A simple salad made with ripe avocados and fresh jalapenos and doused in a spicy cumin vinaigrette; this refreshing avocado salad is packed with robust flavors and textures for a nice, healthy start to the new year.
Table of Contents
A Deliciously Simple Avocado Salad
When I was heading home for Christmas, I had a long day of traveling. I was exhausted but needed to eat. I wanted something light, but still satisfying. The waitress at the Hyatt lounge recommended an avocado salad and a glass of MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir.
The salad arrived and it immediately reminded me of a deconstructed guacamole. It was just the dish I was looking for.
Today, I’ve recreated the recipe at home. It’s quite simple and perfect for a healthy lunch, a satisfying snack, or the perfect side dish for taco night. A few simple ingredients make something deliciously creamy and tangy with just a hint of spice. It’s one of those summer salads you can eat all year long.
This makes a single-size serving, but it makes enough dressing for two salads. Add a grilled chicken breast or a piece of fish to a full meal.
Creamy Avocado Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 avocado
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 red pepper
- 1/2 fresh jalapeno
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. champagne vinegar
- 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 lime
Instructions
- Slice: Cut avocado in half and remove the pit. Slice the avocado while still in the shell.
- Scoop: Using a large spoon, scoop out slices and fan them on a plate.
- Cut: Slice red onion in half and into thin strips. Julienne the red pepper and jalapeno, removing the seeds from both and add to plate.
- Whisk: Combine garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, cumin and sugar together in a small bowl.
- Serve: Drizzle half of the dressing and squeeze fresh lime juice over the salad.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients for the best avocado salad
- Avocado. Hass avocados are probably the most popular, but whatever your local grocery store has will work. I like to use avocados that fit snugly in the palm of my hand.
- Red onion
- Red pepper. I like the mild flavor of the red pepper, but green peppers will still add a nice crunch and color to your salad.
- Jalapeno. Fresh is best for this recipe.
- Garlic. For this, I would use fresh garlic from the produce section rather than the jarred or paste kind.
- Olive oil
- Champagne vinegar. Champagne vinegar has a nice sweetness to it, but red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar could also work here. It depends on what flavor profile you like best.
- Kosher salt
- Cumin
- Sugar
- Lime
Substitutions: The key to this recipe is to use fresh ingredients for everything. Feel free to add English cucumbers, Persian cucumbers, grape tomatoes, bell pepper or any other fresh veggies that catch your eye to this recipe.
See the full recipe card for servings and a full list of ingredients.
How to make avocado salad
- Slice: Cut avocado in half and remove the pit. Slice the avocado while still in the shell.
- Scoop: Using a large spoon, scoop out slices and fan them on a plate.
- Cut: Slice red onion in half and into thin strips. Julienne the red pepper and jalapeno, removing the seeds from both and add to plate.
- Whisk: Combine garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, cumin and sugar together in a small bowl.
- Serve: Drizzle half of the dressing and squeeze fresh lime juice over the salad.
How to serve this avocado salad recipe
This recipe can be dressed up or down to fit your needs. This would be a great side dish alongside chipotle skirt steak or grilled orange coconut shrimp. Sprinkle it with fresh herbs like green onion or fresh cilantro and serve with tortilla chips and black beans for a protein-packed main dish. Use any extra avocado and the tangy vinaigrette with feta cheese, juicy cherry tomatoes and crunchy cucumbers for a fresh take on a classic side salad.
Storage
This recipe makes a single serving of the salad since avocados tend to go brown quickly and we want to keep this salad as fresh as possible. You can store leftover dressing in an airtight container and use it within 3 days on other dishes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Super delicious, but finicky, brown avocados are all too common. I recommend using all the avocado in this recipe, but if you have extra, you can squeeze it with lime or lemon juice and tightly wrap it in plastic wrap. The acidity will help slow the browning process when avocado fruit is exposed to oxygen.
You can dice the avocado instead of slicing it for this recipe. I recommend cutting all the veggies into a similar shape so each bite has all those yummy flavors and textures.
Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Commercially, it ripens after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.:
Most recently released post provided by our personal web site
https://www.caramoan.ph/spelunking-in-caramoan/
I love your photography as much as your food!! This salad is perfect. I LOVE avocado anything!! Thanks so much for sharing on Fit and Fabulous. 🙂
Oh how fun, I love the flavor combination of curry with your avocado salad! Beautiful! Take care, Terra
What beautiful pictures! And the salad looks delicious. I look forward to trying it.
Fab recipe…I’m printing & will be making it this week. Thanks for the inspiration!
Wow! Stunning pictures and recipe. 🙂
I love how delicate and light this salad is. Beautiful and healthy!