This simple arugula citrus salad with goat cheese and homemade blood orange vinaigrette will be the star of your holiday table. With sweet citrus, peppery arugula, and creamy goat cheese, the flavors of this salad are beyond compare.

A white platter with citrus arugula salad. Goat cheese is sprinkled on top of the salad, and dishes of pomegranate seeds, pepitas and salad dressing are to the side.

Let’s be honest. Salad is almost never the star of the holiday table. When you’re competing with classic comfort food like sour cream mashed potatoes, creamy mac and cheese, buttermilk biscuits, and tender turkey, it’s hard for a humble salad to get a second glance. Well, this beautiful winter citrus salad with arugula and goat cheese is here to change all that!

This colorful salad has thin slices of juicy citrus, tart pomegranate arils, and salty pepitas atop a bed of spicy arugula. Topped with a homemade blood orange vinaigrette dressing, this easy citrus salad is every bit as delicious as it is beautiful. This salad is perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas – it’s fresh and healthy, easy to throw together, and fancy enough for company.

For other holiday salads that can hold their own, try this delicata squash apple salad or this arugula burrata salad with balsamic glaze.

A close-up of a spoonful of blood orange vinaigrette. A citrus salad is blurred in the background.

Ingredients

To make this citrus salad you need the following simple ingredients (full ingredients list with exact measurements is included in the recipe card below).

Ingredient Notes

Greens: I used a mix of baby arugula and baby spinach. I love the peppery flavor of arugula paired with the sweet citrus and creamy goat cheese in this salad, but if arugula is too spicy for you, try a simple store-bought spring mix instead!
Dressing: This salad is delicious with a homemade blood orange vinaigrette dressing. It’s very simple to whisk up, with blood oranges, dijon mustard, olive oil, lemon and honey. You could substitute a store-bought citrus dressing, balsamic vinaigrette, or even a creamy poppyseed dressing if you prefer.
Citrus: I used a combination of blood oranges and clementines to garnish this salad. Navel oranges or cara cara oranges would work well too!
Goat cheese: For me, the creamy goat cheese adds the perfect balance to this salad, and I would not personally make this salad without it. I used a honey goat cheese and it was divine! If you can’t find or don’t like goat cheese, I think crumbled feta cheese would be a good choice.
Onion: I used red onion for extra color in the salad. Thinly sliced shallot would also work well!
Olive Oil: I use high quality extra-virgin olive oil for salad dressings, for the best flavor.

Variations

Switch up the toppings of this salad to make it your own! Here are a few ideas:

Add creamy avocado slices
Swap the pomegranate for sliced strawberries or raspberries
Try pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, or sliced almonds instead of pepitas
Add a little protein like some sliced grilled chicken to take this salad from side dish to main!
I garnished my salad with some fresh thyme, but fresh mint would be lovely too!

Instructions

Step One: Prepare the ingredients. Peel the oranges and slice them into thin slices. Slice the red onion into thin slices.

Top Tip: Use a sharp knife with a serrated edge to cut the peels off the oranges and slice them. Make sure to cut close to the flesh of the orange to remove as much white pith as possible.

A grey cutting board on a marble background. The cutting board contains sliced clementine and blood oranges.

Step Two: Add a bed of arugula and spinach to a large platter. Lay thin slices of red onion, blood orange and mandarin orange on top of the arugula.

A round white plate on a marble background. The plate contains a bed of spinach and arugula, with thinly sliced red onions on top.

A round white plate on a marble background. The plate contains a bed of spinach and arugula, with thinly sliced red onions, clementines and blood oranges on top.

Step Three: Garnish the salad with pomegranate arils, roasted pepitas, and crumbled goat cheese. Grind fresh black pepper over the top of the salad, if desired.

A round white plate on a marble background. The plate contains a bed of spinach and arugula, with citrus, red onions, pepitas and pomegranate seeds on top.

Step Four: To make the dressing, add the blood orange juice, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey and salt to a small bowl. Stir thoroughly to combine. Using a metal whisk, whisk the dressing while streaming in the olive oil little by little. Whisk until all the olive oil is incorporated into the dressing, and the dressing reaches a glossy creamy consistency.

Top Tip: Alternatively, you can add all the dressing ingredients to a mason jar with a lid, and shake until they are well combined.

A small glass bowl on a marble background. The bowl contains blood orange vinaigrette, with a wire sauce whisk resting to the side.

Step Five: Pour as much dressing as you like over the salad, garnish with fresh herbs if desired, and enjoy!

A close-up side view of citrus arugula salad on a white platter, with focus on thin citrus slices and pomegranate seeds.

Storage

This salad is best eaten right away! If you anticipate you will have leftovers, serve the salad with the dressing on the side. Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, with the dressing separate. When ready to serve, give the salad dressing a quick whisk to reincorporate it before adding it to the salad.