Paraben Free Avocado Citrus Salad with Basil-Herb Dressing
Bright, creamy, and bursting with fresh citrus, this salad is the kind of dish that makes you feel like you're eating somewhere sunny and expensive. Ripe avocado slices nestle alongside juicy orange and grapefruit segments on a bed of tender mixed greens, finished with paper-thin red onion for a little bite. The real star is the blender dressing — a vivid, herb-forward blend of fresh basil, parsley, garlic, and lemon juice that comes together in under a minute and tastes nothing like anything from a bottle. Every single component here is a whole, recognizable ingredient, which matters when you're trying to avoid the synthetic preservatives and additives that sneak into so many store-bought dressings and pre-packaged salad kits. Making the dressing yourself from scratch means you know exactly what's going in — just olive oil, fresh herbs, citrus, and a touch of ginger. The result is clean, vibrant, and genuinely delicious, with layers of flavor that feel far more complex than the short ingredient list suggests. Serve it immediately after dressing so the greens stay crisp and the avocado stays gorgeous.
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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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