This tomato, cucumber, and avocado salad is a healthy Mexican-inspired side dish to serve alongside tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, and more! With only five main ingredients, this side dish whips up in under 15 minutes.
Today, I'm showing you how to make a fresh and healthy Mexican avocado salad. It’s the perfect light and refreshing side dish to go along with any main course.
I especially love eating this healthy side with tacos, enchiladas, tamales, and fajitas. The cucumber and tomatoes add in a fresh bite that pairs beautifully with spicy and flavorful Mexican-inspired food.
This is the perfect veggie side dish to whip together when you don't have much time. In just 15 minutes, you'll have a delicious avocado salad.
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What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- How to properly cut an avocado.
- The time of year to find the best-tasting tomatoes.
- Why I love English cucumbers and how they differ from traditional cucumbers.
- How to prepare this salad ahead of time (perfect if you're hosting a party).
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Ingredients You Need
I love this Mexican cucumber avocado salad because there are only five main ingredients you need. Plus, a few extra items you can probably find around the pantry.
- Cherry tomatoes: This dish uses red and yellow cherry tomatoes. I love the color this brings to the dish. For an extra tasty salad, make this when tomatoes are in season during the months of May - October in the United States.
- English cucumber: English cucumbers generally have a sweeter taste with thinner skin (that doesn't need to be peeled) and fewer seeds. Look for a longer, lighter-colored green cucumber when you're shopping for this item at the grocery store.
- Red onion: I love the flavor and color that red onion brings to the dish. Make sure to finely dice the onion so you don't end up with any large pieces in the dish.
- Avocados: Make sure the avocados are ripe before cutting. You'll know the avocados are ripe and ready to use when you gently press on the skin and feel a slight give.
- Cilantro: I love cilantro, especially paired with Mexican food. However, if you're not a fan of cilantro you can omit it.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Use your favorite brand of delicious tasting olive oil.
- Balsamic vinegar: Along with olive oil, this ingredient is part of the salad dressing.
- Morton kosher salt: Salt helps to enhance the flavor of all the vegetables. Don't be tempted to omit this ingredient.
- Freshly ground black pepper: I always suggest using freshly ground pepper. It has a superior flavor to the pepper you can buy already ground in a jar.
How To Make This Recipe
The best part about this tomato, cucumber, and avocado salad is its simplicity. There’s really not much prep work involved in this dish.
Before you get started prepping the vegetables, give everything a light wash.
1. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. If the tomatoes seem too large, quarter them.
2. Next, slice the English cucumber. There's no need to peel the skin because it's thin enough to eat.
To cut ½ inch quartered pieces, first chop off the end of the cucumber and discard. Then, chop the cucumber in half so it's more manageable to handle while you're cutting.
Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise. Finish by chopping ½ inch slices.
3. Fine dice half of a medium-sized red onion. If you learn how to properly dice an onion, this step will take you under 1 minute.
4. Using a sharp knife, finely mince the cilantro into small pieces. There's no need to worry if all the pieces are exactly the same size.
To cut an avocado, all you need is a good quality chef's knife. Here's what you'll do:
5. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise. Gently twist the two halves and pull them apart to separate.
6. Insert a knife into the pit, and gently twist to remove it. Be careful not to cut yourself! You can hold the avocado with a towel for extra safety so you don't accidentally cut your hand.
7. Dice the avocado while it's still in the skin by scoring lines horizontally and vertically. Make sure not to pierce the avocado skin with the knife tip.
8. Scoop the flesh out of the skin using a large spoon.
9. The final step is mixing all of the vegetables together, then drizzling with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then you're ready to serve the salad.
Expert Tips
- For a beautiful salad, take time to cut the vegetables into even sizes. This helps with the presentation.
- The simplicity of this salad means you want to have high-quality ingredients. Make sure the vegetables are fresh so they have a good flavor.
- For an extra beautiful presentation, gently toss the salad without the oil and balsamic vinegar. Once you've plated the salad on each individual serving plate, then drizzle a small amount of the dressing on top.
Recipe FAQs
You can chop up the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and cilantro ahead of time. Then, right before serving, add in the avocado, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings.
The dressing and the avocado tend to make this salad mushy when stored and eaten at a later time.
If you wish to eat this salad as leftovers, chop up and mix together the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and cilantro in a small bowl. Only add the avocado and olive oil/balsamic dressing to a small portion of the salad when you're ready to eat.
Once avocados are ripe, they can be stored in the refrigerator. This slows down the ripening process, allowing the avocados to last longer. Avocados should last an additional 3 - 5 days in the refrigerator.
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes
Did you love this Mexican avocado salad? Try some of my other favorite Mexican-inspired foods:
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Mexican Avocado Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 ounces red cherry tomatoes halved
- 5 ounces yellow cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 medium English cucumber chopped into ½ inch quartered slices
- ½ medium red onion finely diced
- 2 avocados diced into ½ inch cubes
- ½ cup fresh cilantro finely minced
- ⅛ cup balsamic vinegar
- ⅛ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add red and yellow tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, avocado, and cilantro to a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Gently toss together until everything is combined. Serve immediately.
Emily
We make this salad all of the time! It's healthy, quick, and delicious!
Mary Espinoza
Can I substitute the balsamic vinegar for something else, like lime juice?
Jessica Mode
Hi Mary! I haven't tried this recipe with lime juice, but that sounds delicious. If you try it out, let me know what you think! You might need a little more salt to balance out the additional acid from the lime juice.