Easy Pasta & Spinach Salad With Teriyaki Dressing (My Favorite!)

This restaurant quality salad tastes even
better than it looks! A great meal or side
dish to serve family and friends.

Dressing ingredients:

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (I use Kikkoman)

1/3 cup rice wine (may substitute rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or pink Himalayan salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup avocado or olive oil

Salad Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked bowtie pasta noodles

4 cups baby soinach leaves (stems removed)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup cashew nuts

1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves

2 cuties (fresh mandarin oranges)**

Method:

Add all of the dressing ingredients to a jar or cruet with a lid. Shake to combine and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cook the pasta according to the package dirrections. Drain and rinse with cold water. Gently pat dry and set aside.

Peel and separate the oranges into segments. (Remove any extra threads from the segments.

Add the spinach, pasta, cranberries, nuts, cilantro and orange segments to a large bowl. Toss to combine. If you are serving the salad in one large bowl, just before serving, pour the dressing over all and toss again. Otherwise, place individual portions in bowls or on plates. Drizzle the desired amount of dressing over the top of each salad. (Or let each person add their own dressing.) Makes 4 main dish servings or 6 side servings.

**If you don't have fresh mandarin oranges, one (11 ounce) drained can mandarin oranges may be substituted for the fresh ones.

Note: My husband never has liked pasta salad, so he wasn't too excited to hear what I was making for dinner, but he said he would have an open mind. He loved it and so did I! The flavor combination with the teriyaki dressing is outstanding. ❤️❤️