Chicory Salad with Citrus Dressing

This Chicory Salad with Citrus Dressing is full of feel-good ingredients, with a little surprise in every bite thanks to all the different textures and flavors. It’s the way a few special ingredients perfectly balance out the slight bitterness of the chicory that makes this salad so so good. The chicory itself has just the right amount bitterness and the olive citrus dressing is bright, sweet and ties everything together perfectly.

It’s also super easy to throw together, making it great for meal prep, but it also works really well if you’re serving a crowd. Of course, I opted to serve this salad on top of ricotta toast, but you can serve it however you like. That’s the magic of it!

Read on for the recipe, tips for meal prepping as well as any substitutions that may work.

What are chicories?

Chicory is a term rarely used in the vegetable world, because it’s a group of lettuce types, and that can get kind of confusing. So a lot of people aren’t even sure what chicories are!

To put it in simple terms: chicories are cool weather crops and include lettuces like Belgian endive, curly endive, escarole and radicchio. They have a bitter flavor to them, but pair really well with things like sweet fruits, bright dressings or funky cheeses. I love chicories and try to use them often!

Ingredients you’ll need for this chicory salad

For the Olive Citrus Dressing:

• 1/2 cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted
• 1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, optional
• 1 15.5 ounce can of butter beans or white beans, drained and rinsed

For the salad:

• 1 medium chicory head, such as Radicchio di Chioggia
• 1 orange, for zest and slices

To serve:

• 4 large slices of sourdough
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta

Ingredient substitutions

This recipe is truly delicious as is but it is very flexible, nearly every ingredient can be customized to better fit your needs. Here are some substitution suggestions:

• Chicory: Can be swapped for 2-3 endives
• Green olives: I recommend Castelvetrano olives but you can try using any other green olive varieties. However, they won’t be as buttery, so keep this in mind!
• Parsley: a good substitute would be cilantro
• Orange marmalade: Swap for another citrus marmalade such as lemon, blood orange, grapefruit or tangerine
• White wine vinegar: Can be swapped for sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar or lemon juice
• Extra-virgin olive oil: Swap for avocado oil, grapeseed oil, really any oil you like!
• Oranges: Can be swapped for clementines, grapefruit or blood oranges just note the flavor profile will change slightly!
  

How to make this salad for a crowd

Bright, zesty, and easy to toss together, this salad is the perfect side or appetizer for a crowd. Here’s the best way to prep it:

1. Add the dressing to the bottom of a large bowl.
2. Quarter the chicory, remove the core and break in the leaves. Zest in the zest from the orange, then remove the peel and use a knife to slice it into wedges.
3. When ready to serve, toss the salad in the dressing.

Storage tips and how to prep this salad ahead of time

This chicory salad is perfect to meal-prep for lunches! Here’s the best way to do it:

1. Portion the dressing (beans and all!) into the bottom of four meal prep containers.
2. Quarter the chicory and remove the core, but don’t pull apart the leaves. Place one quarter of the chicory in each container.
3. Next, slice the orange and add the slices on top.

Store in the fridge alongside the ricotta for up to 5 days.

Watch the recipe here:

The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.

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And that’s everything for this Chicory Salad with Citrus Dressing!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

You can also shop this video if you’re looking for the exact pieces I use – I’ve linked everything on my ShopMy! *some links may contain affiliate commissions

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Chicory Salad with Citrus Dressing

Fresh, bright, and a little bitter in the best way, this Chicory Salad with Citrus Dressing has something to surprise your taste buds in every bite. It's perfect for meal prep, feeding a crowd, or piling on ricotta toast.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Cook mode:Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• ▢
  1 5-cup food processor
• ▢
  1 chef's knife
• ▢
  1 microplane or rasp-style grater

Ingredients

For the Olive Citrus Dressing:

• ▢ 1/2 cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted
• ▢ 1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
• ▢ 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
• ▢ 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• ▢ 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ▢ Freshly cracked black pepper
• ▢ 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, optional
• ▢ 1 (15.5 oz) can butter beans or white beans, drained and rinsed

For the salad:

• ▢ 1 medium chicory head, such as Radicchio di Chioggia, or 2-3 endives
• ▢ 1 orange, for zest and slices

For serving:

• ▢ 4 large slices of sourdough
• ▢ 1 cup whole milk ricotta

Instructions 

1. Begin with the dressing. To a food processor, add 1/2 cup of Castelvetrano olives, 1/4 cup of parsley (roughly chopping it a bit will help it blend here), 2 tablespoons orange marmalade, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil. Pulse until you have a chunky dressing. Season with 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and some cracked black pepper. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and vinegar as preferred. Add the 1/4 cup of hazelnuts and can of butter beans and gently mix.
2. If you are making this salad for a crowd, add the dressing to the bottom of a large bowl. Quarter the chicory, remove the core and break in the leaves. Zest in the zest from the orange, then remove the peel and use a knife to slice it into wedges. Toss the salad in the dressing.
3. If you are making this salad for meal-prep lunches, portion the dressing (beans and all!) into the bottom of four meal prep containers. Quarter the chicory and remove the core, but don’t pull apart the leaves. Place one quarter in each container. Slice the orange and add the slices on top. Store alongside the ricotta.
4. To serve, toast up the slices of sourdough, top each with 1/4 cup of ricotta and pile the salads on top. Enjoy with a knife and fork (and maybe another drizzle of olive oil.

Serving: 15ouncesCalories: 301kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 5gFat: 8g