This Winter Citrus Salad Recipe is a classy yet incredibly simple salad. Enjoy it as an appetizer, light main meal, or side dish to pair with grilled chicken, holiday ham, or pot pie!
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I don’t know about you but I love how a beautiful table salad can instantly add elegance to a meal without much effort or time. In fact, this citrus salad just requires 15 minutes to assemble and offers a delicious and stunning addition to upcoming holiday meals or can be enjoyed as a light and healthy lunch or dinner.
The acidic citrus fruit in this salad is perfectly balanced out by the sweet mustard dressing, all laid out on a bed of mixed spring greens with crunchy almonds, sliced cucumber, and creamy avocado!
Serve this Winter Citrus Salad chilled or at room temperature once freshly made - perfect for entertaining or as a quick and easy midweek family meal! Just drizzle on Orange Poppy Seed Dressing and you're good to go.
❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's a stunning winter citrus salad for special occasions such as the holidays or other celebrations.
- 15 minutes is all you need to make this delicious and healthy winter salad with sweet mustard dressing - ideal for a light midweek dinner or easy side dish.
- This winter orange salad can be varied in so many ways to suit your ingredient preferences.
🧂 Ingredients
- Mixed spring greens
- Blood Orange – peeled and thinly sliced
- Clementines – peeled and cut into segments
- Avocado
- Seedless Cucumber – sliced
- Pomegranate Arils
- Almonds
- Medium orange
- Sherry vinegar or cider vinegar
- Sugar
- Dijon-style mustard
- Ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil
- Poppy seeds
Equipment
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Here is what you will need to make this easy recipe:
- Cutting Board
- Santoku Knife
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Spoons
- Dry Measuring Cups
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Whisk
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⭐ Tips
- Take care to remove as much of the white pith from the citrus as possible. The pith is very bitter.
- Easily double the ingredients to serve this winter orange salad to a larger crowd - great for the holidays or special occasions.
- Leftover dressing can be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight container while leftover salad should be consumed within 3 days before the ingredients start to wilt and become soggy.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions (and answers!) readers often ask about this winter orange salad.
“Supreming” an orange is simply a fancy term used in the culinary world for the technique used to remove the orange rind from the flesh of the fruit so that you can cut and serve your orange in an aesthetically pleasing way, especially when it comes to pretty salads like this Winter Citrus Salad!
If you’ve never supremed an orange before, follow these easy steps:
1. Slice off the top and bottom of your orange with a chef’s knife or sharp kitchen knife.
2. Position your orange upright on a cutting board and slice off the orange peel and pith, from the top to the bottom of the orange in long sections, following the shape of the orange.
3. Repeat this until all of the peel is removed. Go back and slice off any remaining white pith on your orange.
4. Once cleanly peeled, place the orange on its side and proceed to slice it in whichever way you prefer. For this salad, I opted to slice my blood orange in thin slices.
Blood oranges have a more subtle sweet flavor compared to standard oranges. It also has a slightly tangy taste of a red grapefruit combined with tart berries.
If you enjoy a semi-sweet to tart fruit, then a blood orange is definitely one to add to your salads. It doesn’t hurt either that the flesh of the blood orange displays a beautifully striking crimson color!
If you’ve never removed the seeds from a pomegranate before, it can seem a little daunting - where to start, right?!
It’s actually not difficult at all if you follow this simple technique of mine. Once you’ve cleaned your fruit, cut the pomegranate in half, horizontally, and then place a bowl in the sink.
Hold one half of the fruit in your non-dominant hand, facing the cut side towards the bowl and making sure to spread your fingers apart or hold the pomegranate on either side (whichever is easier). Take a wooden spoon in your dominant hand and start hitting the surface of the pomegranate with a good amount of force till the seeds start to fall out.
Flip the cut side of the fruit towards you to check if any seeds are still stuck in certain areas and then hit the fruit in those specific areas till all the seeds have been released.
You may find some of the white membrane mixed in with the seeds but you can just remove that from the bowl before adding to the salad.
👉 This delicious recipe is one of our 50+ Best Thanksgiving Recipes.
⏲️ Storage
The dressing can be kept in the refrigerator for 4-5 days in an airtight container. I like to use mason jars for things like Lemon Vinaigrette Salad Dressing and Avocado Ranch Dressing.
The salad itself - without dressing will last 1-2 days in an airtight container in the fridge. (These are my favorite containers.)
📖 Variations
- Use a different nut from the almonds I’ve added or a combination of your favorite nuts.
- Include other types of oranges in addition to the blood orange and clementine such as Valencia, Cara Cara or Navel oranges.
- Add some animal protein to your winter orange salad by adding in some shredded/pulled chicken or turkey meat.
- Add baked croutons to this winter citrus salad as well as sliced shallots or sweet onions for some additional crunch.
- For a protein-packed vegan salad, add in some roasted chickpeas.
- Add some fresh mint leaves and finely shaved pecorino cheese as garnish.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
This winter citrus salad can be enjoyed as an appetizer, side dish or a light main meal. Consider pairing your salad with these delicious recipes for a well balanced meal:
- Grilled Lemon Chicken
- Roasted Chicken And Vegetables
- Butternut Squash Casserole With Pecans
- Easy Turkey Pot Pie
- Turkey Breast Recipe
- Petite Sirloin Steak
- Rotisserie Chicken Salad
- Apple Feta Salad
This orange poppyseed dressing is so tasty!
😋 Similar Recipes
Roasted Beet Salad and Spinach and Strawberry Salad are two of my most favorite salads - that is until I tried this Citrus Salad. Omigosh! So delicious!! Here are a couple of other salads you might enjoy:
- Mandarin Orange Salad with Chicken - A great way to use up store-bought rotisserie chicken. The added orange sweetness and nutty crunch makes this appealing even to picky eaters!
- Fruit Salad with Orange Juice Dressing - A simple and naturally sweet fruit salad that can be whipped up in no time at all and served as a tasty side dish to an array of mains.
- Honey Lime Fruit Salad - The perfect fruit salad for your next brunch that can be dressed up or dressed down depending on the occasion.
- Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Salad: This copycat restaurant recipe is the perfect blend of sweet and savory flavors with loads of good-for-you ingredients. It's so colorful and delicious!
Not ready to make this winter citrus salad yet?
Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later! When you do make it, please be sure to tag me on Instagram @jugglingactmama or #jugglingactmama – I’d love to see your pictures! And finally, if you get a chance, please comment and leave me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below!
Winter Citrus Salad
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Equipment
Ingredients
Winter Citrus Salad
- 6 cups mixed spring greens
- 1 Blood Orange – peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 Clementines – peeled and cut into segments
- 1 Avocado - sliced
- ½ Seedless Cucumber – sliced
- ½ cup Pomegranate Arils
- ⅓ cup Almonds
- Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
Instructions
- Prepare the Orange Poppy Seed Dressing first, then set aside.Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
- Next, arrange the greens on a serving plate.6 cups mixed spring greens
- Top with the prepared blood oranges, clementines, cucumbers and avocados.1 Blood Orange – peeled and thinly sliced, 2 Clementines – peeled and cut into segments, 1 Avocado - sliced, ½ Seedless Cucumber – sliced
- Sprinkle the pomegranate arils and almonds on top.½ cup Pomegranate Arils, ⅓ cup Almonds
- Drizzle on the dressing just before serving.
Notes
For best results, be sure to check our Tips and FAQs above with important tips and questions that can help your delicious recipe come out perfectly.
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