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If you love avocado and vegetables together then this easy summer salad might be perfect for you! Delicious and always fresh, this salad is packed with healthy nutrients that you need every single day … and ready in 5 minutes.
My wife always says that if it’s green, it’s healthy to eat! So I guess this quick avocado salad falls right in there, right?
You will love this avocado salad
To tell you the truth, I haven’t planned on making this salad, I simply wanted to make one of those guacamole recipes. But I discovered that my avocado wasn’t creamy enough for a guacamole and, since all the other ingredients were ready and waiting, this “messy” summer salad was my only option.
This avocado summer salad was too good to be true and here’s why. It was:
Easy
Fresh
Refreshing
Satisfying
Satiating
Natural
Low-Carb
Healthy
Vegan
& Delicious!
Ingredients for Avocado Summer Salad
You’ll need a few common vegetables that you’d normally use for making guacamole, plus the star ingredient … Avocado!
- Avocado – Creamy and packed with good fats, avocado is one of the healthiest sources of beneficial nutrients (good fats included). In my experience, organically grown avocados are always creamy and ripen perfectly, plus they don’t cost much either.
- Red Onion – Onions are rich in conventional nutrients as well as unique phytonutrients. Plus they are perfect for balancing all those healthy “good-for-you” fats from avocado.
- Leeks – Together with onions, leeks gives our salad a special seasonal flavor. I discovered that organically grown leeks is “wow!” in terms of taste and nutrients.
- Bell Pepper – Perfect in all kinds of salads, bell peppers are another nutritional powerhouse. Bell peppers come with different phytonutrients, plus vitamins and minerals and one of my favorite veggies to use in salads. Go organic if possible to minimize pesticides exposure.
- Cucumber – There’s something about cucumbers in salads that always resonates with me! Maybe because raw cucumbers are delicious and they give a natural flavor to any kind of salad. Go organic if possible since organically grown cucumbers taste better and have more nutrients (including in the flesh).
- Celery (stalk) – I like to use a bit of raw celery (stalk) mainly for its salty taste and crunchy texture. I think it’s a nice surprise in any salad plus celery comes with plenty of nutrients. Buy organic if possible!
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – I like to use Greek extra virgin olive oil because it’s an absolutely amazing high-quality oil, full of flavor and packed with beneficial fats and natural antioxidants. You don’t have to buy organic here, just make sure to buy authentic extra virgin olive oil (Greece or Italy are the best producers).
- Lime Juice – I used freshly squeezed lime juice. The lime juice is here to protect those delicate fats from oxidation, and it’s perfect to compliment all those fats from avocado and from the extra virgin olive oil.
- Pinch of Salt – A little salt goes a long way here!
How to make this easy summer salad
- Start by peeling, cutting and chopping all the plants as needed.
- Add everything into your favorite salad bowl and use a fork to mix all the veggies between them.
- Pour extra virgin olive oil on top and mix to combine with vegetables.
- Add lime juice and pinch of salad, mixing one last time.
- That was it! Serve by itself or as a side to your meal.
This avocado summer salad can be upgraded!
- For crunchiness (and more nutrients, including protein) you can add chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts to your salad.
- You could also use pine nuts! I absolutely love these small nuts in any kind of salad (although they tend to be a bit more expensive).
- Maybe swap nuts for seeds like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds.
- In case you want to add even more healthy fats to your salad, why not add a handful of kalamata olives (or other type of olives)?
- Do you enjoy spicy food … and spicy salads? Include chopped jalapeños or red chili peppers and you’ll be in for a spicy treat.
- Want something totally new? Try adding 1 tbsp of raisins and let me know what you think!
As you can see, there is a lot that you can do with this messy avocado salad. It’s one of those salads that you can make over and over again, and will taste amazing every time.
Why this avocado summer salad is great?
It’s an easy delicious salad that tastes amazing every time.
This salad is packed with real unprocessed nutrients (think enzymes and fiber, plus vitamins and minerals, or phytonutrients).
Since salads are basically raw food, they’re easier to digest compared to cooked food.
Plus the nutrients found salads are readily available for your body to use.
It’s very easy to make and won’t cost much either.
Gluten-free, sugar-free and free of refined seed oils.
Low-carb & Keto compliant and perfect for your Whole30 reset!
Consuming this kind of low-carb salad will help you stay in the fat burning zone.
Perfect for vegan and vegetarian eaters who want to eat keto for a change.
Great to detox and heal your entire body from the inside-out.
Use it as a way to improve (and slowly heal) skin, nails, hair, gut, digestion … basically to detox your system!
You can enjoy this salad by itself, especially if you add some of the “extras” that I listed above. Or you can pair this salad with a main course and you’ll end-up with one delicious nutrient-rich meal.
What you don’t consume, you can store in the fridge in an airtight container and will last for 1-2 days (even longer).
If you liked this easy avocado salad recipe, please consider leaving a short review/comment below. Your review will help others decide if this salad is worth-it! As for myself, I’m curious to find out how you liked this avocado summer salad and what are your favorite extras.
What are your favorite extras to add to this salad? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Easy Messy Avocado Summer Salad | Vegan, Keto, Whole30
Equipment
- Salad Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 medium avocado (skin and seed removed, slices)
- 1 small red onion (chopped)
- 5 cm leeks (sliced)
- 1/2 red bell pepper (slices)
- 1/2 cucumber (slices, cut in 4s)
- 1/2 stick celery (sliced small)
- lime juice (as needed)
- 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of salt (I used white mountain salt)
Instructions
- Prepare all the plants as indicated (peel, cut, chop) and add them into your favorite salad bowl.
- Pour extra virgin olive oil over veggies and mix to combine.
- Add optional lime juice and salt. Mix again to incorporate into salad.
- That was it! Serve as a side to your meal or enjoy as is since this summer salad in a filler by itself.
This salad was packed with delicious veggies and perfect for low-carb eaters like us. Easy to make, also one can use the same ingredients for making guacamole too 🙂