Fennel Citrus Salad with Sweet Onion Vinaigrette

This easy Fennel Citrus Salad has buttery avocados, beautiful citrus fruit, on a bed of arugula topped with crumbled feta or burrata. Drizzle it with my sweet onion vinaigrette, it’s the perfect orange salad!

This is one COLORFUL salad.

Fennel citrus salad with avocados, feta, and a sweet onion vinaigrette is just about the best thing I’ve tasted this year. The sweet onion dressing adds complexity.

I first had this salad on my birthday last year. Albeit, it was a leaf-less version, with wedges of avocado, segmented citrus fruit, and generous portions of creamy burrata cheese. Drizzled with the vinaigrette, a delicate drizzle of Meyer lemon infused olive oil, and a few fennel fronds. If it sounds heavenly, let me assure you, it was.

To make a homemade version, We’ll shave fennel slices on a mandoline slicer, make citrus fruit segments, then load it all on a bed of peppery arugula. 

The dressing contains ingredients like oil, dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and we’ll add a minced sweet vidalia onion to the mix. Blend it all up and what you’re left with it the most delicious dressing that pairs beautifully with the ingredients in the fennel citrus salad.

Save this recipe!

Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Title Email Permalink

Email *

Save

Ingredients for Fennel Citrus Salad

• Fresh Fennel Bulb: save the stalks for stock. Slice through the bulb and and make very thin slices with a mandoline. I like to hold on to some of the fennel fronds so that you can use it as a garnish the fennel salad.
• Avocados: slice up the avocados and top them on the salad at the end
• Citrus fruit: Use any citrus that you like for this recipe. Pomelo, clementines, tangerines, grapefruit, navel orange, cara cara oranges, and blood oranges are all great. Just be sure to remove the peel with a very sharp knife, and segment the fruit to separate from the membrane, taking care to remove all of the white pith
• Arugula or Spring Mix: I use arugula for the base of this salad. Baby kale, baby spinach, or mixed greens work too. You could also add in a handful of mint leaves. I love what this fresh herbs do to citrus fruit!
• Cheese: The restaurant I had this at used burrata cheese, and though I loved how that turned out, but it’s not an ingredient I keep at home. For this reason, I like using feta cheese crumbles instead
• Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil would work best since we aren’t cooking the dressing
• Dijon mustard: Mustard is essentially the emulsifier that allows the oil and vinegar ingredients to mix together and remain in harmony.
• White Wine Vinegar: You can also use champagne vinegar if you’d like.
• Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed works best here!
• Honey or Sugar: adds sweetness to the vinaigrette
• Sweet Onion: You’ll need a couple tablespoons of minced onion for this. Make sure to use a sweet onion so that it isn’t as harsh in the dressing, red onion works too but it does change the taste.

How to Make Avocado Fennel Citrus Salad

1. Segment the fruit. Cut off both ends of an orange/grapefruit with a sharp paring knife. Carefully slice down the citrus fruit on a cutting board, taking care to remove the white pith. Slice the fruit flesh as close to the white segment as you can, then do the same thing on the other side and coddle the segment out. I find the first one to be the hardest! Then repeat with the remaining fruit. Place the fruit segments on a plate or platter.
2. Make the dressing. Add the dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Make sure to season with salt and black pepper. Alternately, you can make the dressing in a jar or a bowl with a whisk. I find that the flavor of the onion less pronounced when you don’t blend it and you get minced onion in bites rather than a smooth sauce. 
3. Arrange the greens. sprinkle greens on the platter or wide serving bowl. Then add sliced avocados, citrus fruit segments.
4. Dress the salad and serve. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. If you want to use burrata I like to toss the salad, then top it with burrata right before serving. You can also drizzle it with your favorite lemon olive oil to finish if you like. Top with a some freshly cracked pepper and a few fennel fronds for a little added color!

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Sweet Peach Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Crunchy Asparagus Orzo Salad with Lemon Shallot Dressing
• Sweet and Tangy Thai Mango Salad
• Winter Crisp Pear and Walnut Salad with Gorgonzola
• Refreshing Cucumber Melon Salad