Avocado Citrus Salad
This vibrant avocado citrus salad combines the best winter citrus with creamy avocado and peppery arugula topped with toasted pine nuts and a tangy dijon vinaigrette. Its mix of bright flavors, colors and textures makes every bite refreshing and exciting – perfect when you want a stunning but easy salad.
Why you’ll love this avocado citrus salad
Every year when citrus season comes around, I look forward to nothing more than this salad. I’ve been making variations of it for years, but lately I’ve been keeping it simple to allow the citrus and avocado to shine with delicious contrast.
I’ve topped this salad with my basic dijon vinaigrette, but I added a tiny bit of honey to the mix to enhance the sweetness of the citrus.
This salad pairs really well with main dishes, especially basics like crispy pork milanese and baked lemon garlic salmon, but it also works really well as a lunch or brunch option. I think it would be delicious great served alongside a dairy free quiche lorraine.
I should also mention that while this recipe is ideal for winter citrus season, I do make it year round and most citrus is still relatively easy to get throughout the year. You might just have to swap the cara cara with something else.
More dairy free salad recipes: Thai chicken salad / romaine wedge salad / pizza salad / winter fruit salad
Ingredients:
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
- Citrus – I like to use a mix of citrus for this recipe, but if you don’t particularly like grapefruit or a certain type of orange, feel free to swap it for another. Use what you have!
- Avocado – You’re going to want medium-ripe avocados. Not too hard and not too soft. Basically a unicorn avocado.
- Red onion – We like to use red onion for color, but I always rinse them to take the bite off. If you want to use pickled onion, that works too, and will tone down the onion flavor even more.
- Pine nuts – I love the texture of pine nuts in this salad. If you don’t like them, feel free to swap for another nut. I think my next choice would be toasted sliced almonds.
- Dijon vinaigrette – Homemade dressing is always the best, but you want to use a store bought version, that’s totally up to you. Though, I do recommend trying one in this recipe. It doesn’t take as long as you think!
Melissa’s tips for recipe success:
- Rinse your onion – Raw onion can be a bit harsh, so I like to rinse mine in cold water. This takes away the harsh flavor that can be overwhelming to some. It’s an optional step, but I think it makes a difference.
- Keep your avocado fresh – If your avocado is even slightly softening, put it in the fridge. This will extend it’s shelf life, and can keep for up to a week – not always, but it helps, I promise!
- Toast your pine nuts – This salad doesn’t have much in the way of ingredients, so it’s important to add flavor when possible. Toasting your pine nuts brings out the delicious, nutty flavor.
More citrus season favorites: lemon curd cookies / orange poppy seed cake / salty dog cocktail / lemon blueberry pancakes
More avocado recipes: chipotle chicken avocado melt / avocado green goddess dressing / blackened tuna steaks with avocado mango salsa
Ingredients
- 3 cups arugula
- 1 small grapefruit (peeled and sliced)
- 1 blood orange (peeled and sliced)
- 1 navel orange (peeled and sliced)
- 1 cara cara orange (peeled and sliced)
- 1 large avocado (peeled and sliced)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion (rinsed)
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- Black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Make the dressing. In small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, Dijon, honey and salt & pepper until smooth. Set aside.
- Arrange the salad. Place the arugula in a single layer on a large platter. Top with citrus, avocado, red onion and pine nuts. Then, drizzle the salad with dressing and serve immediately.
Before leaving a comment or rating, ask yourself: