Karen's Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

This Grapefruit Avocado Salad is bursting with fabulous flavor, a perfect blend of fresh, sweet, and savory with layers of great texture. On top of all that, it's super healthy!

I've been making versions of this Grapefruit Avocado Salad every year, when beautiful grapefruits come into season, for almost as long as I can remember. Many (many!) years ago, my friend Karen, served a variation of this salad on Christmas Eve. I fell in love with the simple, yet delicious flavor and texture combinations that create a fabulous salad that's infinitely better than "the sum of its parts"! I don't remember what else Karen served for dinner that merry evening, but I've never forgotten this salad!

This year, I tweaked things a bit, adding dried cranberries, pickled red onions and a handful of crunchy roasted pistachios. So delicious and SO pretty, a perfect salad to celebrate the season! I love the visual presentation of this Grapefruit Avocado Salad with its gorgeous contrasting colors. This is my "go-to" salad right now!

Quickles

If you don't know about "Quickles" (our name for quick pickled red onions), you're missing out on something delicious and beautiful, a delightful way to add a burst of flavor and pizzazz to so many different dishes like salads, rice bowls, lettuce wraps, chili (pictured below) and so much more!

I love that Quickles can take on so many different flavors, depending on what type of vinegar or citrus you choose. For this salad, that features grapefruit, avocados and a honey lime dressing, I used a combination of fresh lime juice and a splash of grapefruit juice.

In the past, I've used lemon juice, white balsamic, apple cider, white wine, rice and sherry vinegars. Each one imparts a slightly different layer of flavor.

This is the easy little recipe I use:

• Halve, peel and slice a small red onion into thin wedges (I slice mine right around an eighth-inch thick). Place the slices in a small bowl or storage container.
• Drizzle the slices with citrus juice or vinegar. I aim for about 2 tablespoons.
• Add a sprinkle of sugar and salt.
• Use one hand to rub the pickling mixture into the onions, separating any clustered onions.
• Wait for the magic to begin. It won't take long. Actually, within a minute or two, the metamorphosis begins. And after 15 minutes... gorgeous,  magenta-hued quickles! They're ready to roll now but the longer they sit, the prettier they get.
• Store in the fridge for up to a week.

You won't need all of the pickled red onions for this Grapefruit Avocado Salad, just use as many as you like. But there are so many other fun things to do with them, the extras need not be wasted! Use them tucked in sandwiches, on other salads, in rice bowls, as a garnish for soups, chilies, curries... So many ways to use these little beauties!

Side or entrée

This salad makes a fresh, super delicious side for just about any main entrée but it also works well as a healthy main. Just add a grilled or sautéed chicken breast, a filet of salmon or cod or steak, fresh off the grill... delish!

Grapefruit are in their prime now! They're sweet, juicy, delicious and quite reasonable. Don't let the season slip by without making this fabulous Grapefruit Avocado Salad!

Cafe Tips for making this Grapefruit Avocado Salad

• I used arugula for making my salad this time but I've also used other greens with deliciuos results. Little gem greens, butter lettuce, Romaine or artisan lettuces are all great.
• No need to fuss with making nuts for this recipe. I use roasted salted pistachios from the grocery store.
• If you don't like pistachios, roasted almonds or candied pecans would also be delicious in this salad.
• I like to double the dressing so that I can have this salad again without having to make more dressing. The dressing is also a nice light dressing for just about any salad. It's also great drizzled over chicken, salmon or shrimp.
• This Grapefruit Avocado Salad recipe calls for pink (aka "ruby")  grapefruit. Pink grapefruits are a little sweeter than their white cousins.
• If you've never sectioned a grapefruit, it might sound intimidating. Here's a great article from The Kitchn on how to get it done quickly and easily.

Thought for the day:

As I looked, "thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took His seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of His head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels were all ablaze.
Daniel 7:9

What we're listening to for inspiration:

Ancient of Days

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Karen's Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

Chris Scheuer

This Grapefruit Avocado Salad is bursting with fabulous flavor, a perfect blend of fresh, sweet, and savory with layers of great texture. On top of all that, it's super healthy!

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 8 serving

Calories 182

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

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For the pickled red onions:

• 1 medium red onion, sliced in half then peeled and sliced into ⅛ inch wedges
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice, I just squeeze the juice from each grapefruit after I section it.
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the plumped dried cranberries:

• ⅓ cup dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoons of water

For the honey lime dressing:

• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small clove garlic, finely minced
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the salad:

• 5 ounces baby arugula or other greens of choice, about 5-6 cups
• 1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
• 2 medium pink or ruby, peel removed and segmented into wedges.
• plumped dried cranberries, from above
• pickled red onions, from above
• ⅓ cup salted, roasted pitachios, or another nut of your choice

Instructions

 

For the pickled red onions:

1. Halve, peel and slice a small red onion into thin wedges (I slice mine right around an eighth-inch thick). Place the slices in a small bowl or storage container.
2. Drizzle the slices with the lime juice and grapefruit juice then sprinkle with the sugar and salt.
3. Use one hand to rub the pickling mixture into the onions, separating any clustered onions. Let the onions sit and work their magic while you prepare the rest of the salad. (These onions can be made a day or two in advance - they get more vibrant in color, the longer they sit.)

For the plumped dried cranberries:

1. If you’re dried cranberries are super fresh, you can omit this step. If not, combine the cranberries and water in a small bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 30-45 seconds. Let the craisins sit and continue to plump while you prepare the rest of the salad.

For the honey lime dressing:

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a medium-sized glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well. Set aside.

For the salad:

1. Place the arugula (or other greens) in a large bowl or on a serving platter. Drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of the dressing and toss well to coat the leaves.
2. Top the salad with grapefruit wedges, pickled red onions (you decide how many you’d like), and avocado slices. Sprinkle with the dried cranberries. Drizzle the salad with a little more dressing then garnish with the pistachios (or nuts of your choice). Serve and enjoy.

Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

Nutrition

Calories: 182kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 1gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 212mgPotassium: 194mgFiber: 2gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 1398IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 0.4mg

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Course: Main Salad, Salad

Cuisine: American