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Spring Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

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Spring salad with citrus vinaigrette combines olive oil, lemons, limes, and oranges to create a sweet but tart dressing perfect for crisp mixed greens.  

Ladies and gentlemen, Spring is on its way. Temperatures are slowly climbing, and that means barbecues and picnics are definitely in the future. With that being said, a lot of people still have to dine indoors. But that doesn’t mean they have to miss out on Spring’s delicious flavors. For this recipe, we decided to prepare a crisp dish that can be enjoyed indoors or outside. Our Spring salad with citrus vinaigrette will leave you feeling like you just enjoyed a fresh meal under bright blue skies and warm sunshine.

Spring Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette being poured.

Nothing starts a meal quite like a fresh salad with brisk dressing. It cleanses the palate and entices the taste buds in preparation for the satisfying main course. Since the Spring months are approaching fast, your produce section will begin stocking itself with a variety of salad mixes. We chose the Spring mix for obvious reasons. It’s the perfect blend of crunchy texture and earthy flavors to play host to this sharp yet delightful vinaigrette. The balance of acid to sugar in this dressing mingles well and provides an alternative to heavy cream dressings. Also, you could pair this salad with our egg rolls for an Asian inspired vegetarian meal. We hope you decide to incorporate it into your next meal plan. Wishing you great food, lots of love, and longevity!

Bottle of homemade citrus vinaigrette dressing.

Unfortunately, there is no real backstory or cute narrative to accompany this recipe. I wish I had some memoir to add, but I simply do not. If you are looking for fiction, feel free to look me up on Amazon. Instead, I have decided to go with a different tone for this post and sincerely hope you still find it satisfactory. If not, hang in there, we will surely make a dish that has an engaging narrative very soon. For now, sit back, relax and enjoy the food!

Instructions:

Salad Preparation:

I know I say this a lot, but this recipe is simple to prepare. The real star is the dressing, and it only takes a few minutes to put together. Now, on the recipe card, I put the traditional method to making a vinaigrette; however, if you look in the “Notes” section you will see how I make a vinaigrette. I will go into a little more detail below. But first, let’s get started on the preparation work.

To begin, wash the Spring mix and either use a salad spinner or paper towels to dry the greens. Then put them in a large mixing bowl and set it aside. Next, shred the carrots and add them to the salad mix. Afterward, shred the parmesan cheese into a separate bowl and put it aside for later. Go ahead and chop the garlic and shallot and put them into another mixing bowl. Now that everything is prepped you can make the vinaigrette.

Top down view of Spring Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette in a bottle and fresh citrus fruit.

Citrus Vinaigrette:

In the same bowl as the garlic and shallot, add the lemon, lime, and orange juices. Give the ingredients a quick whisk to make sure they are blended. For the traditional method, slowly add the olive oil to the mixture while whisking at the same time. This action causes them to combine into the vinaigrette. With that being said, when I make a dressing, I chose the easy route. I add the garlic, juices, olive oil, shallot, and any seasonings to a mason jar, seal it, and then shake vigorously. That has always worked for me, and I invite you to give a shot as well. You may find it to be the easiest way to make your favorite dressings. Make sure you taste the dressing and add any salt or pepper if needed. All that is left to do now is to add the vinaigrette to the salad, mix and then garnish with the Parmesan cheese. Alternately, you can plate each salad individually, dress, then add the Parmesan cheese. The choice is up to you, enjoy it any way you like.

Looking for more salad dressing recipes?  Try our Parmesan Caesar Dressing or Spicy Ranch Dressing.

If you like this recipe, please leave us a comment and rate the recipe card. You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram searching for Berly’s Kitchen!

5 from 1 vote
Print
Spring Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
20 mins
 
Spring salad with citrus vinaigrette combines olive oil, lemons, limes, and oranges to create a sweet but tart dressing perfect for crisp mixed greens.
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 16 ounces
Calories: 150 kcal
Author: John
Ingredients
Salad
  • 1 5 Ounce Bag of Spring Salad Mix- Washed
  • 4 Ounces of Shredded Carrots
  • 1 Ounce of Shredded Parmesan Cheese (optional)
Citrus Vinaigrette
  • 8 Ounces of Mandarin Orange Juice
  • 4 Ounces of Lemon Juice
  • 4 Ounces of Lime Juice
  • 6 to 8 Ounces of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon of Chopped Shallot
  • 1 Tablespoon of Chopped Garlic
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
Prep
  1. Wash salad mix and pat or spin dry and put into large mixing bowl.
  2. Shred Parmesan Cheese and set aside.
  3. Shred carrots and combine with salad mix.
  4. Chop garlic and shallots and set aside.
Citrus Vinaigrette
  1. In a different mixing bowl or container with lid combine garlic, shallot, orange, lemon, and lime juices.
  2. While mixing, slowly add olive oil to juices, continue process until all oil is blended into vinaigrette.
  3. Try dressing and add salt and pepper to taste.
Assembly
  1. Pour finished vinaigrette over spring mix in large bowl and toss greens or plate greens, then add dressing.
  2. Garnish with Parmesan Cheese and enjoy.
Recipe Notes

Alternately, you may combine the garlic, shallots, citrus juices and olive oil into a mason jar and shake vigorously. It's not the traditional way, but it's how we made this vinaigrette. Leave off the cheese to make the salad vegan!

Nutrition Facts
Spring Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Amount Per Serving
Calories 150
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Thank you, Alina! Vinaigrettes are so fun to make. You can experiment with them from time to time and create your own dressing. Using infused oils also changes the flavors too. 🙂

      Reply

  3. Your citrus vinaigrette sounds amazing. I try to eat salad every day and I am need of a new dressing. Pinning this one:)

    Reply

  5. This looks DEVINE! I will definitely be trying next week 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe!

    Reply

  9. Reading through this brought a smile to my face 🙂 . This is such a kid friendly recipe, I am sure my little helpers are going to have fun with it. Thank you for sharing !!

    Reply

    • Thank you, Syama! I am glad you enjoyed and I hope your little ones have fun making the dish. If nothing else, toss all the ingredients into one plastic shaker cup and let them go crazy mixing the vinaigrette lol! 🙂

      Reply

  10. This looks amazing! I’ll be honest – I’ve never made my own dressings before. I’ve always been a little intimidated because it seems so complicated, I guess? I don’t know why. But I’ll have to give this one a shot and get over my intimidation 😉

    Reply

    • Thank you, Leah! Give it try, it’s easy and fun to make up new flavors. Lemon poppyseed, balsamic and orange, making all kinds of variations is a blast 🙂

      Reply

    • Thank you, Kari! Ew! Still snowing, huh? I try not to complain too much about the weather, I live in South Florida so we never really have a Winter.

      Reply

  13. I love citrus-y salads. Especially if you’re using a bitter and earthy green. I am going to have to try this salad out!

    Reply

    • Thank you, Krysten! I have always been more of a ranch dressing person myself, but I found citrus flavors to be much more appealing as I got into adulthood. Thanks again for commenting 🙂

      Reply

    • Thank you, Ayanna! I know what you mean. It’s crazy how much sugar gets added to bottled dressings. It’s nice when you can make your own alternatives 🙂

      Reply

  18. This looks and sounds SO flavorful – especially lime mixed with lemon, and garlic mixed with shallot! Going to have to try this dressing!

    Reply

    • Thank you, Robin! I love the way citrus and garlic flavors mix in a dressing. On a side note, they also work well in a roasted whole chicken. I usually stuff the body cavity with oranges, lemons, limes, and garlic cloves. So fragrant and delicious 🙂

      Reply

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