Today’s orange salad recipe combines juicy oranges and creamy avocados on a bed of hearty lettuce mix, sprinkled with a nut-and-cheese topping, all tossed together in a sweet-tart dressing that ends with a lovely hint of pepper.
Let us look more closely at this wonderfully fresh salad.
Is Orange Salad Healthy?
Yes, it is. Here are some reasons why:
First, as the name suggests, we’ve got orange as our main ingredient.
This fruit is known for being an antioxidant powerhouse. A medium-sized orange contains 70 mg of vitamin C, providing most of your recommended daily intake.
Next, we’ve got avocado, another superfood. This green beauty is an excellent source of healthy fats and fiber and is also packed with vitamins, such as vitamin C, E, and K.
Plus, a mix of lettuce for our salad base also adds to the amount of fiber and other essential minerals.
Now that we know about the benefits, let’s move on to the ingredients.
Ingredients You Will Need
1. For the Salad
- Orange: These fresh and juicy orange slices bring a sweet and sour taste to our salad for a mouth-watering experience.
- Avocado: Fresh and creamy avocados work surprisingly well with oranges, both in taste and texture. This seemingly odd but amazing combo will please your taste buds in the most unexpected way.
- Lettuce mix: Added for the salad base. With its vibrant red and green colors, the lettuce mix gives our salad an appetizing look and refreshing taste.
- Red onion: Red onion slices add extra aroma to our salad.
2. For the Dressing
- Olive oil: We use cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil.
- Salt: A pinch of salt to taste.
- Pepper: Pepper adds a nice kick to the overall flavor.
- Honey: Sweet in taste and dense in texture, a few drops of honey helps balance out the tart taste of other acidic ingredients.
- Orange juice: Fresh orange juice adds to the flavor and aroma of the dressing.
- Balsamic vinegar: The mildly sweet and tangy taste of balsamic vinegar makes it an all-time favorite for salad dressing.
- Dijon mustard: Dijon mustard adds pungency to elevate the flavor.
- Parsley: Parsley adds an extra aroma to the dressing.
3. For the Topping
- Pistachio nuts: Pistachio nuts have a nutty, earthy, and slightly sweet flavor.
- Feta cheese: Feta cheese is a classic ingredient when it comes to salad topping. Its briny taste and creamy texture work beautifully in our dish.
- Parsley: Parsley adds extra aroma and helps garnish our salad.
How to Prepare Ingredients for the Salad
For the orange: Cut the orange in half, then remove its skin with a peeling knife. After that, slice it thinly.
For the avocado: Cut the avocado in half, remove the seed, then peel off the skin. Then, slice it thinly.
With the lettuce mix: Wash them clean to remove any debris, then roughly chop them as desired.
How to Store the Leftover
With the leftover salad, you can store it in airtight containers in the fridge.
You shouldn’t leave it for too long because the orange will turn bitter, and the avocado will also turn brown due to oxidation.
So it is best to consume it within 24 hours for the best quality.
How to Make Orange Salad
This refreshing salad has juicy oranges and creamy avocados tossed together on a bed of greens with a delicious nut-and-cheese topping. Give it a try and get freshened up for the summer!
- prep TIME 15 mins
- total TIME 15 mins
- COURSE Side Dish
- CUISINE American
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 233 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 16 oz orange (peeled and sliced)
- 6 oz avocado (peeled and sliced)
- 2 oz red onions (sliced)
- 1 oz pistachio (cut in half)
- 0.5 oz feta cheese
- 4 oz lettuce mix
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp parsley (chopped, divided)
- 1 fl oz orange juice
- 1/2 tsp traditional Dijon mustard
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the dressing. Add 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tbsp honey, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp parsley, 1 fl oz orange juice, 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard to a mixing bowl, then stir to combine.
Assemble 4 oz lettuce mix, 16 oz orange, 6 oz avocado, 2 oz red onions, 0.5 oz feta cheese, and 1 oz pistachio on a serving plate.
Top with parsley, then drizzle the dressing over the salad before serving.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary ConsultantLuna Regina
Writer, AuthorNatalie Butler, RD, LD
Nutrition Reviewer- WayneRefreshing salad, perfect summer dish. Will make again!