A Tangy Winter Citrus Avocado Green Salad that is exploding with flavors from blood oranges, pomegranate seeds, avocado, and creamy goat cheese.

winter citrus green salad in a large white bowl with salad tossers

Table of Contents

This colorful winter salad celebrates the produce of the season like pomegranates and blood oranges. It combines the tangy citrus flavors with creamy goat cheese and mild avocado for the perfect balance.

I don’t usually care for salads, and have so few of them on my blog because I don’t like boring salads. If I’m going to eat a salad, it needs to be satisfying and full of texture and flavor.

This is SUCH a good salad, I know you will love it just as much as I do!

The best salad is dynamic with lots of flavors and textures. Like a crisp lettuce, something crunchy, a tangy fruit, and always cheese.

You’ll find all of that deliciousness inside this Tangy Winter Citrus Avocado Green Salad. It’s truly one of the best winter salad recipes!

winter citrus green salad in a large bowl and sliced blood oranges off to the side

Avocado Green Salad Ingredients

Unlike a summer Farmer’s Market Salad, which has a bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables to choose from, a winter salad makes the most of the fresh fruits in season.

Winter fruits are surprisingly more plentiful than you might think. Some of the best citrus is available during the winter months!

Pomegranates, blood oranges, tangelos, and persimmons are all fruits that are available in the winter.

sliced blood oranges on a plate with a blue striped napkin

Here are the ingredients for the salad:

Spinach
Pomegranate arils (pomegranate seeds)
Avocado
Blood orange
Honey roasted pecans
Goat cheese
Wonton strips

Blood Orange Vinaigrette

The blood orange vinaigrette was one of the first salad dressings I ever made. Every time I serve this salad, my guests go nuts for the dressing. I mean they are literally licking their plates clean!

You might think making your own salad dressing or vinaigrette is intimidating, but it’s really quite simple.

The vinaigrette is made with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, and the juice from a blood orange.

I also like to add a pinch of my favorite all purpose seasoning to the vinaigrette instead of salt and pepper. I realize not everyone will have that seasoning on hand, so the recipe just calls for salt and pepper.

You should definitely make a double batch and save the rest in the fridge for later (it’ll keep in an airtight container for about a week). You’ll never want to buy bottled dressing again!

What Is A Blood Orange?

A blood orange might look like a regular orange from the outside, but once you slice it open you’ll see the deep maroon pigment that gives this orange its name.

The flesh gets its color when the fruit develops overnight in low temperatures. Sometimes you might even see the dark pigment on the outside of the orange too.

What Does A Blood Orange Taste Like?

Unlike sweet navel oranges, a blood orange is very tangy and has a similar taste to a raspberry. I prefer eating these oranges with other things, like mixed into a salad or baked into a muffin rather than eating them on their own.

close up of the green salad with a plate off to the side

How To Make This Winter Citrus Salad

Make the vinaigrette. Combine the dijon mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, and blood orange juice.
Make the salad. In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, blood oranges, pomegranate seeds, avocado, pecans, wonton strips, and goat cheese. Toss with the vinaigrette and serve.

Optional: toss the spinach in half the dressing before adding the rest of the ingredients. I like to do this with all my salads to make sure the dressing is really mixed in there without breaking any of the salad toppings.

If you want to add protein to your salad, try adding blackened shrimp, sesame ginger chicken, or air fryer salmon.

Recipe Notes

You can swap out the fruit in this salad depending on what’s in season. I love adding grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes too!
Try using a small amount of flavored olive oil in the dressing. Lemon infused olive oil tastes really nice.
When butternut squash in season, I love to roast it and add to it this salad.
If you don’t like goat cheese, you can substitute it for blue cheese or feta cheese.

salad on a white plate with a black fork

Other Salad Recipes You Might Like

Did you make this recipe? Post a photo on Instagram and tag me @JZEATS or #JZEATS so I can see! Leave a comment below and let me know what you think, too!