This Orange Salsa made with Cara Cara Oranges is so fresh, flavorful, and delicious! Pile it on top of fish tacos, or enjoy it as a dip with your favorite chips!
Happy January everyone!
I can think of no better way of celebrating the New Year that with a big dose of winter sunshine…citrus fruit! And, this festive Cara Cara Orange Salsa Fresca.
And I’m excited to join some other fabulous bloggers in co-hosting the first #love bloghop of the new year…#citruslove!
Health Benefits of Oranges & Other Citrus Fruit
- Rich in vitamin & minerals, especially vitamin C, folate, & potassium.
- Citrus fruits are rich in fiber, especially soluble fiber (which tends to be well tolerated by people with IBS). In addition, soluble fiber may help modulate cholesterol levels by raising good (HDL) cholesterol, and decreasing bad (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides.
- May help with cancer prevention. Citrus fruits contain flavonoids-powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory rich compounds in plant foods that may help prevent chronic diseases, including cancer.
Truly, I’ve never met a citrus fruit I didn’t like…
I love having a lemon tree in my backyard…
And a lime tree is always good to have, you know, for margaritas and such…
Oh, and I have a Valencia orange tree too, but, unfortunately it is in very sad shape, so I won’t depress you with photos {A happy citrus tree will cheer me up at any time, but a sad looking one leaves me feeling, well, sad…}
But, my all time favorite citrus fruit has probably got to be the satsuma tangerine.
My parents always had at least one satsuma tree in their back yard, and I have fond memories of picking juicy, seedless satsumas as a child. I love that my kids, SiSi and Big Tex, get to pick satsumas from their grandparents’ tree now too!
Unfortunately I can’t show you any photos, because my SiSi has eaten them all…
I’m pretty sure she holds the record in our household for eating the most satsumas {8? 10? 12?} in one sitting!
One can’t live on Satsumas alone, though, so coming in at a close second favorite citrus fruit of mine is the Cara Cara Orange. Which just so happens to pair deliciously with onions & cilantro to make this delightful orange salsa!
Deeply sweet, a little bit tangy, and a gorgeous shade of pinky orange, the cara cara is reminiscent of a cross between an orange and a ruby red grapefruit.
Absolutely delicious, and with a high lycopene content , thanks to their lovely deep pink hue, Cara Cara’s are the perfect choice for this healthy & delicious Fresh Orange Salsa Fresca!
What to Eat w/ This Cara Cara Orange Salsa
- You can certainly do it up the classic way and serve the salsa with your favorite tortilla chips.
- It would be pretty yummy rolled up in a tortilla on top of scrambled eggs for breakfast tacos or a burrito…
- But, the ultimate way to enjoy this orange salsa fresca is on top of fish tacos. Yum!
Here’s my easy, no recipe, way to make ’em…
- Season fish of choice {we usually use mahi mahi} with salt and pepper, and grill, bake, or broil your fish.
- Heat corn tortillas up, and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.
- Prepare the fixins’: Our faves are chopped cabbage {for me it MUST be cabbage-NOT lettuce!}; avocado; white sauce {1/2 mayo mixed with 1/2 Greek Yogurt}; shredded cheddar {optional for me, but my kids love it}, and of course a BIG ol’ heapin’ scoop of Cara Cara Orange Salsa Fresca!
Cara Cara Orange Salsa Fresca
Ingredients
- 2 Cara Cara Oranges peeled & cut into ~ 1/4 inch chunks
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 limes juiced
- 2 1/2 tsp chopped jalapeno with seeds for spicy version, or omit seeds for mild version
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in bowl. Store in a well sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.Â
Notes
Nutrition
Sending a big #citruslove hug out to all my co-hosts 🙂 I hope you’ll stop by to check out all their lovely and delicious citrus recipes too!
A Little Bit of Everything~Astig Vegan~Baker Street~Big Fat Baker~Cafe Terra Blog~Cake Duchess~Cakeballs, Cookies, and More~Easily Good Eats~Elephant Eats~Food Wanderings~Georgiecakes~Hobby and More~Mike’s Baking~Mis Pensamientos~No One Likes Crumbly Cookies~Oh Cake~Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives~Peaches and Donuts~Savoring Every Bite~Simply Reem~Smart Food and Fit~Soni’s Food for Thought~Teaspoon of Spice~That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!~The Art of Cooking Real Food~The More Than Occasional Baker~The Wimpy Vegetarian~Vegan Yack Attack!~Vegetarian Mama~You Made That?
Let’s Chat!
What’s your favorite citrus fruit? Have you tried Cara Cara Oranges before? What would you put this Orange Salsa on top of???
