This citrus fennel salad is teeming with vibrant colors, textures, and freshness from shaved fennel, bright and juicy citrus, cool, creamy avocado, and a champagne vinaigrette for a colorful, clean side salad to any rich meal.
Simple salads should not be underestimated. They’re the perfect light and fresh foil for rich and heavy dishes, quick and easy to prepare, and a great way to add color and freshness to your plate. I particularly love a punchy salad made with fresh citrus, like my citrus shrimp and avocado salad, avocado, grapefruit and fennel salad, and my quinoa and kale protein power salad. This citrus fennel salad tastes just as gorgeous as it looks, with its bejeweled ombré citrus slices, creamy avocado, and fresh herbs, all mingling in a bright champagne vinaigrette.
Why You’ll Love It
- This colorful citrus fennel salad is bursting with bright and fresh flavors and awesome textures
- It’s a great way to lighten up a heavier protein but also super delicious on its own as a light bite
- It’s easy to make and super versatile too—play around with different varieties of citrus, and add some nuts or cheese if you like
Citrus Fennel Salad Ingredients
- Fresh citrus—I use an assortment of navel oranges, cara caras, minneolas, mandarins, and blood oranges
- Fennel—adds a nice crunch, and a peppery, licorice flavor to the salad that pairs so well with the citrus
- Avocado—lends a nice richness and creamy texture to this salad
- Shallot—I slice them super thin. If slices of shallot are too strong for you, chop about 1 tablespoon of the shallot finely and add to the salad dressing for a lighter onion-y flavor.
- Olive oil—use a bright, fruity, extra-virgin olive oil for this salad
- Champagne vinegar—for acidity in our vinaigrette (you could also use white balsamic vinegar)
- Honey—for just a bit of sweetness
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper—always, for flavor
- Mint—for color and freshness that plays so well with the citrus
- Fennel fronds—for presentation (these are so pretty in a salad!)
Find the complete recipe with measurements below
How to Make This Citrus Fennel Salad
- Prep the citrus. Slice the peels off of the citrus, cut into thin slices, and place them in a bowl or on a serving plate.
- Layer. Layer the citrus with thinly slivered fennel slices. Add avocado slices and shallot slivers.
- Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, slowly whisk the olive oil into the champagne vinegar until emulsified. Add the honey and whisk to mix. Season with salt and pepper.
- Dress and serve. Pour dressing over the salad and season with more kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Top with reserved fennel fronds and mint leaves.
Recipe Variations & Tips
- Arugula, endive, or butter lettuce would be amazing additions to this salad
- Goat cheese, burrata, or shaved Manchego would be tasty cheese additions
- For even more sweetness and crunch, add some pomegranate seeds, and/or candied pecans
- Kalamata or Spanish olives would also be delicious additions
- The best way to get sliver-thin veggies is with my favorite kitchen tool. Get one, it will change your kitchen forever.
What to Serve with This Citrus Fennel Salad
- Grilled Salmon
- Au Gratin Potatoes
- Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken
- 10-Minute Maple Glazed Baked Salmon
- The BEST Simple Roast Chicken
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Citrus Fennel Salad
Ingredients
- An assortment of citrus , (totaling about 2 ½ to 3 pounds)
- I used:
- 3 navel oranges
- 3 cara cara oranges
- 2 minneola oranges
- 3 mandarin oranges
- 1 blood orange
- ½ fennel bulb , very thinly sliced
- 1 avocado , peeled, pitted and sliced
- ½ shallot , peeled and very thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- Reserved fennel fronds
Instructions
- Slice the peels off of the citrus and place them in a bowl or on a serving plate. Layer with thinly slivered fennel slices. Add avocado slices and shallot slivers.
- In a small bowl, slowly whisk the olive oil into the champagne vinegar until emulsified. Add the honey and whisk to mix. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
- Pour dressing over the salad and season with more kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Top with reserved fennel fronds and mint leaves.
More Refreshing Salads to Try
- Strawberry Burrata Salad
- Roasted Beet and Ricotta Salad
- Mediterranean Tomato Salad
- Burrata Salad with Pear and Prosciutto
- Avocado Grapefruit and Fennel Salad
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There are affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Theresa Polacek
Love this salad to the point of craving! Thank you Foodie Crushf or turning me on to it!!
I’m so glad to hear that Theresa! I agree, the flavors are awesome.
Lyn
I’ve been salivating over this salad recipe for ages, and will finally make it today, but I think the number of servings is off. It says it serves 2, and includes 12 citrus fruits. That’s a lot of citrus for two people!
Theresa Polacek
I find myself craving the fresh, bright taste of this salad! Every time I make it my family says how much they love it. Tonight I’ll serve it over a bed of arugula….
Hayley
We’re so happy you and your family are fans, Theresa! And this would be delish over some arugula—yum!
Kathy
This is so good! I’d never had fennel before but the flavor and texture combinations are perfect!
Glad you enjoyed Kathy!
Andrea
This is a lovely salad. My husband and I made it together and had some on the back porch in our garden. Perfect addition to our day. Thank you for sharing.
Happy to hear you both enjoyed Andrea!
Stacey
Such a weird but delicious combination! Never try this before! I must try it
Terri Hanan
this is my go to Easter fruit salad. Just beautiful and so fresh and tasty!
Michelle
This looks like it would be amazing with the blood orange evoo and champagne vinegar from my work! I will have to try making this!
BURGET Rachel
bonjour, elle fait trop envie cette recette je vais la faire dans ces prochain jour je salive déjà ? merci la photo est super on mange d’abord avec les yeux :-)
Toni
Looks delicious. I’m always looking for new recipes for my son, who has become very conscious of eating healthy. I’ve copied so many of your recipes and am preparing a binder of all my copied recipes. I must note that we don’t care for onions or garlic in my family so I will modify many of the recipes. This is one of those recipes that can be modified to to be made without onion/shallots and I think it will still be amazing because the pungent onions/shallots will not overpower the more mild flavors of the other ingredients. I don’t believe every recipe has to have have onions and/ or garlic. In my family, we cook without those two ingredients and never have missed them but have enjoyed all the other aromatic flavors in foods since they haven’t been overpowered by pungent foods. Of course, this is just my opinion and am not suggesting that people should cook or eat like my family.
Taimy
I got here by accident when I clicked a link that says: “7 homemade detox drinks for weight loss” and not drinks here. :(