Name: Simple Avocado Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Salad
Ingredients: 2 avocados; 1 pint cherry tomatoes, multi-colored; 1/2 red onion; 2 tablespoons chopped basil, cilantro or parsley (optional); 1 small garlic clove; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 cup olive oil; Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

This avocado salad recipe is bursting with fresh flavor! Impress everyone with this simple mix of vegetables and citrusy vinaigrette.

When summer heat is at it’s height, we crave all the salads. Here’s one that blew us away with its fresh, zingy flavor: this Simple Avocado Salad! Simple, high quality ingredients paired together make magic, and this one is all about those contrasts. Rich avocado pairs with bursts of sweet cherry tomatoes, savory onion, and a zesty citrus vinaigrette. It’s one of those recipes where the first bite makes your eyebrows raise a little in satisfaction, and you immediately want to take another bite.

What’s in this avocado salad recipe?

An avocado salad is a pretty loose concept. In fact, you could throw diced avocado together with any veggies, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, and call it a day. For this recipe we wanted to stay ultra simple, but still have an air of sophistication. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ripe avocados
Cherry tomatoes (multi-colored look nice if you have them)
Red onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Dijon mustard

The dressing: a simple lemon vinaigrette

The dressing for this avocado salad recipe is our favorite Lemon Vinaigrette. This dressing has basic ingredients but is simply packed with zingy, lemony flavor. The dressing quantity is pared back here to fit the quantity of this salad. But if you prefer, you can make the larger recipe linked above and have leftovers for more salads throughout the week.

The vinaigrette really coats the avocados, so if you’d like to use slightly less quantity than the recipe calls for: that works too! Once you try it, you’ll be obsessed (we hope) and want to put it on everything. Try it on a main dish Nicoise Salad, or an everyday Chopped Salad.

How to cut an avocado: the best way!

The main thing to keep in mind when you make this avocado salad? How to cut an avocado! It can be difficult to remove the pit and dice it up without risk of injury. Here are the best practices for how to cut an avocado, with a great tip for removing the pit:

Remove the pit: Use a large chef’s knife to cut lengthwise around the avocado, then twist the two halves to separate them. Place a towel in your hand and put the avocado on top. With a gentle but quick motion, tap the knife into the avocado pit, then twist it to remove it.
Safely pull the pit from the knife: Don’t remove the avocado pit with your hand! Instead, pull the cutting board close to your body, then place the pit against the far edge of the cutting board and pull back to release it from the knife. (See the video here.)
Remove from the peel and slice: Use a large spoon to scoop out the avocado from the peel. Place the avocado with the cut side down, then cut it into slices and then dice.

Mix ins for avocado salad

This avocado salad recipe is super basic: a great template for you to customize with your own additions! There are lots of ways to vary it up! Here are a few of our favorite ideas (and let us know yours):

Corn: add 1 cup canned corn or cooked corn sliced from the cob (great for summer!)
White beans: add a 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed
Black beans: add a 15-ounce can and substitute 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice in the dressing
Herbs: Vary the herbs, using basil, cilantro, parsley, chives, or dill
Bell peppers: add a diced bell pepper for a crunch and a load of Vitamin C

What else would you add to this salad?

Variation: avocado corn salad

Another variation on this avocado salad: our Avocado Corn Salad! This one features a quick trick: using purchased pico de gallo to cut down on the chopping time. You also don’t need to make a dressing, which makes it even faster and cuts back on the calories. We love it just as much! (Or more?) Go to this Avocado Corn Salad recipe.

More salad recipes

There are lots more great salad recipes where these come from! Here are some of our top greatest salad recipes for summer:

This Classic Three Bean Salad is better than grandma’s (we think!)
Try minty and refreshing Watermelon Salad with Mint
Opt for this zingy Easy Tortellini Salad
Grab the fastest Black Bean and Corn Salad
Go for Simple Carrot Salad or Celery Salad with Apples
Try summer’s best in a Classic Corn Salad