This vibrant Citrus Avocado Salad recipe is a refreshing and nutritious treat that combines the creaminess of ripe avocados with the zesty burst of citrus fruits. It's a harmonious blend of flavors and textures that will tantalize your taste buds and leave you feeling satisfied and energized!
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I love sharing recipes that I've created on lazy weeknights when I didn't feel like cooking but felt guilty ordering in. That is how this Citrus Avocado Salad Recipe was born. Like my Spring Vegetable and Berry Salad or this Sweet Carrot Salad Recipe, it could not be more simple to make. If you have ripe avocado and citrus fruit, you have just about everything you'll need. Super healthy, super delicious, super easy!
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Reasons to love this recipe
- Just 3 main ingredients: so simple to make!
- It's nutritious: avocados, citrus fruit, red onion, and avocado oil (here is more about Why Avocado Oil is a Kitchen Superstar), are all rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It's so energizing!
- It's quick to make: just 10 minutes and the salad is ready.
- It's full of flavor: sweet, juicy and savory!
Ingredients
- Avocado: adds creamy texture to the salad. Select avocados that are ripe but not overripe. They should be slightly firm to the touch but yield to gentle pressure. If they're too soft, they might turn mushy in the salad.
- Citrus fruit: Like in this Citrus Shrimp Salad, I use an orange in the salad, but you can experiment with different citrus fruits to add variety to your salad. Oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, and blood oranges are all excellent choices.
- Red onion: adds a little crunch to the salad and balances the flavors. It adds a subtle kick of sharpness and contrast to the sweetness of the citrus and creaminess of the avocados.
Substitutions and variations
- Red onion: swap red onion for sweet onion
- Avocado oil: extra virgin olive oil, grapeseed oil, and coconut oil all work as a substitute
- Citrus fruit: some diced mango will add a sweet citrusy flavor and can be used instead. Mango is great in salads. I add it to red cabbage in our Red Cabbage and Mango Slaw and to this Asparagus and Mango Salad Recipe.
You may also like to add one or more of these to the salad: - Cilantro: a handful of chopped cilantro will add more freshness and flavor.
- Dried cranberries: a handful will add sweet/tangy flavor.
- Walnuts: a little bit of toasted and crushed walnuts will add more crunch.
Preparation
STEP 1: Prepare ingredients
Add the ripe sliced avocados, citrus fruit, and sliced red onion to a mixing bowl.
STEP 2: Make salad
Add fresh lemon juice and avocado oil. Season with salt and stir well to combine.
Top Tips
- Use fresh and ripe avocados - unripe avocados can make your salad taste bitter and overly ripe avocado can make your salad mushy.
- Avocados can brown quickly, so make sure to cut them just before serving. Drizzle the lemon juice over the avocado slices to help prevent browning.
- To ensure you don't oversalt the salad, add ¼ teaspoon of salt at the very end, give it a taste, and then add more salt if necessary
- Keep it Simple: Simplicity can be key with this salad. Let the natural flavors of the citrus and avocados shine by not overcrowding it with too many additional ingredients.
Frequently Asked Questions
I don't usually segment the citrus fruits when I am making a salad for the family on a weeknight because it does take a little extra time, however, it enhances the salad's appearance and makes it easier to eat. So if you have a little extra time, cut off the ends of the fruit, then use a sharp knife to cut away the peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit the cut along each membrane to release the segments.
When choosing a ripe avocado at a grocery store, look for a rich green color. Unripe avocados have lighter skin. But please be aware that the color of avocado may not always be the best indicator of its ripeness. Some darker avocados may be perfectly ripe and others may be over-ripened. The color may give you a slight indicator at a first glance and will help you decide for which avocado to reach.
A more reliable indicator is an avocado's firmness. Squeeze an avocado slightly with your fingers. If it doesn't give to pressure at all, it will need a few more days before it ripens. An avocado should yield to pressure slightly, yet still feel somewhat firm. If the avocado is soft, it may be too mushy and overripened.
Absolutely, lime juice will work just as well.
Serving suggestions
Serve the salad at room temperature or chilled out of the fridge. Serving it chilled is my personal preference. If it's yours as well, place the ingredients (especially the avocado and thecitrus fruit) in the refrigerator and allow them to cool before preparing the salad.
It's great with a meat dish, like our Cheesy Chicken and Mushroom Recipe or with a seafood dish, like this Pan Seared Salmon with Vegetables. Some Oven Roasted Potato Cubes are yummy on the side!
Storage suggestions
Store leftovers in the refrigerator, in an airtight container upto 3 days
Try these other simple salad recipes:
If you tried this Citrus Avocado Salad Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Citrus Avocado Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1-2 citrus fruit 3 clementines or 1 larger citrus fruit such as orange or grapefruit, a combination - blood orange look amazing!
- ½ sliced red onion
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
Instructions
- Place the diced avocados, citrus fruit, and red onion in a large bowl - see notes section on how to cut avocado and citrus fruit.
- Season with salt and drizzle with the lemon juice and avocado oil. Stir well to combine. Add more salt to taste.
Notes
- Use fresh and ripe avocados - unripe avocados can make your salad taste bitter
- Avocados can brown quickly, so make sure to cut them just before serving. Drizzle the lemon juice over the avocado slices to help prevent browning - the juice from the citrus fruit helps as well.
- To ensure you don't oversalt the salad, add ¼ teaspoon of salt at the very end, give it a taste, and then add more salt if necessary
- Rinse avocadoes under running water and pat them with a paper towel to dry.
- Cut avocados in half, lengthwise, around the pit. Open the two halves.
- Remove the pit: To protect your hand use a kitchen towel and hold the avocado half with the pit with your non-dominant hand. Holding the chef's knife with your other hand, carefully and gently put pressure on the pit until the knife wedges into the pit. Slowly and gently twist the knife until the pit comes out. Alternatively, you may scoop out the avocado flesh (with the pit still inside) using a tablespoon and then slice the avocado flesh around the pit.
- Now, using a tablespoon scoop out the avocado from the skin, discard the skin or use them for this April Fools Rice Krispies Treats, and using the chef's knife and a cutting board cut the avocado into small bite-size pieces.
- To cut an orange, grapefruit, or tangerine - any citrus you would use for this salad - place the citrus fruit on a cutting board and, using a sharp knife, cut about ½ inch of the top and ½ inch of the bottom of the fruit.
- Next, stand the orange/citrus fruit up on the cutting board and carefully cut the skin off following the contour of the orange. Repeat this around the entire fruit. Slice the orange into about ½-inch rounds and then dice into smaller pieces, as you would for a salad.
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