Most of us know that we should be eating more vegetables, but sometimes it can be tempting to eschew our salad for something a little tastier. Topping your salad with this sesame seed vinaigrette is a sure-fire way to bring some flavour back to your hackneyed recipes.

This simple but delicious dressing is a great topper for salads and roasted vegetables. The sesame seed is a nutrition powerhouse. Along with containing plenty of fiber and protein, it’s loaded with essential minerals and vitamins. A 100g serving contains more than 100% of your daily value of calcium and iron, two common nutrient deficiencies. It’s also a great source of zinc, copper, and magnesium.

You will likely find all the ingredients at your local grocery store, but if you have trouble finding sesame oil, try an Asian grocery store in your area. You can pair this sesame dressing with any greens of your choice, but the flavours particularly go well with spring mix. We also recommend keeping plenty of sesame seeds on hand to sprinkle over your salad.

Spring Mix Salad with Sesame Seed Vinaigrette

Serves 4

For the dressing:

1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tbsp ginger, minced

For the salad:

1 bag spring mix
1 avocado, cubed
4 mandarin oranges*, sliced
1/2 cup almonds, sliced
1/4 cup sesame seeds

*If you don’t have mandarin oranges, you can substitute them with an equal serving of a different orange. If you’re using larger navel oranges, cut the number you use in half.

Preheat oven to 350°F (120° C).

Add all salad dressing ingredients into a container with a tight lid. Shake well to mix. Set aside.

Spread your almonds out on a baking sheet and bake for roughly five minutes to toast. If you would to also like to toast your sesame seeds, you may want to roast them in separate batches since the sesame seeds need less time.

Divide your spring mix into four bowls and add your avocado, sesame seeds, oranges, and almond slices.

Top with the dressing, mix, and serve.