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This avocado salad is a perfect summer salad that looks as fresh and zesty as it tastes! It’s an easy recipe packed with color and flavor, with creamy avocado, olives, juicy tomatoes, and salty feta. Try it once, and I guarantee you’ll be hooked!
Looking for more summery recipes that use avocado? Try this easy tomato avocado corn salad and this creamy avocado hummus.
I call this avocado salad an appetizer salad. All it takes is a few scoops of salad and a couple of wedges of pita bread, and I’m ready for more! Deep down, I know that big salads are meant for sharing, but! This avocado salad recipe is SO GOOD, with its buttery avocado slices, briny capers and olives, juicy tomatoes, and feta, that I’d gladly eat the whole bowl. It’s vibrant, tasty, and the perfect salad for summer. Prepare to be obsessed.
What Makes This the Perfect Avocado Salad?
- It’s bursting with fresh ingredients. Maybe it’s the Mediterranean in me, but creamy avocado and tangy olives with the freshness of tomatoes and salty feta cheese are a bright, summery combo that’s hard to resist.
- Easy to customize. If one or more ingredients don’t do it for you, it’s easy to change it up!
- The perfect balance. I love everything about this salad recipe, from the many textures and colors to the perfect balance of flavors. There’s a little bit of everything, tied together with a simple lime dressing that brings out the best in every bite.
Salad Ingredients
This avocado salad is summer in a bowl, thanks to a few of my favorite seasonal ingredients. I’ve included some notes on what I use below.
Feel free to add in or substitute ingredients as you’d like (it’s a salad, after all, so just about anything goes). Scroll to the recipe card for a printable ingredients list with the recipe details.
- Olives – These can be black olives, green olives, kalamatas, or any pitted olives you’d like. Slice them up nice and thin or leave them whole, it’s up to you.
- Avocados – Choose ripe avocados that are dark in color and lightly soft, but not mushy, to the touch. My favorite are Hass avocados.
- Tomatoes – I use sweet grape or cherry tomatoes, but any kind will work. Larger tomatoes will be a bit more watery.
- Capers – A little Mediterranean “confetti” gives this avocado salad an extra punch of briny flavor. I love capers, but if they aren’t your cup of tea, go ahead and skip them.
- Feta – Crumbled or cut into cubes. You can use another type of cheese, like goat cheese or shaved parmesan.
- Dressing – I make a simple dressing with freshly squeezed lime juice (or lemon juice), olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Feel free to use your favorite salad dressing, homemade or store-bought. I also love this Italian dressing or the zesty vinaigrette from my La Scala chopped salad.
Preparing Avocado for a Salad
The easiest way to prep avocado for this salad is to slice it in half and use a spoon to scoop out the green flesh. Once you have both halves free from the skins, place the avocado flat-side-down on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice it lengthwise into strips or dice it, depending on what you prefer. I usually dice mine into 1” pieces.
How to Make My Favorite Avocado Salad
Here’s a simple step-by-step to make this avocado salad. While some salads are hardy enough to make ahead, I do recommend making this one within an hour or so of serving, when the avocado is at its freshest. Lucky for us, it’s quick!
- Combine the ingredients. First, mix your olives, avocado, tomatoes, capers, and feta cheese in a big bowl.
- Make the dressing. Separately, whisk together the dressing ingredients until they’re well blended. Adjust and season to taste.
- Toss and serve. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve with soft pita bread slices and enjoy.
Serving Suggestions
This flavor-packed avocado salad and a side of naan bread are the perfect pair. With the creaminess of the avocados, it almost doubles as a chunky dip! If I’m after something filling, I’ll add juicy steak slices or a grilled salmon kabob on top to make it more of a main meal salad. Of course, it’s just as good served as a side salad to grilled chicken or stuffed peppers.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re looking for more veggies to mix into this avocado salad, try cucumbers, diced bell peppers, fresh or grilled zucchini, baby spinach, and herbs like basil and cilantro.
The key is to keep the avocado flesh from coming into contact with oxygen. This is why it’s best to chop avocado just before serving and store any leftovers airtight. If you can, toss with lime dressing and press a piece of plastic wrap directly against the salad. See below for storage tips.
The good news is, if your avocado does go a bit brown from oxidization, it’s perfectly safe to eat (the same way browned apples are fine to eat). It just doesn’t look very appetizing, and the flavor won’t be quite as fresh.
How to Store
Store any leftovers airtight in the fridge with a layer of plastic wrap pressed flush against the top of the salad. Avocado tends to brown with time. The acidity in the lime dressing and the plastic wrap helps a little, but it’s best to enjoy any leftover avocado salad within a day or two (roll up leftovers in a chicken wrap!). I don’t recommend freezing.
More Avocado Recipes
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Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ounces pitted olives, drained, sliced into thin rounds
- 4 avocados, pitted and diced
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 2 cups cubed feta cheese
- 2 whole limes or lemons, juiced
- 2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- pita bread wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients. In a large salad bowl, combine sliced olives, diced avocado, tomatoes, capers, and feta cheese. Set aside.
- Make the dressing. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together lime juice or lemon juice, olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well incorporated. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
- Toss. Pour dressing over salad and gently toss it all together.
- Enjoy! Serve with fresh pita bread cut into wedges.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
This is a gorgeous salad! The color and flavor… love ’em all!
I love salads, and I’m the only one in the family who likes olives, so more for me! Love it!
What a delight! This salad looks like summer in a bowl! What a great reason to shun the oven and dig into a delicious salad! Nice!
My husband isn’t an olive fan, but that’s okay. When I make this amazing sounding salad, I’ll get to eat it all my myself. LOL
So many flavors going on here! And I love that there are capers. Capers are seriously one of my favorite things to add to just about anything. My boys actually fight for the capers in pasta when I make it. haha.
I could eat this salad every single day. Yum!
Such a bright and pretty salad! Perfect for lunch or a quick dinner!!
This looks incredible! I love making big salads packed with things like this for Summer! It is so refreshing!
I love Mediterranean style salads, they’re so satisfying. I’ve pinned this for lunch this week. Looks great!
Thank you for guide. I try make it.