You’ll love this easy, bright, and elegant Mediterranean orange salad! Navel oranges are given a lift with pomegranate seeds, fresh mint, and honey-lime dressing.
This orange salad recipe may look fancy and full of color. But you can throw it together quickly for a special dinner, or add it to your holiday table in minutes.
So many variations of orange salad exist in Mediterranean cuisine. I’ve shared versions with everything from fresh fennel to roasted beets. This recipe is the closest to one you would see in North Africa. Think places like Morocco, Tunisia, and my home country, Egypt.
I add a generous handful of fresh mint, and a few slices of red onions or shallots to add a savory element. A sprinkle of warming paprika and cinnamon, plus and a bright lime dressing with a touch of honey and orange blossom water (totally optional), give this salad a complex flavor that is both super refreshing and more delicious!
Everyone likes fruit salad, but this orange salad is unique. I love that I can arrange it on a bright platter, so it’s more of a “composed salad.” It’s an easy and sophisticated way to serve a fruit salad that isn’t just “fruit tossed in a bowl.”
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s what you need to make this orange salad recipe, along with some easy swaps:
- Red onion: Adds an important savory element. Shallot is the best substitute in this recipe.
- Mint: Substitute parsley.
- Navel oranges: Cara Cara or Valencia also work well.
- Seasoning: Sweet paprika and cinnamon add layers of warming, unexpected flavor that will surprise and delight you (trust me!). Kosher salt perks everything up.
- Pomegranate seeds: Use the ready-made tubs, or follow my guide to cutting pomegranate.
- Lime: Substitute lemon.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I love a robust and peppery oil with this recipe, like our Spanish Hojiblanca.
- Honey: The delicate savory notes of wild herbs in our Greek honey are absolutely incredible, but just be sure to use a high quality honey.
- Orange blossom water: While optional, this is what makes this recipe so special. Made by distilling the vapor of orange blossoms, it adds an delicate aromatic quality.
How to Make This Orange Salad Recipe
Composed salads are carefully arranged rather than tossed, creating a beautiful presentation while ensuring every bite has just the right balance of flavors. Here’s how:
- Soften the onion. Thinly slice 1/2 of a small red onion and place in a bowl of ice water. Set aside for 5-10 minutes, then remove the onions from the water and dry them completely.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a small bowl, mix together the juice of 1 lime, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1 1/2 teaspoons orange blossom water. Set aside.
- Prepare 6 Navel oranges. Trim the top and bottom off each orange. Stand the orange on a flat end and use a sharp knife to slice off the peel from top to bottom, keeping as much of the flesh intact as possible. Lay the orange on its side and slice into rounds.
- Seed 1 pomegranate and chop about 25 mint leaves. Follow my guide to cutting pomegranate, or simply use 1 to 1 1/4 cups of already prepared seeds.
- Prepare a serving platter. Sprinkle half of the mint leaves on the platter, then arrange the orange slices and onions on top. Sprinkle everything with a pinch of salt, sweet paprika, and cinnamon. Now spread the pomegranate seeds on top.
- Dress and serve. Drizzle or spoon the dressing over the orange pomegranate salad (you can add as little or as much as you want of the dressing). Finally, top the salad with the remaining fresh mint leaves. Set aside for 5 minutes or so before serving.
What Else to Do with Orange Blossom Water?
Looking for more ways to use this incredible Mediterranean flavor-maker? Here are 3 recipes:
What to Serve with Orange Salad
Keep the theme going and kick off the night with an orange pomegranate holiday punch! From there, fresh citrus is a great way to cut through the richness of heavier meat dishes. Here are a few mains that would be the perfect pairing:
Ingredients
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 25 fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 6 Navel oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch sweet paprika
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pomegranate, seeded (about 1 to 1 1/4 cups seeds)
For the Dressing
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange blossom water (optional)
Instructions
- Soften the onion. Place the onions in a bowl of ice water. Set aside for 5-10 minutes, then remove the onions from the water and dry them completely.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a small bowl, mix together the lime juice, olive oil, honey, and orange blossom water. Set aside.
- Prepare a serving platter. Sprinkle half of the mint leaves on the platter, then arrange the orange slices and onions on top. Sprinkle everything with a pinch of salt, sweet paprika, and cinnamon. Now spread the pomegranate seeds on top.
- Dress and serve. Drizzle or spoon the dressing over the orange pomegranate salad (you can add as little or as much as you want of the dressing). Finally, top the salad with the remaining fresh mint leaves. Set aside for 5 minutes or so before serving.
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and orange blossom water used in this recipe.
