Avocado salad is creamy, healthy, and refreshing, and it’s all you need for a quick lunch or light dinner during the hot summer months.

If you like easy summer recipes, you might also enjoy our watermelon salad, panzanella, Greek salad, and pineapple cucumber salad.

Avocado salad.
Easy Creamy Avocado Salad

The first time I tried avocado was mashed on sourdough toast when I had just moved to London. It was a love affair from the very first bite.

15 years later, Louise and I made more than 40 avocado recipes for this blog. Black bean salad, chickpea pasta salad, and strawberry spinach salad are some of them.

This salad has become one of our favorite recipes, especially during the warmer months. Itโ€™s light and summer-friendly, but also incredibly fulfilling and packed with nutrients.

Thanks to its healthy fats and generous fiber content, avocado makes this salad an ideal choice for a quick, wholesome lunch.

Louise and I love to serve it with a slice of homemade rosemary focaccia or warm pita bread, and we often add a side of tzatziki for dipping.

Avocado tomato salad.

Ingredients

Avocado salad ingredients
  • Avocado: Ripe diced avocado is the main ingredient. If you are unsure how to pick perfectly ripe avocados, check out our tips chapter below.
  • Tomatoes: Use ripe tomatoes that are firm to the touch. Most tomato varieties are okay to make this avocado salad recipe. Try cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, Heirloom tomatoes, Yellow Cherry, and San Marzano tomatoes.
  • Cucumber: You can use English cucumber, American garden cucumber, or Persian cucumber. If the cucumber is seedy, you can cut off some of the seeds and discard them.
  • Onion: We recommend red onion. You can substitute shallots, scallions, or spring onions for the red onion.
  • Extra-virgin olive oil: Would be the best choice to add a fruity flavor and tie together the other ingredients.
  • Lemon juice: You can substitute balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or red wine vinegar for lemon juice.
  • Parsley: Substitute fresh basil.

Add ins:

How to make avocado salad

Important before you start! If you are making the salad beforehand, add the avocado at the last minute, just before eating the salad. This way, it won’t go brown.

Cut the red onion into thin slices, then pinch it to separate the layers.

Soak the sliced red onion in a bowl with cold water for 10 minutes before adding it to the salad.

soaking the onion in cold water

Dice the tomatoes and cucumber into bite-size pieces.

Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, then score it with a knife to create small squares and scoop it out.

Finely chop the parsley.

all chopped veggies for the avocado salad

Add the chopped veggies to a large bowl, then season with freshly squeezed lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

ingredients in a bowl

Toss gently until the vegetables are coated in the condiments and slightly creamy from the avocado. Taste and adjust for salt before serving.

avocado salad in a bowl

Variations

Avocado Pasta Salad

Our favorite variation is avocado pasta salad, which you can make by adding a short pasta type to this recipe.

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water until al dente. It’s important that you salt the pasta water.

Drain the pasta, run it under cold water for 15 seconds, then add it to the other ingredients. For example, you might need to add more olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Avocado salad with pasta.

Storage

Make ahead: it’s best to add the avocado last minute before serving the salad so that it doesn’t turn brown.

Refrigerator: store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Some juices might float around from the cucumber and tomatoes; you can drain those and add fresh olive oil and parsley.

Freezer: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.

Tips

How to choose ripe avocado at the store?

First: look for the stem. It’s generally better if the avocado has it still on. This way, it will stay fresh for longer after buying it.

Second: look at the color. Ripe avocados are generally darker than unripe ones. So try to find ones with a dark green, almost black color.

Third: avoid shiny ones. Ripe avocadoes generally have a dull, matte peel. Shiny avocados usually are unripe.

Fourth: avoid indentations or bruise spots. If you see evident bruises that are soft to the touch, that’s not good. I wouldn’t recommend buying those, even if they are on offer. There’s not much you can do with bruised, overripe avocado.

Fifth: feel it. If the avocado yields to firm, gentle pressure, you know it’s ready to eat. To feel the avocado, pick it up in the palm of your hand, and apply gentle pressure with the whole hand. Do not squeeze with your fingertips, as you might damage the avocado.

Questions

What can I mix with avocado?

Juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, tangy red onion, and fresh herbs like basil and parsley pair perfectly well with avocado.

According to the “vegetarian flavor bibleยฃ from Karen Page (2014), other ingredients that pair well with avocado are asparagus, black beans, corn, fennel, garlic, grapefruit, greens, lemon, lime, lettuce, mango, orange, quinoa, scallions, spinach, and yogurt.

How long will avocado stay fresh in a salad?

Avocados will stay fresh for about 12 to 24 hours if you add lemon juice to the salad, which slows the oxidation of the avocado.

More Avocado Recipes

If you tried this Avocado Salad or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a ๐ŸŒŸ star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!

Avocado salad recipe.

Avocado Salad

4.91 from 10 votes
Avocado salad is creamy, healthy, and refreshing, and it's all you need for a quick lunch or light dinner during the hot summer months.
Creamy avocado, ripe and juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, tangy red onion, and fresh parsley meld perfectly to create a tasty, nutritious, and fulfilling summer salad.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 3 people
Course: Main, salad
Cuisine: American

Ingredients 

  • 2 ripe avocados diced
  • 1 medium cucumber chopped
  • 1 pound tomatoes chopped
  • ยฝ red onion finely sliced
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons parsley chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ยผ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions 

  • Thinly slice ยฝ red onion then pinch it with your fingers toย separate the layers. Soak it in cold waterย for ten minutes to soften its flavor.
    finley chopped onion
  • To a mixing bowl, add 1 pound tomatoes (diced), 1 medium cucumber, and 2 ripe avocados, the sliced onion, and 3 tablespoons parsley (chopped).
    ingredients in a bowl
  • Season with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and ยผ teaspoon black pepper then toss gentlyย until the salad is coated in the condiments and slightly creamy from the avocado.
    Taste andย adjust for saltย before serving.
    avocado salad

Video

Easy Creamy Avocado Salad

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate for a serving of avocado salad out of three.
SUBSTITUTIONS
STORAGE
Make ahead: it’s best to add the avocado last minute before serving the salad so that it doesn’t turn brown.
Refrigerator: store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Some juices might float around from the cucumber and tomatoes; you can drain those and add fresh olive oil and parsley.
Freezer: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.

Nutrition

Calories: 130kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Potassium: 514mg, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1648IU, Vitamin B6: 0.2mg, Vitamin C: 33mg, Vitamin E: 2mg, Vitamin K: 88ยตg, Calcium: 36mg, Folate: 44ยตg, Iron: 1mg, Manganese: 0.3mg, Magnesium: 30mg, Zinc: 0.5mg
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or mention @theplantbasedschool on Instagram. We love hearing from you โญ๏ธ ๐Ÿ’š.

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Nico and Louise in front of the Consolazione church in Todi

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

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4.91 from 10 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Hello I have tried to subscribe to emails from you and itโ€™s not responding. Hopefully you can help thank you sharon

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      I’ve added you now to our email list. You should receive a confirmation email in your inbox (or “promotions”, “spam” inbox) from us.

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