This Grapefruit Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette is light, healthy and full of summer flavor. Bring on the healthy eating! This recipe first appeared on recipegirl.com.

Friends, today we’re getting our leafy greens on, with a healthy salad as we start the transition from spring to summer. Swimsuit weather calls for salads, are you with me on this one?

Now I have some good news… this salad is good, really good. If only all forms of healthy eating were this tasty. If only. One can dream, can’t one?

Loaded with in-season fruits and vegetables, this salad made me realize I need to incorporate more healthy greens into our rotation. From here on, salads are no longer going to be an after-thought, they’ll become the main attraction. Move over boring steak – the salad sheriff’s in town – and it’s packing a whopping sweet grapefruit and a killer vinaigrette!

What makes this salad so amazing is choosing the highest quality ingredients when they are at the peak of their season. I’m talking grapefruit and pears. Two sweet, juicy fruits that seem to really love one another when they come together and meet a tangy, peppery vinaigrette. Salad heaven in a bowl. If only dieting were this easy all the time, am I right?

If you’ve never had Sweet Scarlett grapefruits before, you should totally add them to your ‘must eat’ list. They are so delicate and tender, they nearly fall apart when you try to section them. You know they are soft, sweet and full of flavor when they’re melting in your hands.

And, the D’Anjou pears won’t disappoint you either! They have that perfect, resistant, yet cushy bite that nearly begs you to eat more. Don’t bother wiping up the juice, you’ll be back going for more anyway, so why lose momentum until the entire pear is gone! Or, maybe that’s just me. 🙂

Alone, the vinaigrette takes on the tangy-twang (see how I did that?) from the champagne vinegar and the bite of mustard, with a nice peppery finish. Together, truly tasty and you’ll wonder why you ever need any other salad.

Don’t believe me? Try it! It is fantastic. It’s what’s for dinner. Well, at least at my house.

How about yours?

Bon appetit!

Grapefruit Salad With Champagne Viniagrette - inspirationkitchen.com

Print Recipe

Grapefruit Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette

Author: Kristi

Ingredients

Dressing:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Salad:
1 5-ounce package mixed salad greens
2 whole grapefruits peeled and sectioned
1/2 D'Anjou pear sliced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

Prepare the dressing: Add all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth and emulsified.
Assemble the salad: Layer salad greens, pears, grapefruit and sprinkle with feta cheese. Top with dressing and serve.

Notes

Here are the specific ingredients I used in this salad to enhance the flavor:

A salad mix of baby spinach, baby bok choy and sweet baby kale;
Two Sweet Scarlett grapefruits, which are a red, juicy, very sweet;
One half of a D’Anjou pear, which are also very sweet and juicy.