Summer has suddenly come upon us and this Avocado Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing is a good way to keep things cool. Along with warmer days comes the harvest of fresh fruits and vegetables that are certainly a help in the kitchen. They add to the ease of throwing a simple salad together instead of having to cook over a hot stove. Plus, they add so many good nutrients to our diets. Thankfully there are no rules for a salad like there are in baking. Any ingredient in any amount is lawful.

The mixture of these fresh vegetables in this recipe go well together. It’s vinaigrette is spiced with cilantro and cumin that adds a south of the border accent. This avocado salad is packed with nutrients, low in calories and serves as a good side dish or as a meal on it’s own. It’s divine!

The dish’s inspiration comes from my sister, Virginia. It’s her simple Avocado Cucumber Salad recipe. You salt and pepper some diced avocado, cucumber, tomato and red onion in a salad bowl. Refrigerate, then toss with balsamic vinegar right before serving. The first time I prepared it I did as she said, but added to it every other vegetable in the fridge. Well, if a little is good then more is better, and it was!

The Avocado Salad

After a few days of pondering on this simple salad I went into the kitchen and mixed a vinaigrette together in a pint size mason jar. First, squeezing some limes into it then adding a bit of olive oil and other things to flavor it up.

Then I shook, shook, shook the jar!

Making the salad was easy by dicing the vegetables and placing them into a bowl. The last step was pouring the vinaigrette over the vegetables and tossing the salad together with a spoon which made it ready to serve.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy except this time it’s with a lime! Have a great summer!

Avocado Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

This cool avocado salad with cucumbers and other veggies tossed with a cilantro lime vinaigrette has that south of the border taste to brighten up any meal or stand alone as a light meal all by itself.

• Author: Louisiana Woman
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 6 cups
• Category: Slads

Ingredients

2 limes

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

2 teaspoon honey

2 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste, freshly ground

1 cup avocado, peeled and cubed

1 cup cucumber, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 cup sweet peppers, any color, quartered and sliced

1 1/2 cups mushrooms, cubed

3 tablespoons red onion, diced

Instructions

Squeeze limes into a pint size mason jar then add olive oil, garlic, cilantro, honey, cumin, salt and pepper into the olive oil mixture. Tightly close lid onto jar and shake several times to blend dressing well. Refrigerate until ready to pour over salad.

Add all of the cut up vegetables into a large salad bowl. Shake up the jar of dressing and pour the amount you desire over salad. Toss and serve or keep cold until ready to serve. Garnishing with more cilantro is optional.

Notes

I use about half of the dressing in this salad that this recipe makes. The leftover dressing keeps well in the refrigerator for later use.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/2 cup

762.2 g148.3 mg6.8 g1.1 g0 g4.3 g1.7 g1.1 g0 mg

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