Simple Citrus Salad

January 09, 2020

This refreshingly simple citrus salad features grapefruit and oranges topped with a tangy vinaigrette and fresh mint. A light and healthy side dish!

Here’s a refreshingly simple recipe that’s just begging to jump on your table: citrus salad! It stars all the beautiful, vibrant citrus: tangy grapefruit, navel oranges, and sweet blood oranges. They’re drizzled with a zingy dressing, then topped crushed pistachios and fresh mint. It’s so gorgeous that you can’t help but eat it! This healthy side dish is perfect with salmon or to offset the richness of pasta.

How to make a citrus salad?

This citrus salad is a little different than what you might expect from the title: it’s got no salad greens! Green salads are what Alex and I most often use to accessorize our meals. But there are so many salads without greens: think potato salad, pasta salad, and bean salad. Here, citrus salad is a variety of citrus fruits arranged on a plate. You can use any mix of citrus fruits that you like! Here’s what we used:

Navel oranges
Blood oranges if you can find them! The mix of colors and flavors is stunning.
Grapefruit
Vinaigrette: White wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon, and maple (optional if you’re limiting sugar)

The garnish steps it up!

This citrus salad is more of a concept than a recipe. As we mentioned, you can use any citrus you like! Once you’ve drizzled the vinaigrette over the top, adding the garnishes really takes it up a notch. Again, it’s highly customizable. Here’s what we used:

Fresh mint. Mint is perfect with citrus! Not only does it look beautiful, it’s a nice color contrast. Other good herbs to pair: fresh thyme or basil.
Thinly sliced shallots. Shallots are like a baby red onion: they’re much milder in flavor. They look lovely thinly sliced into rings, with a light purple color.
Finely crushed pistachios. If you have them on hand, crushed pistachios look like bright green confetti. It’s not required, but it adds a nice touch.

How to cut off a citrus peel

The only piece of technique in this citrus salad is cutting off the orange peel. Cutting off the peel (instead of removing it by hand) removes all the tough pith and makes for a clean-looking salad. It’s actually the first step in our How to Cut an Orange method, which is also a French method called cutting it into supremes. You’ll use the same method for oranges and grapefruits here. Here’s how to cut off a citrus peel for this salad:

Step 1: Slice off the ends. Use a large chef’s knife to slice off both ends of the orange. Make sure you’ve cut through all of the pith and can see some of the orange flesh.
Step 2: Cut off the peel. Angle your knife and follow the round shape of the orange to remove the peel. Be careful not to cut too much of the orange flesh away.

What to serve with this citrus salad!

This citrus salad is so simple and refreshing, the vibe goes with almost anything you could imagine (really)! It’s got a bit of a Mediterranean-style or Italian vibe, so it pairs nicely with meals in that style. It’s a lovely side for lasagna or salmon. Here are some of our favorite ideas for pairing:

Lemon Dill Salmon or Shrimp Marinara This tangy salad is a great side dish for salmon or shrimp.
Vegan Pasta Alfredo This rich and creamy pasta sauce works well with citrus.
Favorite Vegan Lasagna or Spicy Kale Lasagna This salad is perfect side to offset the richness of lasagna. (PS this vegan lasagna will become your new favorite lasagna: guaranteed.)

Change it up: go Latin-style!

If you want to change the vibe of this citrus salad to work with Mexican or Latin-style flavors like as a side for enchiladas or tacos, here’s what to do:

Use chopped cilantro instead of mint.
Use 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion instead of shallot.
Use lime juice instead of white wine vinegar.

This citrus salad recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.