This winter citrus salad is one of my favourite ways to get my vegetables in during the colder months. It’s a beautifully vibrant salad with layers of flavours and textures.

Winter citrus salad

Name: Winter citrus salad (low FODMAP)
Prep time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons* (40ml) olive oil or oil of choice; 1 tablespoon* (20ml) maple syrup; 1 tablespoon* Dijon mustard; 1 tablespoon* (20ml) lemon juice; 1/4 cup (60ml)* (60ml) Orange Kombucha or water; Seasoning (to taste); 1/2 – 1 head of radicchio (sliced (wash and slice the greens, too, if your radishes still have them)); 1/2 large fennel (mandolined or finely sliced); 3-4 watermelon or regular radishes (mandolined or finely sliced); 1 bunch of mint (chopped); 1/2 – 2/3 cup pitted olives (I used half Calvestrano and half Kalamata); 1/2 cup walnuts; 180-200 g feta (crumbled into small cubes (Greek or Danish both work well, see notes)); 3-4 medjool dates (pip removed and finely chopped (optional)); Small handful of pistachios (to finish (optional, for colour)); 3-4 large oranges (peeled and sliced)

This winter citrus salad uses a base of finely shaved fennel, radishes, radicchio and mint. Sliced oranges and some optional chopped dates add sweetness and contrast, while nuts add texture and richness. Feta or goat’s cheese adds a creamy element and a bright tangy dressing completes this delicious winter salad.

The salad is gluten free, easily dairy free and easily low FODMAP. It can also be made nut free for nut allergies.

An aerial image of a brightly coloured winter Citrus salad on a large white serving plate. The plate sits half on a white marble table and half off, creating a dark and light effect around the serving platter.

Recipe notes and substitutions

If you don’t have kombucha simply use water to thin out the dressing. You might find you don’t even need to thin it out for your preferences.

Greek feta, Danish feta and goat’s cheese (marinated or regular) all work here. If you use either of the latter, be sure to add them last as per the recipe card. As softer cheeses are they are prone to breaking up in the salad.

If you don’t like radicchio you can use lettuce, rocket or another soft green of your choice. I haven’t tried kale, but I would probably choose lettuce here.

Not a fan of mint? Flat leaf parsley (not curly, I beg) also works well here. You can also leave the herbs out if need be.

Radish greens are edible and delicious. You can use these to add some green to the salad if you’re not using herbs.

A close up macro image of a winter citrus salad with oranges, mint, fennel, watermelon radishes, radicchio, olives, feta and chopped dates.

FODMAP notes for your winter citrus salad

There are a few things to discuss on the FODMAP front. This salad was not designed to be a low FODMAP recipe per se, but it is easily made low FODMAP.

Firstly, fennel is low FODMAP in 48g (1/2 cup) servings. This recipe uses 1/2 bulb and serves 4-8, so it should be within FODMAP limits. If you have issues with mannitol or sorbitol, weigh the fennel for accuracy.

Kombucha is low FODMAP in 180ml serves, and this recipe uses well under that amount. Just in case you were wondering about FODMAP and kombucha.

Unfortunately for us all, pistachios are high FODMAP in the tiny serve of 11g. Monash doesn’t give a lower limit for pistachios. As always, assess your own tolerance, but leave the pistachios off if you’re doing the elimination phase or react badly to them.

Finally, dates! Monash recently added Medjool dates to their app. They are low FODMAP in 1 date servings, or 20g. The salad uses 3-4 dates, which puts it in a low FODMAP threshold per serving. However, always assess your own tolerance and leave them off if need be.

A close up aerial image of a winter citrus salad on a large white serving platter atop an olive green tablecloth. Two silver spoons sit in the salad to the bottom right of the image.

More low FODMAP salad recipes