Orange Almond Salad with Avocado
Orange Almond Salad with Avocado – romaine salad tossed with an orange balsamic vinaigrette. My favorite lunch salad! Also a great dinner starter salad. Eat a whole bowl guilt free since it’s paleo, Whole30, vegan, gluten free and low carb!
Shawn was working out of town all last week. He got a last minute wiring job that was about 2.5 hours away, and they were so desperate for workers that they offered to put him in a hotel for the week as incentive. So rather than commuting for 5 hours a day, he stayed in a hotel. This is the longest we’d been apart since college and I sure did miss the guy!
The first night, I was so scared to go to bed by myself. Every little creak and crack sounded like a murderer trying to break in. I don’t think I fell asleep until after midnight. The bed sure felt lonely without him.
I also began to appreciate how much he does around the house. Normally he takes the trash cans out on garbage day, refills our Alhambra water dispenser when the jug is empty, waters the plants, gets the mail, he even fills up my water bottle before bed time. With him out of town, I sure did have a lot of extra “around the house” chores.
But the best chore that Shawn does is prepping our lunch salads for the week on Sundays while I write my Monday blog post. But he was gone, so I had to scramble each morning to think of what to bring for lunch. Which really means I just ate out at Panera everyday for lunch. My wallet was not happy with me at the end of the week. It’s much better to make salads at home.
I am a big fan of the salad in a mason jar, and thanks to our vacuum sealer that we got as a wedding present, and this mason jar attachment, we can make 5 days worth of lunch salads that will stay fresh until they’re opened. I think Shawn loves volunteering for the job because he has so much fun using the vacuum sealer. Ladies, give a guy a machine, and he will chop salads for you.
When I make this orange almond salad with avocado for lunch I’ll add in some grilled chicken breast for added protein, but this salad is still delicious without any meat. Great way to keep it vegan!
If you want to make this in a mason jar layer it: orange segments, chicken, romaine lettuce, green onions and then wrap the almonds in a saran wrap pouch for the top so they stay crunchy. I bring the salads in a jar, whole avocados, and the dressing in a different mason jar. When it’s lunch time I dump it all in a bowl, cut up the avocado, and top it with the dressing. Delicious!
Orange Almond Salad with Avocado
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
- 1 orange cut into segments*, save the carcass juice for the dressing
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 small avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup roasted sliced almonds
- cooked chicken**, optional
Orange Balsamic Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- Juice from the segmented orange carcass, squeezed
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a mason jar or small mixing bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients and stir to combine.
- In a large, combine all the salad ingredients. Top with desired amount of dressing and toss to combine. Serve.
Notes
**for a starter salad, l don't include chicken. But if making this for dinner or lunch, I love to grill up a chicken breast or use leftover rotisserie chicken.
More Salad Recipes
Winter Kale Salad with Apples and Pecans
Ramen Noodle Chinese Chicken Salad
Cucumber & Carrot Noodle Thai Salad
More Romaine Salads from my Blogging Friends
Grilled Romaine Lettuce Cobb Salad by Olives & Garlic
Romaine Cranberry Pear Salad by Flavor the Moments
61 Comments on “Orange Almond Salad with Avocado”
Nat, I also hate when my husband is out of town! He has to travel for work every two months for two weeks. These two weeks are always awful because I don’t like to sleep alone. I’m find during the day, but when it is time to go to the bed I get so freaked out that I have to sleep with the TV or maybe the radio on!
Sometimes I go to my best friend’s house and I spend the weekend with her because I feel better ;-)
This salad looks very flavourful and delicious! I love that dressing. Pinned!
Two whole weeks?! Oh, I would just hate that! Much too long. Sleeping with the TV on is a good tip. I’ll read until I fall asleep. And I love that you go to your friends house to sleep! I almost went to my sisters house to sleep there, haha : )
Natalie, I was the same way when my husband was traveling (before I had kids). Every little creak and crack scared me to death! I love this salad!! and, although my husband would never willingly throw or prep a salad, he does love his kitchen gadgets!! :)
Glad I’m not the only scaredy cat wife! And aren’t guys so funny with their kitchen gadgets? I got Shawn a meat thermometer, oh my goodness does he love it! He’s the griller of the family, and now he can get the meat temperature right every time.
Alright, it’s official. I’m deeming you the Salad Queen! This look so good, I’m definitely making it soon. That creamy avocado and those crunchy pecans are calling my name!
Thanks Leah! I do like my salads. Hope you love this one if you try it!
I always get freaked out when my husband is out of town too! Love that Shawn preps the salads for the week :) This salad is gorgeous! Love all the citrus and avocado and that orange balsamic dressing sounds amazing!
Thanks Kelly! About to enjoy one of these salads for lunch. So good! And yes, husbands out of town is no fun. So lonely just me all alone in our house. But it does mean I get full control of the TV : )
So sweet the things our husbands do for us. Sounds like y’all are quite a team! I totally get it. When Rob was deployed for months at a time, it was quite an adjustment. So glad we don’t do that anymore! I LOL “give a man a machine and he’ll chop salads for you!” That should go in the book of quotes! LOL
Natalie, this is a gorgeous salad! Love all the flavors and the creaminess of the avocado… and that dressing! Oh! Delicious! Thank you for this!
