Summer Avocado Salad
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Bursting with flavor, nutrition, and fresh veggies, this avocado salad tastes like summer in a bowl.
A good salad has lots of contrasting colors, textures and flavors, and this avocado salad has it all: buttery chunks of avocado, juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp bell peppers and cucumbers, fresh herbs, and a tangy 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 out the juices from the vegetables, adding delicious fresh flavor to the vinaigrette. Use a light hand when mixing in the avocados, as they break down the more you toss them. Serve the salad as a light lunch or side dish to grilled meats for supper.
“Made this over the weekend and everyone devoured it! So simple yet so delicious!”
What You’ll Need To Make Summer Avocado Salad
Be sure to 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’re ready to use them, pop them in the fridge; 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 fold the bag shut. Let the fruits (yes, avocado is a fruit!) sit together overnight on the counter and the avocados will ripen quickly.
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, water, salt, pepper, sugar, and garlic.
Add the cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, basil, and chives. Refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 3 hours ahead).
Right before serving, add the avocados to the salad.
Gently fold in the avocados, being careful not to mash them.
Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, and serve.
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Summer Avocado Salad
Bursting with flavor, nutrition, 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, minced
- 1 English cucumber, seeded and diced
- 1 yellow bell 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 fresh chopped chives
- 2 large avocados, halved, pitted, and diced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, water, salt, black pepper, sugar, and garlic. Add the cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, basil, and chives. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 3 hours). Right before serving, gently fold in the avocados, being careful not to mash them. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 254
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Sugar: 5 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 399 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain 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 preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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An update…I prepared the entire salad ahead of time and the avocados did not discolor at all….Everyone loved the salad and had seconds…..They asked for the recipe!!
I will definitely be making this again!! I made sure to get the freshest ingredients possible.
I will add some mint next time…
I’m bringing this to a potluck luncheon…
If I prepare the avocados ahead of time, should I put lime or lemon juice on them to keep them
from discoloring before adding to the salad?
Thanks…can’t wait to take this!
Hi Wendy, the only way to ensure they don’t discolor is to dice them right before adding to the salad. If you need to cut them in advance, I’d do as you mentioned and toss them with a little citrus juice. Hope you enjoy!
I love this salad, which I often make in the summer. I accidentally used seasoned rice vinegar once, and it t was quite good. Now I use 1/2 and half seasoned and unseasoned, and use little to no sugar. I also omit the water, as I feel the tomatoes and cucumber already make the vinaigrette quite watery.
Made this last week and it was a wonderful way to climb out of the heavy Thanksgiving leftovers roll we were on. We were out of yellow bell pepper so used red. Taste was so refreshing! Making it again tonight while the herbs we have left over from last time are still fresh. I told my daughter it was on the menu and she said “Perfect, but make more this time!” May I ask what the water in the dressing is meant to do? I did notice the viscosity of the dressing thickened up well as we ate, so suspect it might ensure the dressing doesn’t get too thick? Anyway, thank you for another wonderful dish!
Hi Shannon, so glad to hear you all enjoyed this! The water really doesn’t have anything to do with the thickness of the dressing; because there’s a lot of avocado in the salad (which is so rich), I use water just to make the dressing a bit lighter. Hope that clarifies!
Absolutely delicious. So refreshing and perfect for all the fresh produce this time of year. Thanks for another family favorite Jenn!
This was the perfect summer salad. We had leftovers and I was a little worried the avocado would end up gross and brown but the dressing kept them green. I was also pleasantly surprised none of the other vegetables turned mushy. I’ll be making this again soon!
Made this over the weekend and everyone devoured it! So simple yet so delicious!
Do you think I could add some cooked corn kernels to this salad? Thanks for so many amazing recipes!!!Yours is the most reliable website. I have learned so much from you!!! Liz
So glad you like the recipes! And, yes, you can definitely add some corn to the salad. 🙂
This was fabulous.
This was so delicious! I even had the leftovers for breakfast it was so good!