Hi There! I’m EA, a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) in sunny San Diego. I create easy, DELICIOUS gluten free recipes & low FODMAP recipes for a wide variety of diets: anti-inflammatory, low carb, Mediterranean, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, & more. I offer nutrition coaching for wellness nutrition, digestive health (celiac disease, IBS, IBD, SIBO), autoimmune disease, & healthy aging. Learn more about my nutrition philosophy and my nutrition coaching services, sign up for my newsletter, or get in touch~I’d love to connect with you!
51 comments
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This is perfect for fish tacos! I fell in love with Cara Cara oranges this winter. So excited to try this when they’re back in season!
looks great made a salad with blood oranges today 🙂 sorry about your orange tree hope it feel better
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I love the first photo, looks amazing! And your salad looks refreshing and delicious!
Such a colorful and refreshing salad!
Thanks for dropping by the other day! Following you on pintrest and FB 🙂 Sending you some citrus love! 🙂
Wow…this looks gorgeous, delicious, fresh ad infinitum! What a great idea for #citruslove! I was just thinking of chopping up some of my leftover chicken white meat and mixing it with your orange salsa fresca for lunch tomorrow. Not sure if I’ll find cara cara’s, but I’m sure any kind will suffice. It was great co-hosting #citruslove with you too!
Wow…this looks gorgeous, delicious, fresh ad infinitum! What a great idea for #citruslove! I was just thinking of chopping up some of my leftover chicken white meat and mixing it with your orange salsa fresca for lunch tomorrow. Not sure if I’ll find cara cara’s, but I’m sure any kind will suffice. It was great c-hosting #citruslove with you too!
I am not a big citrus fan, but the vibrant colors in this salsa are enough to convince me to give it a try. This would be such a neat twist to traditional salsa for a get together! Thanks for the great recipe!
Melinda-Happy to educate 🙂 I’m sure you get some fabulous tangerine in Japan!
Lauren-Yay for a fellow cabbage lover, and your Greek yogurt mixed with hot sauce sounds delicious! Definitely hope to see your grapefruit creation entered in the bloghop!
Lisa-Thanks so much!! Hope you give it a try!
Terra-Big day for learning about new citrus! Love your fabulous lemon chess pie too! #citrus love hugs 🙂
Jeanette-Lucky you to receive a box of Tangelos! Fortunately the Cara Cara’s are in my local Jimbos supermarket 🙂 So glad you stopped by!
I love the idea of a citrus salsa, so bright and clean. I’ve seen cara cara oranges around in a few supermarkets, but they are hard to find. I do like tangelo oranges – I was lucky enough to have received a gift box full of these juicy delights. Some fabulous citrus recipes in this bloghop!
It is funny I just read about satsuma orange, I have never heard of them. Now you are teaching me about another one, cara cara orange. Honestly I want one now, they sound amazing! Your salsa sounds just gorgeous! Love hosting CitrusLove with you! Sending love and hugs your way:-)
I just love this idea and I can imagine it would be so wonderful on tacos!!
Beautiful pictures too =)
haven’t seen the lovely cara caras in the store but then again I don’t have a tree. Adore fish tacos and totally with you on the cabbage thing (cheese not so sure). I mix hot sauce with greek yogurt- delicious. I have a grapefruit recipe up my sleeve may have to hop (haven’t before).
I must be behind in my education of citrus because I have never heard of the cara cara orange. At least I have a decent excuse of living overseas now so I will never be able to find this. My favorite citrus is grapefruit, but right now I am really into the Japanese tangerines.
Reem-Thanks so much for the #citruslove! I love salsa of any kind, and the spicier the better 🙂
Kristi-love the idea of topping salmon with salsa! So glad you stopped by!
Kellie-So cool that you have apple and plum trees! Maybe we can do a fruit swap?? 🙂
Junia-I thought you might like this :-). So happy to co-host #citruslove with you!
Shulie-love that we both used cara cara oranges. Your porridge is at the top of my
list to make. Happy #citruslove!
Susan-Thank you!! Definitely hope you give it a try! Fun to co-host the blog hop with you 🙂
This is right up my alley! I love this and want to make it over the next couple days. It would go with so many things. Sending you lots of #citruslove!!
Ooh Ea your cara cara oranges salsa looks fantastic. I used cara cara as well. Love hopping with you as always.
I must make this asap! this look delicious!!! this is totally my type of recipe too :D. bookmarked! sending some #citruslove to you!
We top salmon with a citrus salsa – it’s delicious! The colors on the plate are so inviting. Have a good week!
