Bursting with color and flavor–bright citrus, ripe avocado, roasted pecans, and maple sherry vinaigrette–sweet, spicy, creamy, and crunch–you absolutely need this arugula salad with clementines and pepper-spiced pecans!
As the weather gets hotter, we’re not much into turning the oven on for toasting a few nuts. No problem here–these caramelized crunchy peppery pecans are pan roasted, stovetop. Just stir the nuts around in a hot heavy-bottomed skillet with maple syrup, a bit of coconut oil, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. They toast up beautifully!
While the nuts cool into their crunchiness, whisk up a light tangy-sweet dressing out of sherry vinegar, maple syrup, a titch of Dijon mustard, and extra virgin olive oil. The sherry vinegar’s robust almost-caramel toasted nut flavor accents the peppery arugula, sweet mandarins, and oh—those pecans!
Click here to PIN Arugula Salad with Clementines and Maple Pepper Pecans!
Grab the last of the spring season’s kid-sized oranges and add this amazing arugula salad with mandarin orange and maple pepper pecans to your salad repertoire!
Just so you know, some of the links below are affiliates. When you purchase products via my links, it doesn’t cost you anything and I earn a tiny commission, which helps me continue to provide free content here on Letty’s Kitchen. Thank you!!
Arugula Salad with Clementines and Maple Pepper Pecans details:
- Mandarin oranges are slightly smaller hybrid cousins of the standard orange. Much in the same way gala and fuji are apple varietals, tangerines and clementines are varietals of the mandarin.
- From November into late spring, you can find kid-sized, easy-to-peel super sweet mandarins fresh—with brand names like Cuties, Halos, and Dimples. When mandarin oranges aren’t in season, simply substitute canned mandarin oranges. (Affiliate link.) Strawberries are also delicious here, and pears.
- Made from fermented and aged Spanish wine, sherry vinegar (affiliate link) gives this vinaigrette dressing its distinct pleasing taste. Try sprinkling sherry vinegar on sautéed greens like kale, a bit of acid always brings out the flavor in greens!  In these chard quesadillas sherry vinegar is one of the surprise ingredients!
- If your arugula comes from a garden or farm share box, it will likely be more peppery than baby arugula. All the better for a vibrant salad! Do take the time to remove and discard the larger stems, and tear the leaves into smaller pieces.
Make it a fabulous week–get in the kitchen and cook a light and delicious salad!
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Arugula Salad with Mandarin Orange and Maple Pepper Pecans
Ingredients
Maple pepper pecans:
- 3/4 cup pecans
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3/4 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Sherry Vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salad:
- 5 ounces baby arugula or larger arugula leaves, (see note)
- 2 each fresh mandarin oranges, peeled and separated into segments (see note)
- 1 each avocado, diced
Instructions
Maple pepper pecans:
- Stir the pecans, maple syrup, coconut oil, salt, and pepper together in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Stir continuously until the pecans are golden and the maple syrup has caramelized, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, but continue to stir so the pecans don’t all clump together. Set aside to cool.
Sherry vinaigrette:
- Whisk the vinegar, mustard, garlic, maple syrup, salt, and pepper together. Continue whisking while drizzling in the olive oil.
Salad assembly:
- Toss the arugula in a bowl with a few tablespoons of vinaigrette. Mix another tablespoon with the clementine segments so they are shiny, and then mix them with the arugula, adding more vinaigrette if you think it’s needed. Arrange in a bowl or on individual plates. Top with the maple pepper pecans and avocado. Finish with several grinds of black pepper.
Notes
- Makes more vinaigrette than you will likely use for this salad.
- Midsummer, when mandarin oranges aren’t in season, substitute canned mandarin oranges.
- If you have arugula from your garden or farm share box, remove and discard the stems and tear the larger leaves into smaller (1 ½-inch) pieces.
Hi Letty, I found a great recipe for vegan “bacon bits” using the bigger flaked coconut and spices. They’re broiled-crispy and yummy on top of salads. · 29 May, 2018
Hi Jolie,
I have yet to make those, but I’ve sure saved more than one coconut bacon on Pinterest!! · 4 June, 2018
Hi Jolie,
I have yet to try coconut bacon–though I’ve certainly saved more than one recipe on Pinterest!! · 4 June, 2018
I served this salad for Christmas dinner, and it was a huge hit! I love the contrasting bitterness of the arugula with the tartness of the oranges and the sweetness of the pecans. Really delicious! · 28 December, 2018
Thank you Lori! I’m so happy to hear that! I brought it to a Christmas Eve dinner and my group loved it too! · 29 December, 2018
This is fantastic! I doubled the pecans. Everybody loved it, and it’s become a family favorite. · 1 June, 2023
Thank you! I so appreciate your comment and I’m delighted you enjoy the salad! · 9 June, 2023