We are definitely a great team. He’s so nice and helpful. I love it. And that would be so hard to be apart for months at a time, I can’t imagine! Bet you’re happy that is done. Thanks so much for all your nice words Traci! Hope you like this salad if you make it : )
Oh man, I hate going to bed by myself! I feel your pain. This salad looks like a fine lunch substitute while the hubs was away!
Thanks Ashley! And yes, sleeping alone with no husband is no fun. Was so happy when he came home!
I’m such a whimp when Josh is gone! He’s been off on military leave for a couple months before, it was so not fun! I’m loving these healthier recipes lately, and this one looks amazing. Just another reason to eat avocados for me! Pinned :)
Oh, couple months would be so hard! That would make me a cranky girl. Thanks Danielle! Hope you like this salad if you make it : )
I am SUCH a wimp and always so scared at night when hubby is gone LOL. I have to remind myself I lived alone for years! It doesn’t help that my dogs chooses the nights hubs is gone to bark like a rabid beast, thus scaring the crap out of me even MORE! Sheesh.
This salad is so pretty! I love the citrus and avocado combo… and that vacuum sealer idea is genius!
Oh, dogs barking at night is the worst when you’re home alone! I assume they can sense danger, so when they bark I’m certain there’s a murderer waiting outside to get me. Haha!
Aw, I think it is so precious how attached you are to your hubby! I absolutely love doing things with my husband and he helps me with everything so I am rather lost without him. Anyway, this salad looks amazing! Pinned!
Definitely attached, haha! Shawn helps me a lot too. He films and edits all the recipe videos I do, so I would be really lost without him. Thanks Mariah! Hope you like the salad if you make it!
Oh, and thank you for linking up my salad recipe!
You’re welcome! That salad looks delicious Marcie! Can’t wait to try it : )
This is the kind of salad I love. It sounds so great. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Thanks Cecilia! Hope you love it if you try it!
This salad looks amazing! I love the oranges and almonds, and that dressing sounds so delicious. Love that your hubby makes your salads!! Haha
Thanks Rachel! I always joke with Shawn that the salads taste so much better when he makes them. Mostly because I didn’t have to do any work, haha!
I wish my husband did all those things for me! Every post I read, I think, wow, she’s got a keeper. He even makes lunch! That’s awesome. And this salad looks awesome too. I think I’ll make it while the oranges are still so tasty.
He is definitely a keeper! And I think having the vacuum sealing machine really helps to make salad prep fun for him. He is obsessed with that thing! I’ve started keeping all of our nuts, dried fruit, coconut flakes, etc in mason jars too. I love that I can vacuum seal them and they’ll last and stay fresh for so much longer.
It can get so hard to prep food for lunch! And Panera is easy with healthy options! haha Too funny. This looks like a great salad for lunch — or dinner — and it’s seriously beautiful! I love how vibrant and tasty it looks. Pinned. :)
That’s why I’m so obsessed with mason jar salads. I can do all of my lunch prep on Sundays, and I’m good for the week! But on the weekends I don’t get to it, I’m lucky to have a Panera just a few minutes from my work.
Oh, I hate it when Darryl is away at night as well! Too scary to sleep alone! This salad looks delicious and that dressing sounds wonderful!
Don’t you just sleep so much better when your husband is right next to you? Thanks Kelly!
I can completely relate. Kurt was out of town for 4 days last week as well and I hated it. I couldn’t sleep either, I thought there were people trying to brake into our house. I completely forgot to take out the trash canister on garbage days. I’m surely glad he is back home again.
This is a fabulous salad. Love the avocado and orange combo, reminds me of summer. And thanks for linking up my salad as well friend. :)
Haha, we’re scaredy cat wives I guess! And I forgot to take the trash cans out too! I remembered at 8pm at night, and was so spooked dragging them down our huge driveway. Creepy!
This is seriously one stunning salad, Natalie! I looooove the combo you used of both citrus and avocado! So pretty and so dang delish! This is pretty much just what my Monday lunch hour needs. :)
Thanks Sarah! This is seriously my favorite lunch right now : )
Staying home alone always equals tons of noises. Why is it that I never notice any noises until I’m falling asleep at night alone? That’s so nice of Shawn to do so much around the house – Kyle is the same, so I’d be lost if he were gone for a few days! This salad looks phenomenal! I love every single thing in it. I can’t wait to try it! Beautiful photos, Natalie :)
Yes, so many noises! But if Shawn’s home, I never hear a thing. Funny how my brain works like that. Thanks Keri!
I hate it when my husband is out of town, too! I’m find during the day, but at night I get so freaked out that I have to sleep with the TV on! This salad looks absolutely gorgeous! I love the almonds and oranges in here, so great for channeling spring! And that dressing sounds fantastic. Pinned!
I’m so glad I’m not the only wife who gets scared when the husband is out of town. I was worried I was too much of a scaredy cat!
Natalie, we channeled each other today with our salads! I used to be scared of every single noise when I was home by myself. I like to think I’ve gotten better in the last year since Ben started traveling more for work but sometimes I still freak myself out! TV on sleep timer is the secret to falling asleep :) Love this beautiful salad! So bright and fresh :)
We totally channeled each other! Haha! Recipe twins! Don’t you just love orange and avocado together? Yum!