Are you looking for a fresh chopped salad is BURTSTING with flavors and texture? You are in the right place! This chopped Mandarin Orange Salad with Romaine & Iceberg Lettuce is a colorful addition to any supper, tailgate, luncheon, or event. (Psst: Scroll to the bottom for the recipe conversion for 96 people!)
This salad is addictive! I am not sure if it is the sweet dressing, the crunch of the almonds, or the blend of chopped lettuce, but it is hard to have just one scoop of the flavorful salad!
The Players on the Field:
Mandarin Orange Salad with Romaine and Iceberg Lettuce
Salad Ingredients
- sliced almonds & granulated sugar
- Romaine and iceberg lettuces
- celery and green onions
- 1 can mandarin oranges
Salad Dressing Ingredients
- salt
- vegetable oil
- fresh parsley
- sugar
- apple cider vinegar
- Tabasco sauce
A friend of mine and I recently hosted a Mardi Gras themed luncheon, featuring her AMAZING Red Beans and Rice, and my Jambalaya with Zatarain’s ®. We wanted a fresh chopped salad to round out the menu, and she shared this Mandarin Orange Salad recipe with me from Bread with a Side of Butter. Oh my….I was HOOKED. I made it three times prior to our event. And I took lots of photos! (You guys know me….I always test the recipes & food displays prior to the tailgate/event! The transporting of food is the name of the game in tailgating! LOL) Each time, I tweaked a few things …particularly with the sugaring of almonds.
The Playbook:
Mandarin Orange Salad with Romaine and Iceberg Lettuce
- Sugaring and roasting the almonds takes time…roast LOW AND SLOW and STIR THE ENTIRE TIME!
I REALLY recommend having at least 2 cups of almonds on hand just in case your first batch doesn’t turn out the way you want. - Make the dressing the night before for entertaining ease! Let the salad dressing chill overnight for the best flavor.
- A food processor shortens the prep time, especially if you are doubling (or quadrupling!) your salad. We used the slicer blade for the celery and the cutting blade for the parsley.
- YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS: Serve the salad immediately! Hold everything in fridge or cooler until serving time. The dressing is oil-based, which means the longer the salad sits around the more wilted the lettuce becomes. Serving and eating quickly is recommended. None of the recipes I saw for Mandarin Orange Salad told me this, and I was a bit surprised that the salad wilted after two hours. So….now ya know!
Take it to the Tailgate: PRO TIPS
1) The day before your event:
* Chop lettuces, green onions, and celery. Store in plastic zip lock bags.
* Roast & sugar almonds. Let cool; store in a zip lock bag.
* Mix dressing. Store in a Tupperware container in your refrigerator.
* Clean a salad bowl and salad tongs. Dry well. Wrap tongs in cling wrap for easy
sanitary transport.
* Cover salad bowl with cling wrap.
2) The day of your event/tailgate:
* Open the can of mandarin oranges and drain them. Put orange slices in a zip lock bag.
* Put salad ingredients, oranges, & the Tupperware with dressing in a cooler.
* When you arrive at your tailgate, toss salad ingredients & oranges together in your bowl.
dressing. Toss to coat. Add almonds and give the salad a final toss.
Mandarin Orange Salad with Romaine and Iceberg Lettuce
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce chopped
- 1/2 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 cup celery finely chopped
- 2 whole green onions finely chopped
- 11 ounce can mandarin oranges drained
Salad Dressing
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon parsley fresh and finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegars
- 2-3 dashes Tabasco sauce
- 2 Tbs granulated sugar
Instructions
Directions for the Salad:
- Put sugar and almonds in a medium saucepan. Cook on low to medium high heat , stirring constantly. They will be done with the sugar is almost melted. Remove from heat and turn out onto a sheet of wax or parchment paper. The time between the sugar melting and almonds turning dark brown is short – remove early if you are questioning doneness. They will still be crisp and sweet. Store in an airtight container. This step may take 15 minutes.
- Chop and rinse romaine & iceberg lettuces. Pat dry with paper towels so no moisture is left on the lettuce. (If storing overnight, place a dry paper towel on top of the lettuce prior to refrigeration. This will absorb the moisture.)
- Drain mandarin oranges. Set aside.
- Add lettuce, chopped green onion, and chopped celery to a large serving bowl. Toss to mix.
- Add mandarin oranges to the salad bowl and toss lightly. Add salad dressing and toss. Add prepared sugared almonds and give the salad one final toss. Serve immediately.
Directions for Salad Dressing
- Add salad dressing ingredients to a Tupperware type container. Chill. Before serving, whisk dressing well as some ingredients settle to the bottom.
Notes
Mandarin Orange Salad with Romaine & Iceberg Lettuce
96 Servings!
| Mandarin Orange Salad 16 servings for 96 people | |||||||
| Ingredient | measurement | Measurement type | Total need | Total | Measurement type | ||
| Almonds | 0.5 | cup | 16 | 8 | cup | ||
| Sugar | 3 | tablespoons | 16 | 48 | tablespoons | ||
| Iceburg | 0.50 | head | 16 | 8 | head | ||
| Romain | 0.5 | head | 16 | 8 | head | ||
| Celery | 1 | cup | 16 | 16 | cup | ||
| Green onions | 2 | whole | 16 | 32 | whole | ||
| mandarin | 11 | oz | 16 | 176 | oz | 16 cans | cans |
| Mandarin Orange Salad Dressing 16 servings for 96 people | |||||
| Ingredient | measurement | Measurement type | Total need | Total | Measurement type |
| salt | 0.5 | teaspoon | 16 | 8 | teaspoon |
| vegetable oil | 0.33 | cup | 16 | 5.28 | cup |
| parsley | 1.00 | tablespoon | 16 | 16 | tablespoon |
| sugar | 2 | tablespoon | 16 | 32 | tablespoon |
| apple cider | 2 | tablespoon | 16 | 32 | tablespoon |
| tabasco | 3 | dashes | 16 | 48 | dashes |
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