This healthy avocado cucumber salad is so easy to prepare and delicious that you'd want to make it over and over again. It hardly takes any time to prepare, but the results are awesome!
I have yet to come across someone who doesn't like avocados. I can consume avocados in any form or fashion. I've gotten creative in adding them to smoothies, salads, dippings, and the original homemade guac.
Coming from India, I never tasted this fruit back home. But, once I was introduced to avocados here in the US, I simply fell in love with them. Since then, I am always on the lookout for incorporating them into our diet in any way I can (and hoard them in my refrigerator too!). So, today, I'll be sharing with you one of my recent recipe creations - avocado and cucumber salad.
This salad is quick, easy, tasty, satisfying, cooling, and can easily be paired with various Mexican meals or enjoyed as a healthy snack in-between meals--you decide. Whichever way you choose, I am sure you'll enjoy them. You don't need a lot of ingredients to prepare this salad. So, let's get to the recipe.
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Ingredients you will need
- Cucumber - vertically cut in half and then slice
- Avocado - remove peel, pits, and then dice
- Tomato - remove seeds and then cut into small pieces
- Scallions - trim the ends and then slice them
- For salad dressing - use olive oil, lime juice, chopped cilantro, small garlic clove, and salt to taste
How to make healthy Avocado Cucumber Salad
Easy cucumber salad - Simply dice the avocados, cucumber, and tomatoes and toss them in a mixing bowl. Add sliced scallions for added flavor and set aside.
Cilantro lime dressing - In another small bowl, add finely chopped cilantro, crushed garlic with some lime juice, and olive oil. Mix them well with some salt. And add this dressing to the salad above, and there you go! So easy, right? I know!
Serving Suggestions!
- I make this salad to pair with several dishes such as spinach rice, Mexican brown rice, pasta salad, lentil soup, etc., and enjoy it with each of them.
- If you are looking for a light lunch, you can enjoy this healthy salad bowl as is.
Helpful Tips!
- Cutting avocado - First, cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Then cut in half again. This will make it easier to remove the peel. You can then dice them into small pieces.
- Cutting tomatoes - Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. This way you'll spare the salad from excess moisture. Simply dice the tomatoes and use them.
- Adding garlic - Since this will go in the dressing, finely mince the garlic (like superfine) so that you don't get big chunks in your salad.
- Adding salad dressing - Prepare the dressing but hold on to adding them just now. Since it has salt, it'll pull out the moisture from the salad ingredients and make them mushy. Add the dressing just before serving.
How to store leftover Salad?
If you feel you've prepared extra ingredients for this salad and dressing, divide them as per your needs. Store them separately in the refrigerator in airtight containers and mix them only when you want to enjoy them next time.
If possible, store avocados separately to prevent them from turning black. A tip from a food science geek--avocados contain fat, and if left open in the air, they react with the oxygen in the air and become black. This process is called oxidation and makes the fat rancid (aka smelling and tasting bad).
Recipe Variations!
Don't be afraid to be creative with this dish and add in your own set of ingredients as you feel, such as roasted corn, crushed tortilla chips, black beans, spring mix, etc.
For those carnivores out there, you can add in your choice of meat or seafood to make it protein-packed, such as cilantro-lime chicken. In my opinion, this salad is also perfect to enjoy leftover roasted chicken.
More Avocado Dishes You Will love
- Homemade Healthy Guacamole
- 5-Minute Easy Avocado Dip
- Spinach Avocado Green Smoothie
- Mexican Chicken Avocado Salad
📖 Recipe
15 Min Healthy Avocado Cucumber Salad
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Equipment
Ingredients
Salad Base
- 4 mini cucumbers
- 1 large avocado diced
- 1 roma tomato seeded and diced
- 1-2 spring onion sliced
Salad Dressing
- ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or more
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 medium garlic clove finely minced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- salt
Instructions
- Trim off the end of cucumbers, cut into half vertically and then slice them.
- In a large mixing bowl combine sliced cucumber, avocado, tomato, and spring onion.
- Then prepare the salad dressing using olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, and fresh cilantro. Using a small beater or spoon to mix everything well.
- Add prepared lemon oil dressing over the salad and gently mix to combine well.
Notes
- You can adjust the quantity of ingredients used in the dressing as per your likings.
- Use a salad hand or salad servers or just the pair of wooden spatulas to mix the salad ingredients and dressing.
- Preferably use extra virgin olive oil in preparing salad dressing. Its nutty flavor makes so much difference in the taste.
- Instead of mini cucumbers, you can also use a large English cucumber.
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