The Best Citrus Salad Recipe: A Taste of Spring

Spring brings fresh flavors, colorful fruits, and refreshing tastes—and what better way to celebrate its crisp and aromatic notes than with a citrus salad? It's easy to make and is always a crowd-pleaser.

Citrus salad is versatile enough to turn into your main dish (by adding a protein) or to serve as an appetizing side dish. Plus, the dressing you'll make with this salad recipe can be used again and again for a variety of different salads.

Not only will you love the bold flavors and the simplicity of the salad's preparation, but you'll also get ample nutritional benefits from the fresh ingredients in this citrus salad—including, of course, vitamin C-packed citrus fruits! So you can delight your taste buds while treating your body to immune health benefits; talk about a win-win!

The Best Citrus Salad Recipe

This easy-to-make and nutritious citrus salad serves eight.

Ingredients

• 5 cups arugula
• Lemon juice from ½ lemon
• 2 navel oranges
• 2 blood oranges
• 1 grapefruit
• ⅓ cup pomegranate seeds
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shaved
• ¼ cup pistachios, shelled
• Fresh mint

Dressing

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp honey

Preparation

1. Whisk oil, Dijon mustard, and honey to make dressing.
2. Add arugula to a bowl and pour dressing over arugula. Toss to combine well.
3. Spread arugula on your plating dish and drizzle lemon juice from half a lemon onto arugula.
4. Remove the peel from each citrus and then cut into slices.
5. Place the slices on top of the arugula, arranging different citrus throughout.
6. Top with pomegranate seeds, Parmesan cheese, pistachios, and fresh mint.

Nutrition facts per serving

Calories: 204
Protein: 3 g
Carbohydrates: 21 g
Fat: 12 g

How do you cut citrus fruits for fruit salad?

There are various ways to cut citrus for fruit salad, depending on the purpose of the dish and how you'll be serving the salad:

• Wedges – Wedges are triangular sections with the peel intact.
• Slices – Slices are thin and circular with or without the peel.
• Supremes – Supremes are similar to wedges with all of the peel and pith removed.

Wedges are often the easiest method to cut citrus fruits, and slices are quick and easy as well if you're keeping the peel on. With slightly more prep time, removing the peel and then slicing the fruit will leave you with colorful, thin slices that display well and are easy to eat.

Supremes may be the most time-consuming method to cut citrus for fruit salad, but even those take less than a minute. You'll be left with flavorful pieces that can be consumed without any peel or pith. This technique showcases the fruits' colorful middles.

What are the health benefits of citrus salad?

One of the best features of citrus salad is the variety of nutrients that provide important health benefits. Citrus salad does not need to be only citrus; you can use ingredients already in your refrigerator and your pantry to add color, micronutrients and health benefits:

• Add avocado slices or a few tablespoons of chopped avocado to your citrus salad for an extra dose of healthy fats.
• Adding a few tablespoons of thinly sliced almonds is another good way to add healthy fats.

The other ingredients used in this salad recipe also deliver health benefits:

• Arugula

  – Leafy greens like arugula help support your liver and healthy detoxification.

• Olive oil

  – Olive oil is a great source of healthy fats and helps promote healthy liver enzymes.

• Blood oranges

  – Blood oranges contain compounds that help promote a healthy body weight.

• Navel oranges

  – Navel oranges are packed with vitamin C, which is well-known for its immune support properties.

• Grapefruit

  – Grapefruit also contains vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that provides cellular protection throughout the body.

• Pomegranate seeds

  – Pomegranate contains polyphenol antioxidants that support a healthy inflammatory response and promote heart health.

Does citrus salad add enough quercetin to your diet?

While this citrus salad is packed with vitamin C and other beneficial nutrients, citrus also contains quercetin, a flavonoid that helps give citrus and other fruits and vegetables their colors. Flavonoids like quercetin are antioxidants that fight free radicals in the body and help support immune system response and other aspects of health. Also, research suggests quercetin and vitamin C work particularly well together for immune health.

Despite the volume of fresh citrus in this citrus salad, choosing a dietary supplement to get your quercetin may be a more convenient and consistent way to get this important nutrient.

Supplements like Optimized Quercetin deliver 250 mg of standardized quercetin along with vitamin C and other nutrients to encourage healthy immune function, especially in a seasonally changing environment, as well as cellular health and more.

References

• Champion C. "Health benefits of pomegranates extend throughout the body." UCLA Health. March 2022. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/health-benefits-of-pomegranates-extend-throughout-the-body
• "Grapefruit Benefits." Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/grapefruit-benefits
• "Quercetin." Mount Sinai. https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/quercetin