Nutrition
Ó•Florale 100% Natural Orange Blossom Water
Made using a time-honored distillation process, a splash adds a delicate and aromatic quality to sweet and savory dishes, from marinades and salad dressings to cocktails and rice pudding.
*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
Made this yesterday part of our Christmas meal along side beef tenderloin as our main course. This salad was such a surprise and such a hit, so refreshing. Definitely will make it again.
Thanks so much, Samantha!
Trying to get more fruits and vegetables in my diet, so I tried this recipe. Wow, so good and refreshing. I have tried several other recipes and haven’t been disappointed yer.
Thanks, Barbara!
Thank you for all your recipes, and taking time to share them. I’ve new, and not yet made any, though I am very excited to do so.
Hope you enjoy them, Astralia!
Do you think chopped roasted pistachios would be good on this salad? I’m planning on making it for christmas dinner this year .
Hi, Samantha. Interesting! Not something I’ve tried personally, but it sounds like it would work!
I’m not a fan of mint. What can I use instead that would blend well with the ingredients? Thank you.
This was on our Thanksgiving table — it was beautiful on the platter and beautiful on our plates — a lovely contrast to all the browns, tans and greens. The flavor also was a tasty contrast and didn’t complete with the cranberry sauce. Just perfect. Leftovers were gobbled up the next day. I think it will be a new Thanksgiving standard.
Yay! Thanks, Sarah!
I have been eating a lot of this orange salad since watermelons are out of season right now. I’ve switched it up a bit since I do this just for me. I use a 3 pound bag of mandarin oranges (the wedges rather than slices), I leave out the pomegranates because they do not store as long as the oranges, and I leave out the onions (just because I don’t like them). Still very delicious! I would never have thought of those spices/flavors together. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing your adaptations, Sherry! So glad you’ve been enjoying this one!
This is one of the most delicious salads ever. I love the cinnamon and paprika on the oranges. It tastes so special.
Thank you so much, Rosanna!
I made this beautiful light salad to accompany a family dinner. It was perfect! The flavors were beautiful together and the presentation with the gorgeous oranges, bright green mint and ruby red pomegranates was outstanding. The touch of cinnamon with the oranges was such a surprise taste! I loved it and many others at the dinner loved it too! I can’t wait to make this again!
Awww! Thanks, Theresa!
Wow. We had this for Thanksgiving, and everyone loved it. I added the optional orange blossom water, and I really feel like that little addition makes the whole salad. Thanks for the recipe.
So happy to hear it was a hit! Thanks, Denee!
Delicious use of winter citrus. I used sliced clementines, I did not use the orange blossom water but plated this salad on a thin layer of diced Romain lettuce for added crisp and nutrients. I loved it so much I’m making it again tonight for mom and dad! Must try this salad at least once.
Thanks, Andrew! I hope your parents enjoy it!
My husband and I love this salad…it’s so easy to prepare and beautiful to look at. Plus, it is delicious!
We used to be vegan, but now enjoy cheese and seafood on a weekly basis. I love the recipes from your site….they are so tasty, easy to prepare and healthy. A few of my favorites are: baela, israeli couscous salad, baked shrimp with veggies, ricotta cake!!!!, baked spaghetti, spinach and lentil soup and shrimp orzo soup.
Marti, thank you so much for taking the time to share! I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying a number of the recipes here!! Happy cooking!
I’ve prepared twice and both times were a big hit. I followed recipe step by step. Except I substituted mandarin oranges because easier to peel. When sliced they made pretty floral segments. Next attempt, I plan to use more mint and let the salad dressing and fruit marinate longer before serving.
Wonderful, Margarita! Thanks for giving it a try!
We enjoyed this salad this past Thanksgiving! I am vegetarian and my mother saw this recipe and prepared it for me! This is quite simply one of the best flavor combinations…. at first I was skeptical about the onions but I could literally eat this all day! The flavors of the sweet oranges, tangy poms, and peppery onions with the drizzle are amazing.
Thanks for sharing.. this is a staple for our holidays now 🙂
That’s wonderful, Eryn! thanks so much for taking the time to share
I love Mediterranean food!
Wonderful, Chantal! You’ve come to the right place! Welcome to The Mediterranean Dish.
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit. Everyone loved the freshness and that it balanced out all the carb overload. Will definitely make it again. Think it would be delicious next to grilled lamb. I think it would be wonderful with a little fresh feta.
Oh Martha, this is great to hear! I am so so glad you gave this one a try! You’re right, it would go wonderfully with grilled lamb. I’m gonna try that soon!
Hello Suzy!
The dish looks so inviting and delicious!
Thank you! Carols! It is. And so embarrassingly easy!
This salad looks simply amazing. Simple and delicious, the best kind of food!