Name: Citrus Salad with Avocado and Pistachios
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 blood oranges, peeled and sliced; 2 cara cara or navel oranges, peeled and sliced; 1 pink grapefruit, peeled and sliced; 1 avocado, sliced; 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced; 1/4 cup pistachios, unsalted; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, see Notes; 1 teaspoon honey, or maple syrup; squeeze of fresh lime juice; salt and black pepper, to taste; fresh mint leaves

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Deliciously bright and zesty citrus salad with avocado and pistachios! Put this season’s best produce to good use in a fresh and healthy salad. Quick and easy to make in just three steps, and under 10 minutes!

overhead image of citrus salad on a platter with fresh mint on the side

What You’ll Need To Make Citrus Salad

Blood Oranges – While they most certainly add flavor, they just as importantly add a stunning deep red color to this side dish. Less tangy and more tart than most other oranges, blood oranges diversify the overall recipe. However, if you can’t find blood oranges or they’re simply not your thing, feel free to replace them with any other type of orange you’d like.

Cara Cara or Navel Oranges – I know many people rave about cara cara oranges this time of year, and for obvious reasons – they’re freaking delicious! Though for this citrus salad recipe I used navel oranges, due to the simple fact that they were on sale. And let me tell ya, there wasn’t a thing I’d change about how this plant-based dish turned out.

Avocado – Peak avocado season is January through March, which coincidentally is also peak citrus season. So I figured, since we’re on a seasonal produce kick over here, why not use as much winter produce in this salad as possible?! And that’s exactly what I did. While not necessary, avocado does add in some healthy fats and mild flavor.

Pistachios – Every salad needs a good crunch, and this citrus salad is no exception! Unsalted pistachios play perfectly with the other textures in this dish.

Sherry Vinegar – Either sherry vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice would taste delicious in this citrus salad dressing. Feel free to use whichever you have on-hand and/or like the most!

Tips and Tricks

Avoid serving this citrus salad right away, and instead leave it to sit for at least 10 minutes before eating. This time will allow the flavors to develop and marinate, making for an even more delicious salad!
If not gluten-free, serve this citrus salad with a side of toasted crusty bread! Bread is the perfect pairing to this fresh and bright recipe, and ideal for soaking up that orange and grapefruit juice.
You can either peel then segment your citrus fruit, or peel then slice it for this dish. For instructions on how to segment and slice oranges, check out this video I posted!

close-up image of citrus salad with avocado and pistachios

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Nut-Free: Replace the pistachios with either unsalted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds for a nice, nut-free crunch!

Make it Vegan: This recipe is already almost completely vegan! The only thing that’s not is the honey in the dressing, so to make it 100% vegan, simply replace the honey with maple syrup.