This Spinach Salad with Warm Citrus Vinaigrette is a gluten-free, vegetarian meal perfect for a light lunch or Meatless Monday.

Spinach Salad with Warm Citrus Vinaigrette
Salads are my staple meal. It’s rare for me to go a day without one. Or two. I love the fact that the greens selection and topping options are unlimited so my salads are never boring. I’ve taken to making my own dressings over the past several years, mostly because with few exceptions (Panera and Trader Joes), I don’t love the taste or nutritional content of bottled dressing.
Recently, I stumbled upon a recipe in the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women: Healthy Recipes for Your Heart cookbook. It happened to be on page 20. Why does that matter, you ask? This month’s Recipe Redux challenge is to “Grab a Book and Cook” by choosing a recipe on any page that uses any combination of the numbers in “2016”
This Spinach Salad with Warm Citrus Vinaigrette is packed with antioxidants, healthy fats and fiber. I decreased the sugars in the dressing by using reduced sugar OJ and golden variety monk fruit instead of brown sugar. I also swapped out the almonds for my favorite pistachios. No offense almonds, I’m still a fan, but I’m obsessed with pistachios lately. I also LOVE yellow snacking tomatoes for their mild flavor and sunny color so I added them in as well. This salad is a great vegetarian option and also perfect for Meatless Monday. For a heartier meal, add your favorite protein like grilled chicken, salmon, shrimp or sautéed tofu. How about some crumbled turkey bacon on that spinach salad?
This lightened-up Spinach Salad with Warm Citrus Vinaigrette is #glutenfree & #vegetarian http://wp.me/p4LsrV-G3 Share on XCheck out the rest of my fellow Recipe Reduxers and what they chose to recreate from their favorite cookbooks by clicking the link below….

Spinach Salad with Warm Orange Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- Salad:
- 4 ounces baby spinach leaves
- 4 ounces yellow grape tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoon crumbled goat cheese
- 20 pistachios chopped
- Dressing:
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 scallion thinly sliced (approx. 1 Tablespoon)
- 2 Tablespoon orange juice I used low sugar OJ sweetened with stevia
- 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons monkfruit golden variety or brown sugar
- 1/16 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Divide spinach amongst 2 serving bowls, add rows of tomatoes, pistachios and goat cheese
- Heat olive oil in a small saucepan on low to medium heat.
- Add scallions and cook for approximately 2 minutes until softened, swirling the pan occasionally.
- Add the OJ, vinegar, sweetener and pepper. Let simmer for a few minutes until thoroughly heated.
- Pour dressing over the salads and enjoy.
- If making only one serving, refrigerate remaining dressing to save for later.


Love the vinaigrette recipe! I just might make this salad for dinner. 🙂
Thanks, Janice!!
A wintery salad sounds perfect today! Love this recipe
Thanks, Autumn!
Love the thought of a warm citrus vinaigrette! Mmmmm!
Thanks, Marisa!
I love the sound of this vinaigrette! Pinned 🙂