Legume Free Avocado Citrus Salad with Basil-Herb Dressing
Bright, creamy, and bursting with citrus, this salad is the kind of dish that makes you feel like you're eating at a nice restaurant on a Tuesday night. Ripe avocado slices nestle alongside fresh orange and grapefruit segments on a bed of tender greens, and the whole thing gets finished with a vivid, blender-made basil-herb dressing that is genuinely stunning in both color and flavor. The dressing comes together in under a minute — fresh basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil blitzed into something silky and bright green that you'll want to put on everything. Keeping meals free of legumes doesn't mean sacrificing richness or satisfaction, and the naturally buttery texture of avocado does all the heavy lifting here without a single bean or pulse in sight. The thinly sliced red onion adds just enough bite to balance the sweetness of the citrus, while a pinch of flaky sea salt at the end pulls every element together. This is a salad that works as a light main or a showstopping starter, and it comes together with nothing more than a blender, a cutting board, and a little knife work on the citrus. Serve it immediately so the greens stay crisp and the dressing stays vivid.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the basil-herb dressing
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
For the salad
- 5 oz mixed tender greens (such as arugula, spinach, or butter lettuce)
- 2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, and sliced
- 2 navel oranges, peeled and segmented
- 1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented
- ¼ small red onion, very thinly sliced
- flaky sea salt, to taste
For serving
- fresh basil leaves, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Make the dressing: combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, sea salt, and ground ginger in a blender or food processor. Pulse 4–5 times until the herbs are roughly chopped. With the motor running on low, stream in the olive oil until the dressing is smooth and bright green, about 30 seconds. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
- 2
Segment the citrus: working over a bowl to catch the juice, cut away the peel and white pith from the oranges and grapefruit. Slice between the membranes to release each segment. Discard the membranes.
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