Barley Free Spinach Mandarin Almond Salad
Bright, refreshing, and packed with color, this spinach salad is the kind of dish that looks like it came from a restaurant but comes together in minutes with zero cooking required. Sweet mandarin oranges, crunchy dry-roasted almonds, and paper-thin red onion sit on a bed of tender baby spinach — it's a combination that hits every texture and flavor note at once. The real star is the homemade dressing, a zippy blend of fresh orange juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, ginger, and turmeric that ties everything together with a warm, citrusy brightness. Because every component here is naturally free of grain-based additives, you don't have to squint at ingredient labels or worry about hidden fillers sneaking into your bowl. Store-bought dressings are notorious for containing unexpected thickeners and grain derivatives, so whisking your own in a small bowl is both safer and genuinely tastier. A handful of torn fresh mint scattered over the top at the end adds an optional but lovely herbal lift that makes the whole salad feel a little more special. This one is equally at home as a light weeknight side or a crowd-pleasing dish to bring to a gathering.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the salad
- 5 oz baby spinach
- 2 cans (11 oz each) mandarin oranges, drained
- ½ cup dry-roasted almonds, roughly chopped
- ¼ red onion, very thinly sliced
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
- ½ tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, torn (optional)
Instructions
- 1
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, grated ginger, turmeric, salt, and black pepper until the dressing is smooth and emulsified.
- 2
Add the baby spinach, drained mandarin oranges, chopped almonds, and sliced red onion to a large salad bowl.
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