula with red onion slivers.
Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Tomato Cumin Dressing
Winter Greens with Cranberry Port Vinaigrette
Winter Greens with Cranberry Port Vinaigrette
A plate of Cranberry Orange Chicken with broccoli on the side.
Cranberry Orange Chicken

And more…

Ingredients

SALAD
1 head of soft lettuce, living lettuce or mixed leaf lettuces
1 orange cut into segments or 1 can mandarin orange segments, drained
¼ cup dried cranberries
OPTIONAL – toasted pecans
ORANGE POPPY SEED DRESSING
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp poppy seeds
3 Tbsp orange juice
¾ cup vegetable oil

Directions

1
In a small bowl combine all salad dressing ingredients except oil. Slowly whisk in the oil until the dressing is thickened slightly. Dressing will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
2
Wash and dry lettuce. Cut or tear into bite-size pieces and put in salad bowl. Add orange segments, dried cranberries and toasted pecans if using.
3
Toss salad with as much dressing as needed. Serve immediately.

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Ingredients

Directions
  • SALAD
  • 1 head of soft lettuce, living lettuce or mixed leaf lettuces
  • 1 orange cut into segments or 1 can mandarin orange segments, drained
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • OPTIONAL – toasted pecans
  • ORANGE POPPY SEED DRESSING
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp poppy seeds
  • 3 Tbsp orange juice
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  1. In a small bowl combine all salad dressing ingredients except oil. Slowly whisk in the oil until the dressing is thickened slightly. Dressing will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
  2. Wash and dry lettuce. Cut or tear into bite-size pieces and put in salad bowl. Add orange segments, dried cranberries and toasted pecans if using.
  3. Toss salad with as much dressing as needed. Serve immediately.