Avocado salad with oranges, olives & watercress

Creamy, ripe avocado teams up with zingy oranges, salty black olives, and peppery watercress in this flavour-packed salad. A beautiful, tasty side dish.

My Mum was the inventor of this delicious avocado salad. She made it for years and years and years. Sometimes on individual plates as a starter, sometimes on one big platter for everyone to share. Always, it was delicious.

Citrus ❤️ Avocado

Avocado and citrus is a winning combination, whether you use lemons, limes, or oranges as in this salad. The sweet-sharpness of oranges goes beautifully with the creamy, ripe avocado.

I have previously made this salad with pink grapefruit too which is also yummy. You can also use a combination of citrus fruits in different colours, which looks glorious on the plate.

Avocado salad – Just add olives

To highlight the flavour of the oranges and avocados, the salad also has olives, to add a salty, bitter tang. Peppery watercress holds the whole thing together. If you can’t find it then a mixture of baby spinach and rocket is a good substitute. Alternatively you can use any soft baby leaves you like.

Summer lunch salad

I recently made this avocado salad as part of a large summer lunch for friends, and it went down a treat. One of our guests said it was one of the prettiest things she’d ever eaten!

I arranged the orange segments and slices of avocado in circles on top of the watercress, and it did look very decorative, but I’m sure a more ‘free form’ approach would taste just as good! 

Ingredients for avocado salad

This tasty and beautiful salad comes together from a few delicious fresh ingredients. To make it yourself, you will need:

• Avocado – obviously!
• Oranges – for their citrus zing.
• Red onion
• Black olives – you can use green ones if you prefer, or even a mixture.
• Watercress – use a mixture of spinach and rocket if you can’t get watercress, or any other peppery leaves.
• Mayonnaise – to make the delicious creamy, orangey dressing. Use a vegan mayo to make this salad completely vegan!

Avocado salad – Dressed for success

The orange-mayonnaise dressing goes well with plenty of other things as well as this avocado salad. We ate the salad with some baked trout fillets, and the dressing was delicious with them, too. I think it would go well with fish generally, and it was also good over some steamed new potatoes.

FAQ and top tips

1. Is this avocado salad suitable for vegans?
   Everything in this avocado salad is vegetarian, however if you want to make the salad completely vegan, you need to use a vegan mayonnaise when making the dressing.
2. Is this salad gluten free?
   Yes! This delicious salad is completely gluten-free.
3. Can the avocado salad be made ahead of time?
   This yummy salad is best eaten with a short time of assembly. It can be kept in the fridge for an hour or two but really should be eaten on the day it is made. If making in advance, reserve the dressing and add this just before serving.
4. How much salad does this recipe make?
   The recipe as written makes a large platter of salad, as shown in the photos. I’d say it serves 6+ as a side dish.

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📖 Recipe

Avocado salad with oranges, olives & watercress

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Creamy, ripe avocado teams up with zingy oranges, salty black olives, and peppery watercress in this flavour-packed salad. A beautiful, tasty side dish.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine European, Vegetarian

Servings 6

Calories 150 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 100 g watercress
• 2 large oranges
• 1½-2 medium/large avocados
• ¼ red onion
• 3 tablespoon small pitted black olives
• 2 tablespoon mayonnaise

Instructions

 

• Wash the watercress if necessary, and arrange on a large serving platter.
• Peel the oranges and remove the pith. Working over a bowl to catch the juice, cut between the membranes to release the orange segments. Squeeze any remaining juice from the membrane/pith then discard it. Arrange the orange segments on top of the watercress.
• Halve the avocados lengthwise. Remove the stones and peel. Cut the avocado flesh into slices lengthwise – around 10-12 slices per avocado. Turn the slices in the reserved orange juice (this helps to prevent browning), then arrange with the orange segments on the platter.
• Finely slice the red onion, and layer over the orange and avocado. Scatter over the black olives.
• Whisk the mayonnaise with 2-3 tablespoon of the remaining orange juice to give a creamy dressing. Drizzle some over the salad and serve the rest separately.
• Eat immediately or cover and chill for a few hours before serving.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Avocado salad with oranges, olives & watercress

Amount per Serving

Calories

150

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

12

g

18

%

Saturated Fat

 

2

g

13

%

Trans Fat

 

1

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

3

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

6

g

Cholesterol

 

2

mg

1

%

Sodium

 

102

mg

4

%

Potassium

 

419

mg

12

%

Carbohydrates

 

12

g

4

%

Fiber

 

5

g

21

%

Sugar

 

6

g

7

%

Protein

 

2

g

4

%

Vitamin A

 

762

IU

15

%

Vitamin C

 

45

mg

55

%

Calcium

 

54

mg

5

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword avocado, olive, onions, orange

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• blood orange salad with avocado, radish and dill
• garden tomato salad with olives, Greek basil and sumac
• strawberry, cucumber & spinach salad with nuts and seeds
• quick Asian-style sesame green bean salad