As always, this looks so fresh and inviting. Being originally form Florida I know what you mean about citrus trees making you happy. Now that I live in Scotland I feel a certain attachment to my apple and plum trees. But I do miss going out and picking my breakfast, or juice. I also love these kind of citrus salsas on fish tacos. Lovely. I’m getting ready to make a FB page, so I will see you there soon!
This Salsa can give a tough run to any salsa….
Looks so fresh and yumm…
Love the pictures.
Sue-Thank you! So glad you stopped by!
Laura-Thanks so much! Hope you try it out!
Teri-Thank you so much Midwestern Teri 🙂 Hope you get to enjoy a cara cara!
Serena-Thank you! I’m in sunny Sam Diego :-). Happy New Year to you too!
Sylvia-yes, it is wonderful to have citrus in the backyard 🙂 So happy to be hosting #citruslove w/you!
Mike-Come on over…The salsa will he waiting for you!
Erin-Thanks so much, and, yes, it is incredible on fish tacos 🙂
Ros-Thank you and so glad to have you stop by to say hi!
Linda-Thank you so much! The salsa is very refreshing indeed 🙂
Lora-Thank you !! My kids love having the lemon tree for lemonade :-). Happy #citruslove!
Jackie-Thank you so much! No grapefruit for you??
Suzanne-Yes! Sometimes the simplest dishes are the best :-). Thanks for stopping by!
Richa-Hope you get to try a cara cara-your mouth will thank you :-). Happy #citruslove !
Elizabeth-Thanks so much, and so happy to host #citruslove with you too 🙂
What an amazing citrus treat! I love your gorgeous photos, too. Glad to do this citrus-love event with you, EA!
i’ve never heard of cara cara oranges. they look so pretty and the salsa had my mouth instantly water! the blend of the fruit with onions and cilantro .. yummmm!
What a beautiful orange, and the salsa looks fabulous, love that kind of stuff just plain good!
This looks terrific! I’ll have to try this out, sans grapefruit though. 😉
You’re so lucky to have a meyer lemon tree. This salsa is wonderful and your photos are just gorgeous EA. YAY for #citruslove month:)xx
Gorgeous photos! and definitely a refreshing salsa. Great idea!!
This looks delicious and healthy! The colours are so vibrant and your pictures are beautiful! thanks for sharing 🙂
This looks amazing! I love how chunky it is. I think this would be delicious on fish tacos.
I WANT THIS SALSA RIGHT NOW!! lol I have never seen this before and it looks great! I will have to make some soon.
You are so blessed to have citrus trees in your garden! Having a bright and refreshing salsa like this will definitely cheer anyone up!
Like Midwestern Teri, I’m so jealous of your citrus trees! Are you in Florida? Love the combo of flavors and the gorgeous photos! Happy New Year, EA!
That WOULD be perfect on a fish taco…AGREE!!! You are so LUCKY to have a lemon tree…being in the midwest, I can’t even imagine that luxury. Your photographs are so crisp and colorful…makes me want to go out and get a cara cara right now. Good trivia…cross between orange and grapefruit, I like that! BEAUTIFUL post!
So jealous that you have citrus trees in your yard! I’ll bet this would be fantastic with grilled mahi mahi! Bookmarking this one – thanks for sharing!
this sounds wonderful!
Jessica-Hee, hee! So happy it turned out well, and works perfectly on fish tacos! Happy to co-host citruslove with you!
An-Thank you! I would love to have some fish tacos with salsa followed by your amazing strawberry lime cheesecake 🙂 Happy #citruslove!
Gina-Your salad sounds amazing (except for the shrimp, which I do not like). I bet it would be tasty with scallops too. Hope you have a wonderfulmweekend as well!
Sanjeeta-You are welcome to pop over in to my backyard anytime 🙂
Soni-Thanks so much! Your salad with oranges looks amazing as well! Happy #citruslove!
Maris-Thank you so much! I was chopping like a mad woman to make the salsa before the sun went down, so I could get some decent pictures 🙂
Your photos are absolutely stunning!
Love this recipe!Will surely be making this very soon 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
You have lemon and oranges at your backyard..am planning to hop over there sometime 🙂 Wonderful recipe to keep.
I made a recipe yesterday at work with a cara cara orange. It was a spinach, shrimp and avocado salad, with cara cara oranges and a light italian dressing, and radishes. It was a huge hit. PEople thought the cara caras were grapefruit 🙂
The salsa sounds delightful! Have a lovely weekend.
Oh my! Your pictures are stunning EA! Love the salsa! Recipe is surely a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
Oooh… I was wondering about this since your twitter post. This looks so fresh and tasty – I can only imagine how delicious it is. Perfect topping for fish tacos!