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Fennel Orange Salad packs so much flavor for only using 7 easy ingredients (including salt & pepper)! Simple, but crisp and delicious, this easy side dish salad is bright, zesty, and a little bit sweet. Perfect for serving with your favorite grilled dishes or as a part of a holiday meal!
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Salad with Fennel and Orange
I love fennel. When I first tasted it I expected it to be more like an onion - that sweet, slightly licorice flavor surprised me! It quickly became one of my favorite ingredients to use in salad, especially paired with citrus.
This salad with fennel and orange is one of my favorites to make for the holidays, especially Easter and the 4th of July. It's crisp and tangy, with a slightly sweet flavor from the fennel.
Its combination of flavors pairs deliciously with all kinds of foods, but it is especially delicious with seafood (especially shrimp and scallops!), smoky BBQ, a nicely seared steak, or roast chicken.
Best of all, this is an easy fennel salad recipe to make. It only uses 7 simple ingredients (including salt and pepper). I guarantee you will want every excuse to make this salad all the time!
Fennel Salad Ingredients
- Navel oranges
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Medium fennel bulbs
- Small red onion
- Red wine vinegar
How to Make Orange Fennel Salad
Making Orange Vinaigrette
- Grate orange zest into a medium bowl.
- Using a serrated knife, trim the top and bottom off of your oranges. Cut the skin away from one orange at a time, completely removing the peel and white skin (the pith). Then, cut each orange horizontally into ¼-inch rounds.
- Squeeze some of the rounds into a bowl for 2 Tablespoons worth of orange juice. Add zest to the orange juice in a bowl. Whisk in olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate the remaining oranges.
Slicing Fennel
- Cut off the top stalks from your fennel. Set aside the fronds and stalks to use later.
- Cut each fennel bulb in half vertically. Using a knife, vegetable slicer, or mandoline slicer, cut the fennel into slices one-sixteenth of an inch thick.
- Transfer the sliced fennel to a medium bowl and toss with the orange vinaigrette dressing. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes up to 2 hours.
Cutting Onions
- Cut off the stem ends of the onion and rest it flat-side down on the cutting board.
- Slice in half and peel off the outer layer of skin.
- Set the onion cut-side down on the cutting board, then slice into half-moons.
Assembling Fennel Salad
- Taste the fennel and add red wine vinegar if you prefer. Adjust to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve over reserved orange slices. Chop fennel fronds and sprinkle over the salad, then serve chilled.
Fennel Salad Recipe Tips
- You can also serve this easy fennel salad recipe over spring salad mix, red leaf lettuce, or arugula.
- If serving over lettuce, wait until the salad is done marinating and chilling before adding it to the lettuce.
- Try adding goat cheese and candied nuts, like walnuts or pecans, to the salad. It is delicious!
Fennel Orange Salad FAQs
All parts of fennel can safely be eaten raw or cooked, including the stalks and fronds. The fennel leaves have a natural slight citrus flavor to them and make a good addition to citrus fennel salad.
You can slice fennel thinly using a mandoline or a sharp knife. Cut the stalks off of the fennel, then remove any tough parts from the outside. Slice down the center of the bulb vertically, then rest cut-side down and slice into thin half-moon slices.
Easy Salad Recipes
- Asian Slaw
- Peach Salad
- Rocket Salad with Pear
- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- Arugula Burrata Salad Recipe with Prosciutto
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Fennel Orange Salad
Equipment
- 1 Sharp knife or mandoline slicer
- 1 zester
- 1 bowl
Ingredients
- 2 navel oranges
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 medium fennel bulbs about 1.75 pounds
- 1 small red onion sliced into half-moons
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar optional
Instructions
Making Orange Vinaigrette
- Zest one orange into a bowl or onto a plate.2 navel oranges
- Using a serrated knife, trim the top and bottom off of your oranges.
- Cut the skin away from one orange at a time, completely removing the peel and white skin (the pith). Then, cut each orange horizontally into ¼-inch rounds.
- Squeeze some of the rounds into a bowl for 2 Tablespoons worth of orange juice.
- Add zest to the orange juice in a bowl. Whisk in olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, Salt and pepper
- Cover and refrigerate the remaining oranges.
Slicing Fennel
- Cut off the top stalks from your fennel. Set aside the fronds and stalks to use later.2 medium fennel bulbs
- Cut each fennel bulb in half vertically. Using a knife, vegetable slicer, or mandoline slicer, cut the fennel into slices one-sixteenth of an inch thick.
- Transfer the sliced fennel to a medium bowl and toss with the orange vinaigrette dressing. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes up to 2 hours.
Cutting Onions
- Cut off the stem ends of the onion and rest it flat-side down on the cutting board.1 small red onion
- Slice in half and peel off the outer layer of skin.
- Set the onion cut-side down on the cutting board, then slice into half-moons.
Assembling Fennel Salad
- Taste the fennel and add red wine vinegar if you prefer. Adjust to taste with salt and pepper.1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Serve over reserved orange slices. Chop fennel fronds and sprinkle over the salad, then serve chilled.
Notes
- You can also serve this easy fennel salad recipe over spring salad mix, red leaf lettuce, or arugula.
- If serving over lettuce, wait until the salad is done marinating and chilling before adding it to the lettuce.
- Try adding goat cheese and candied nuts, like walnuts or pecans, to the salad. It is delicious!
Nutrition
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