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This avocado salad is one of those simple summer recipes that you’ll find yourself repeating. It’s fresh, colorful and the perfect accompaniment to everything from grilled chicken to burgers.
A good salad has lots of contrasting colors, textures and flavors, and this avocado salad has it all: smooth avocado, juicy cherry tomatoes, crunchy peppers and cucumbers, fresh herbs and a zesty vinaigrette.
For best results, let the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers marinate in the dressing for at least 20 minutes before adding the avocados. This resting time draws the juices from the vegetables into the dressing, giving it a wonderful fresh flavor. Gently fold in the avocados, as they will break down as you toss them. Serve the salad as a light lunch or with grilled meats for dinner.
“I made this over the weekend and everyone devoured it! So simple but so delicious!”
Contents
What You’ll Need to Make Avocado Salad
Make sure you choose perfectly ripe avocados for the salad. A ripe avocado should yield to pressure when gently squeezed with the palm of your hand. If your avocados ripen before you are ready to use them, put them in the refrigerator; this will significantly slow down the ripening process. If you need to speed up the ripening process, place the avocados in a brown paper bag with an apple or banana and seal the bag. Let the fruit (yes, avocado is a fruit!) sit together overnight on the counter and the avocados will ripen quickly.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Prepare the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, water, salt, pepper, sugar and garlic.
Step 2: Add the vegetables. Add the cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, basil and chives. Refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 3 hours in advance).
Step 3: Add the avocado. Just before serving, gently fold the avocados into the salad, taking care not to crush them.
Step 4: Serve. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, if necessary, then serve and enjoy.
More Summer Salads You’ll Love
Summer avocado salad
Bursting with flavor, nutrients, and fresh veggies, this avocado salad tastes like summer in a bowl.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 clove garlic, ax
- 1 English cucumber, seeded and diced
- 1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil, or a combination of basil and mint
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 2 big lawyers, halved, pitted and diced
Instructions
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In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, water, salt, black pepper, sugar and garlic. Add the cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, basil and chives. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 3 hours). Just before serving, gently stir in the avocados, taking care not to crush them. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Nutritional information
Per serving (6 servings)Calories: 254kilocaloriesCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 3gFat: 22gSaturated fat: 2gSodium: 399mgFiber: 7gSugar: 5g
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional information on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. Data is calculated via an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these numbers should only be considered estimates. Various factors such as types of produce or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and how ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information of a given recipe. Additionally, different online calculators provide different results based on their own nutritional data sources and algorithms. To get the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your favorite nutritional calculator.
Gluten-free adaptable note
To the best of my knowledge, all ingredients used in this recipe are gluten free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; If you are following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with a gluten allergy, always read the labels on your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Can I use olive oil instead?
Hi Claudia, I prefer vegetable oil here as it has a neutral flavor, but it’s perfectly fine to use olive oil instead. Appreciate!
So excellent! I had to give copies of your recipe to my guests!