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Avocado Salad

June 4, 2025 / By Natalie Mortimer

In this avocado salad recipe, big bite-sized pieces of ripe avocado are the star! Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs and a simple dressing make it a side dish to love all summer long.

avocado salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, serrano pepper, herbs and homemade vinaigrette topped with flaky salt
Photography by Gayle McLeod

Crisp cucumbers and juicy cherry tomatoes are perfect partners for creamy, ripe avocados in this dreamy avocado salad recipe. This recipe is for when avocados are at their absolute best, and you really honestly just want to cut them open and gobble them up. Simple, elegant and a delicious way to treat your guests to healthy summertime luxury, this salad really shines with any dinner you’re cooking up. Fresh herbs and an easy, honey-kissed homemade dressing let the avocado do most of the talking. Pair it with all of your favorite simple grilled or BBQ dishes, and it just might unseat classics like Macaroni Salad and Broccoli Salad as everyone’s favorite summer side dish. 

Ingredients for avocado salad including avocados, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, herbs, vinegar, oil, and spices.

5 Key Ingredients 

  • Ripe avocado: It’s probably obvious that for this salad to work you need THE BEST avocados. We’re talking ripe, yielding, creamy and bright green. Check out more tips for buying the best avocados below. 
  • Cherry tomatoes: Red, orange, yellow, whatever looks fresh and delicious will work well here. A little burst of juicy sweetness. 
  • Cucumbers: Crisp Persian cucumbers are my favorite to use in this salad, because they don’t need to be peeled or seeded. 
  • Serrano pepper: This is totally optional, but the little kick of heat is really a nice contrast to the creamy richness of the avocado. 
  • Fresh herbs: Cilantro and fresh mint leaves just taste like summer to me, so they’re what I used. Other fresh herbs would work fine here, too. 
thinly sliced red onion being soaked in red wine vinegar

How To Choose Ripe Avocados

California avocado season runs roughly from February to September, so all summer long, this salad with perfectly ripe avocados should be within reach. Fresh, ripe avocados should yield slightly when you (gently) squeeze the skin. It’s not just OK to pick up an avocado and check for ripeness in the store, it’s a must! Don’t damage the fruit, but do give it a very light squeeze. You want to feel a little yielding, but it shouldn’t feel smooshy. Overripeness is an issue, too. Overripe avocados can sometimes work fine for making Guacamole, but will not work for avocado salad because they’re often beginning to brown and they’ll fall to pieces if you try to toss them with the cucumbers and tomatoes. If the store only has firm, unripe avocados, you can bring them home and they will continue to ripen on the countertop because avocados do continue to ripen after being picked. Do not put avocados in the fridge unless you want to slow down their ripening process. 

avocado salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, serrano pepper and fresh herbs being drizzled with vinaigrette

How To Make This Salad

  1. Chop everything: Assembling this salad is mostly prep work (that’s true of most salads, really). A little rinsing, peeling, slicing and dicing, and you’re nearly there. 
  2. Let the onions soak in the vinegar for at least 15 minutes, and up to a few hours. 
  3. Make the salad dressing: I broke out a few favorite tricks for making homemade dressing taste really really good. First, grate some fresh garlic into the dressing with a microplane grater. This almost liquifies the garlic clove so that it can really blend into the oil and vinegar. Second, marinate the onion in some vinegar doesn’t just mellow out the flavor of the onion, it also gives the vinegar a hint of oniony flavor. Yum! To pull the whole dressing together, just whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey, and garlic with salt and pepper. 
  4. Gently toss the onion, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs with the dressing until each bite of avocado is well-coated in the dressing. Don’t overmix the salad or you’ll bruise the avocado pieces. 
  5. Serve right away. Note: This salad can’t be made entirely ahead of time, because the avocados will brown.
a bowl of avocado salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, serrano pepper, cilantro, mint and homemade vinaigrette

Tips, Swaps + Variations

  • Even though you cannot make the entire salad ahead of time, you could make some of it ahead! Simply prep everything except the avocado a few hours ahead of time, including tossing the tomatoes and cucumbers with the dressing. When you’re ready to serve the avocado salad, stir in the avocado pieces and serve.
  • Use any herbs you want: feel free to play around with the combination of fresh herbs, and use whatever herbs are fresh in your garden. Fresh basil, parsley, or oregano would all be delicious in this salad.
  • Leave the serrano pepper out if you want a spice-free, kid-friendly version of this avocado salad
  • Swap in a different fresh chile pepper if that’s easier to find. In the summer, many people have fresh hot peppers growing in their gardens, so feel free to play around and use whatever peppers you like best. 
avocado salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, serrano pepper, herbs and homemade vinaigrette topped with flaky salt

What To Serve It With 

Avocado salad is such a treat, it feels like luxury anytime, anywhere. We tend to serve it with simple grilled fare in the summertime. It’s a low-carb side dish that feels indulgent, which is really nice for when you’re trying to keep things healthy but want to feel like you’re living life! Here are a few faves: 

avocado salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, serrano pepper, herbs and homemade vinaigrette topped with flaky salt

Need More Side Dish Ideas?

For more recipe inspiration, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest or order our cookbook. We love when you share your meals. Tag us on Instagram using #themodernproper, and we’d love to hear what you think of this recipe in the comments below. Happy cooking!

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Avocado Salad Recipe

  • Serves:  6
  • Prep Time:  15 min
  • Cook Time:  0 min
  • Calories:  188

Description

In this avocado salad recipe, big bite-sized pieces of ripe avocado are the star! Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs and a simple dressing make it a side dish to love all summer long.

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons honey, warmed
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 large avocados, diced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 4 Persian cucumbers, cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 1 serrano pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (optional)
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
  • Flaky salt, for serving

Method

  1. In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar and onion. Let sit for about 15 minutes, or until beginning to soften. 

    thinly sliced red onion being soaked in red wine vinegar
  2. In a small bowl, combine the honey, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. 

    avocado salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, serrano pepper and fresh herbs being drizzled with vinaigrette
  3. To the bowl with the onion, add the avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, serrano pepper, if using, cilantro, and mint. Pour the dressing over top and toss to coat.

    a bowl of avocado salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, serrano pepper, cilantro, mint and homemade vinaigrette
  4. Sprinkle with flaky salt and serve immediately. 

    avocado salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, serrano pepper, herbs and homemade vinaigrette topped with flaky salt

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories 188
  • Protein 1 g
  • Carbohydrates 11 g
  • Total Fat 17 g
  • Dietary Fiber 5 g
  • Cholesterol 0 mg
  • Sodium 326 mg
  • Total Sugars 3 g

Avocado Salad

Questions & Reviews

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  • Sharon

    Yummmmmmyyyyy. This was such a delight. Perfect summer salad, served it with grilled chicken.

    Thanks Sharon! Glad you loved it!