Winter Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette

Need something fresh and vibrant to lighten up your winter meals? You’ll love this Winter Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette! So many yummy flavors, crunch, and textures in this fun salad. Blood oranges sweeten up this tangy vinaigrette and give the salad so much vibrance! A perfect lunch or side dish. Paleo, Whole30, and Vegan.

One week into January, and so far, trying to find all the ways to load up on veggies and antioxidants. Obsessing over this new Winter Salad creation. Absolutely loving the combo of crunchy cucumber and tomatoes, a sweet crunch with pomegranate and clementines, salty and delicious pistachios, all rounded out with this amazing Blood Orange Vinaigrette! It’s currently on repeat for lunch.

Blood Oranges

How do you all feel about blood oranges? We’ve been eating them like candy around here. I am loving them for several reasons:

1. They taste delicious. Less acidic than regular oranges, and almost a raspberry taste (which happens to be my favorite fruit!)
2. They pack in antioxidants. Besides being loaded with Vitamin C like regular oranges, they also contain Anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is a powerful antioxidant that gives blood oranges that red color.
3. Did you know that blood oranges are a good source of fiber? Just a small blood orange has 3 grams of fiber, and I love this addition for myself and my family

How to make Winter Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette: 

So we start off by making a simple vinaigrette. You guys will love the fact that this vinaigrette requires no blender or food processor. Just a few simple ingredients that you shake up in a jar or container with a lid. We toss in some avocado oil, the juice of a few blood oranges, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sea salt, and garlic powder. That’s it!!

And now we assemble the salad. I use arugula which is my favorite green (although you can use your personal favorite, possibly a variety of mixed greens). And then we add the fun stuff: diced cucumbers, diced tomatoes, clementines, pomegranate seeds, sliced avocado, and pistachios.

Pour the dressing on top, and toss altogether. Season with a little sea salt and pepper!

Ingredient swaps:

Clementines: you can easily replace these with blood orange slices! Also a great idea, I just love how easy clementines are to peel.

Pomegranates: In the spring/summer months, feel free to swap in raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries. Dried cranberries are also a great option!

Tomatoes/Cucumbers: Love these just for more color and crunch, but you can always omit.

Blood orange: In different seasons when blood oranges aren’t available, feel free to swap in regular orange juice. OR, use a lime with a little honey in the summer months!

Pistachios: Almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts make a great substitute for pistachios. Although I do love pistachios in a salad 🙂

Make ahead:

If serving for a special occasion or you just want to make ahead, go ahead and make the dressing. It can sit at room temperature for up to 8 hours, otherwise, refrigerate. When ready to serve toss all of the ingredients together. Once you dress the salad, it does not keep well. You can always keep extra dressing in the fridge to enjoy for multiple days.

Other salads you may love:

I love salads so much, it’s probably my favorite recipe to develop. If you love this one, I have so many others you will also enjoy:

Shaved Brussels sprouts and Pear Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

Blueberry and Mango Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Broccoli and Apple Rainbow Salad

Fall Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette

Superfood Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette