Fennel Orange Salad

Fennel salad with oranges in a brown bowl.

This delicious Fennel Orange Salad recipe is crisp, refreshing, and the perfect winter salad. It's made with crunchy fennel, juicy oranges, soft butter lettuce leaves, and fresh mint all drizzled with a delicious balsamic vinaigrette.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings servings (2 cups each)

Calories 119kcal

Author Meggan Hill

Ingredients

For the balsamic vinaigrette (see note 1):

For the salad:

4 oranges peeled, pith removed, and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (see note 2)
4 cups butter lettuce leaves torn into 1-inch pieces (see note 3)
2 small fennel bulbs trimmed and thinly sliced, (2 cups or 8 ounces, see note 4)
1 small red onion halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup minced fresh mint leaves

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To make the vinaigrette, in a small bowl or in jar with a tight-fitting lid, add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Whisk or shake to combine.
Cut 1/4-inch slice off the top and bottom of an orange and stand it upright on end. Following the contour of the fruit, slice off the peel and pith in thick strips. Lay orange on it’s side and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Repeat with remaining oranges.
In a large bowl, add butter lettuce, fennel, orange slices, red onion, and mint leaves. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss to combine.

Notes

Balsamic vinaigrette: It’s easy to make homemade balsamic vinaigrette, but it’s fine to substitute your favorite balsamic vin from the store, too.
Oranges: Any oranges will do, but I always look for blood oranges when they are in season for a more dramatic salad.
Butter lettuce: To prepare butter lettuce, place head on cutting board with the stem facing up, leaf-side down. Using a sharp knife, remove the stem by inserting the knife at an angle, and gently rotate the head of lettuce. Remove the stem, take apart the leaves, rinse the leaves to remove the dirt, and pat dry. Tear into pieces by hand to prevent bruising the leaves.
Fennel bulbs: To prepare the fennel bulbs, trim the stalks off the top (reserve any frilly fennel fronds for garnish on your salad if desired). Then, trim off the thick root end of the bulb. Remove any tough out layer, then slice the bulbs as thinly as possible (a mandoline is helpful for paper-thin slices).
Yield: This recipe makes about 8 cups Fennel Salad, enough for 4 servings, 2 cups each.
Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Nutrition