Of all the avocado salad recipes I’ve made, this is the one I make the most often. I love the simple combination of crunchy cucumbers, avocado, and the light lime dressing. If you’re a fan of guacamole, then you’ll surely love this easy avocado salad.
Key Ingredients
Avocados: Use firm but ripe avocados for this salad, and keep the softer ones for your homemade guacamole. The firmer ones are easier to cut into cubes to match the cucumbers in your salad. Cucumber: I love using thin-skinned varieties of cucumbers for salads, such as hothouse cucumbers (often sold wrapped in plastic) or mini Persian cucumbers. Regular garden cucumbers work well, too. Just make sure to check their peel. If it seems thick, peel some or all of it. Also, if the cucumbers have large seeds in the middle, use a spoon to scoop them out before cubing them for your salad. Lime: The lime dressing is the key to bringing this simple salad together. Lemons are a great substitute if you don’t have limes. Olive oil: Before adding the avocado and cucumber, we whisk olive oil into the lime juice. Jalapeño and garlic: While optional, I love a little spice. For mild spice, remove the seeds and white membrane from the jalapeño. Fresh herbs: Cilantro is amazing and turns this into more of a Mexican avocado salad, but other delicate herbs like parsley, chives, or basil work, too.
How to Make Avocado Salad
This avocado and cucumber salad is really easy to prepare. First, I whisk my dressing in the bottom of my salad bowl. Then, I gently toss the avocado, cucumber, and other salad ingredients into the bowl. I like big chunks of avocado in my salad, and adding them to the dressing in the bowl helps me minimize over mixing, which can cause the avocado to turn to mush. By gently mixing everything together, the avocado remains intact and keeps its shape.
Storing Avocado Salad
Avocado salad is best enjoyed straight away. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a day, though you may notice some browning on the avocado. To make the salad ahead of time, leave out the avocados (don’t cut them yet) and store them in an airtight container for a couple of days. Then, when you are ready to serve, toss in your cubed avocado.
More Avocado Recipes
Creamy Avocado Pasta My Favorite Avocado Toast with Egg Grilled Guacamole Easy Avocado Egg Salad
2 cups (300g) cubed cucumber, about 1 large cucumber 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 1 to 2 limes 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 jalapeño, seeds and membrane removed 1 small garlic clove, omit if sensitive to raw garlic 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or more to taste 1/2 cup (25g) chopped fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, basil, dill or a combination Hot sauce, optional 2When you’re ready to serve the salad, cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and cut them into cubes. 3Add the cubed avocado and sliced cucumber to the salad bowl with the dressing. Gently toss the avocado and cucumber around the bowl until evenly coated in the dressing. 4Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, adding additional salt if desired. Add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce if you like heat.
