Avocado Salad

Ensalada de Aguacate

In Mexico, we eat avocado with everything, including our salads. Enjoy this Mexican style avocado salad recipe prepared with cubed mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and red onion. It is lightly dressed with lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. A delicious summer salad that is quick and easy to prepare.

A beautiful looking salad, don’t you think?

How to Make

Get the freshest ingredients you can for this salad. They play a key role in the quality of your salad.

Ingredients:

• 3 avocados
• 3 limes
• 9 ozs. mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• ½ red onion
• 3 tbsp. olive oil (extra-virgin is best)
• ½ tsp. salt + to taste
• ½ tsp. black pepper + to taste

Choosing the Avocados

Firm but not hard avocados are what you want for this salad. To check the ripeness of an avocado, use your thumb and gently push on the top where the stem connects. This is the narrower end of the avocado. If it gives slightly then it ready to use. If it doesn’t give a little, it isn’t ripe enough for this salad. Avocados are at their best from August to November.

Prepping the Ingredients

Prepping the Onion

Start by thinly slicing the red onion.

Soak the onion in cold water for 15 minutes to remove the sharpness of the onion. While it is soaking you will prep the other ingredients.

Prepping the Avocado

How to Remove Avocado Pits

Avocados have large pits that need to be removed before using them. To remove, use a kitchen knife cut all the way around the avocado lengthwise then twist the two halves of the avocado until one side pops off. Then holding the side of the avocado with the pit in the palm of your hand with the pit facing up hit the pit with the sharp side of the knife blade to embed the blade in the pit. Twist the knife sideways and the pit will pop out. Discard the pit.

A word of warning: Use a great deal of caution to avoid cutting your hand. Avocado injuries are common when removing the pit.

Cubing the Avocado

Hold one half of the avocado in the palm of your hand. Diagonally without cutting through the peel, slice the avocado into ⅜″ strips.

Then slice avocado diagonally the opposite way without cutting through the peel.

Use a teaspoon to scoop out the cut avocado.

You will have nicely cut avocado chunks.

Squeeze the juice of the lime over the avocado. This will keep it from browning when you are prepping the other ingredients. Plus, it allows some time for the lime to penetrate the avocado which will give it more flavor.

Prepping the Remaining Ingredients

Chop the cheese into approximately ⅜″ cubes.

Remove the cilantro leaves and chop them. You want about ½ cup loosely packed cilantro.

Slice the cherry tomatoes in half.

Assembling the Salad

In your mixing bowl, start with the cubed avocado.

Then add the cheese.

Add the cherry tomatoes.

Add the chopped cilantro.

Add the salt and pepper.

Add the olive oil.

Add the onion.

Stir very gently to mix all of the ingredients. Try to avoid breaking apart the avocado.

Serve immediately at room temperature. This salad doesn’t keep well.

Substitutions

Make these substitutions for some tasty variations of your salad.

• Prepare with queso fresco or panela cheese in place of the mozzarella.
• Use chopped plum tomatoes or regular tomatoes in place of the cherry tomatoes.
• Substitute white onion for the red onion.
• Use 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar in place of the lime juice.

Provecho!

More Mexican Salad Recipes

• Beet with Feta Salad
• Mexican Cucumber Salad
• Spicy Fruit Salad
• Cactus Salad
• Spicy Tuna Salad
• Mexican Tuna Salad
• Pineapple Salad