Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Tomato Cumin Dressing

Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Tomato Cumin Dressing is a winter salad that can be beautifully composed and will stand out on any buffet table. It's a little bit unusual but I guarantee it's as delicious as it looks! It really is one of those dishes that is greater than the sum of its' parts. People will ask for this recipe.

It's a composed salad so the recipe provides a range for each ingredient so you can make it look the way you want. The Tomato Cumin Dressing yields a large amount so use it up with different combinations of the ingredients over several weeks after you make it.

A Seasonal Strategy

Do you cook with produce in season? I do, as much as possible, and that’s how I’m reminded to make recipes like this one year after year.

Grapefruit Avocado Salad is a winter salad because that’s when grapefruit are at their peak.

How do you know what’s in season? I'd say that is the challenge of our time.

With grocery store produce sections full of every ingredient imaginable, and many you might not know how to use, you need to pay attention. Like learning to eat gluten free it’s just one ingredient and one recipe at a time.

It’s winter in Canada and that’s when citrus fruit is in season around the world. No matter where it's grown or how far it has to travel, citrus fruit is at its' best in winter. Look for it and enjoy it!

3 Tips For Homemade Salad Dressing

If you’ve been around here for a while you know salads are my favourite category of food and I make all my own salad dressings. You can buy salad dressing, I just never have.

I still have the problem of too many jars in my fridge; I just made them all.

This certainly made the shift to gluten free easy in the salad department since most dressing ingredients are naturally gluten free. These are my top tips for making and storing homemade salad dressings.

• It seems obvious but you must start with a clean jar or bottle.
• If you always use a clean utensil your dressing will keep for a long time. No double dipping! Even if your fork was clean and only touched a few ingredients on your plate this is a hard no. If your dressing gets mould on it someone doesn't understand the rule!
• Label it! Isn't it amazing how everything in the fridge looks the same the next day? I still try to convince myself I'll remember but I never do. If it's dark it probably has soy sauce, that's the best I can do.

Tools for Homemade Dressing

I love Mason jars! If you're frustrated with too many containers check out my tips in this post, Organize For Success with Mason Jars. I have a 2-lid system with seven different sizes of jars from ½ cup to 4 cups and I use them all.

If you have too many unlabeled jars in the fridge here are some tips from my post, Organize For Success with Labeling. These tips are helpful for making salads.

• Salad dressing bottles
• Mason jars with two-piece metal lids
• Plastic lids, usually purchased separately (I only buy 2 sizes!)
• Spice funnel for filling spice bottles or salad dressing bottles
• Dymo label maker
• Sticky labels from the Dollar Store (I only buy 2 sizes of these too)

Let me know in the comments below if you tried this salad and what you thought.

Originally posted January 2016, revised January 2022.

Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Tomato Cumin Dressing

This is a winter salad that can be beautifully composed to stand out on any buffet table.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Salad

Keyword: tomato cumin dressing

Author: Cinde Little

Ingredients

SALAD

• ▢ 2-4 grapefruit segments
• ▢ 1-2 avocados
• ▢ ¼-½ red onion, thinly sliced
• ▢ lemon juice to sprinkle on avocado and onion
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ 4-8 cups arugula
• ▢ 12-24 Kalamata olives

TOMATO CUMIN DRESSING

• ▢ ¼ cup lemon juice
• ▢ ¼ cup tomato juice (or V8 juice)
• ▢ 2 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 garlic clove, minced
• ▢ ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ ¾ cup olive oil

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Instructions

SALAD

• Cut peel off grapefruit and remove segments using a serrated knife.
• Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Spoon out of the skin and slice thinly. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Set aside.
• Sprinkle sliced red onion with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Line a platter with arugula.
• Arrange alternating slices of avocado and grapefruit in a circle around the platter.
• Pile the olives in the centre and surround them with red onion.
• Drizzle dressing over the salad and serve additional dressing on the side.

TOMATO CUMIN DRESSING

• In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, tomato juice, cumin, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper.
• Gradually whisk in olive oil until incorporated. Makes 1½ cups.