Pork Free Avocado Citrus Salad with Basil-Herb Dressing
This vibrant salad is a celebration of fresh, bright flavors — creamy avocado, juicy citrus segments, and peppery greens all brought together by a blender dressing that turns an almost absurd amount of fresh basil into something genuinely stunning. The basil-herb dressing is the real star here: two full cups of packed basil leaves blended with parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and a whisper of ground ginger create a sauce that's herbaceous, zippy, and a gorgeous shade of green. Segmenting the oranges and grapefruit by hand takes a few extra minutes but rewards you with clean, jewel-like pieces that look beautiful against the sliced avocado. Thin slivers of red onion add just enough bite to keep every forkful interesting without overwhelming the delicate greens underneath. This is the kind of dish that works equally well as a light lunch or an impressive starter at a dinner table — it comes together quickly and looks like you put in far more effort than you actually did. Every ingredient here is naturally free of any pork-derived products, so there's nothing to second-guess or swap out; just fresh produce, good olive oil, and herbs doing exactly what they do best.
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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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