I love this avocado salad with crunchy cucumbers so much that I could eat it every day. It’s incredibly easy to make and can be enjoyed in multiple ways: as a standalone dish, as a delightful side, as a flavorful chunky salsa, or even as a delicious topping for larger salads.
Watch the Video
Related: Turn avocado into a pasta sauce and try our quick and easy avocado pasta
Avocado Salad Ingredients
This salad is a delightful combination of fresh, ripe avocados, crisp and cool cucumbers, complemented by a light lime dressing. If you’re a fan of guacamole, then you’ll surely love this easy avocado salad.
Avocados: To make this salad, it’s important to use ripe avocados. Below, we’ve shared our best tips for choosing perfectly ripe avocados. I personally enjoy cubing them to match the shape and size of the cucumbers, but slices are also an option. If you’re a fan of avocados, make sure to check out our avocado toast recipe!
Cucumber: I prefer using thin-skinned varieties of cucumbers for salads, such as hothouse cucumbers (often sold wrapped in plastic) or mini Persian cucumbers. However, regular garden cucumbers work well too. Just make sure to check the peel. If it seems thick, peel some or all of it. Also, if the cucumbers have large seeds in the middle, use a spoon to scoop them out before cubing them for the salad. For more cucumber salad inspiration, you might enjoy our tangy cucumber salad or this creamy tzatziki-inspired salad.
Fresh lime juice: The lime dressing is the key to bringing this simple salad together. If you don’t have limes, lemons are a great substitute.
Olive oil: Before adding the avocado and cucumber, we whisk olive oil into the lime juice. This step adds a well-rounded and luxurious touch to the salad dressing.
Jalapeño and garlic: While optional, I highly recommend including these ingredients. To control the spice level, remove the seeds and white membrane from the jalapeño. For a balanced flavor, opt for a small garlic clove instead of a large one, as it could overpower the salad (a small clove should yield approximately 1/2 teaspoon when minced).
Fresh herbs: For a guacamole-inspired salad, cilantro is a fantastic choice. However, to add a unique twist, feel free to experiment with other fine and tender herbs like parsley, chives, or basil.
Related: Since you appreciate amazing salads, be sure to check out our watermelon salad—it’s a perfect ode to summer!
Making the Salad
Preparing this salad is a breeze. I prefer to whisk the dressing first in the bottom of a salad bowl and gently toss the avocado and cucumber into it. This method ensures that the dressing is well blended while avoiding excessive mixing of the avocado. By gently mixing everything together, the avocado remains intact and keeps its shape.
How to Choose Avocados
For the best avocado salad, it’s crucial to use ripe avocados. Here’s how to determine if an avocado is ready:
Gently squeeze the avocado using the palm of your hand (avoid using fingertips to prevent bruising). If it yields slightly to the pressure, it’s perfectly ripe and ready to eat. It needs a day or two to ripen if it feels firm and doesn’t give. If it gives too easily, it’s likely overripe and may have spotty areas inside.
Check under the stem. Use your fingers to gently remove the stem at the top of the avocado. If the area underneath is green, you’ve found an avocado ready to be enjoyed. If it’s difficult to remove, it requires a couple more days to ripen. However, if it’s brown underneath, the avocado is overripe.
More Avocado Recipes
We buy more avocados that I’d like to admit. If you have some leftover in your kitchen, consider making one of these easy recipes:
- Try our guacamole-inspired pasta. It only takes 15 minutes and is naturally dairy-free.
- I love this protein-packed avocado toast. You can keep it simple with just avocado or add an egg like me.
- We also love swapping some of the mayonnaise in our regular egg salad recipe with avocado for this easy avocado egg salad.
- If you love guacamole, here’s our authentic version as well as a guacamole made with grilled avocados and corn.
Very Best Avocado Salad
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I love this avocado salad with crunchy cucumbers so much that I could eat it every day. It’s incredibly easy to make and can be enjoyed in multiple ways: as a standalone dish, as a delightful side, as a flavorful chunky salsa, or even as a delicious topping for larger salads.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 medium Hass avocados, about 2 cups cubed
2 cups (300 grams) cubed cucumber, about 1 large cucumber
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 1 to 2 limes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed
1 small garlic clove, omit if sensitive to raw garlic, about 1/2 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or more to taste
1/2 cup (25 grams) chopped fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, basil, dill or a combination
Hot sauce, optional
Directions
1In the bottom of a salad bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, diced jalapeno, and salt until well combined. Stir in the fresh herbs. If you’re preparing the salad in advance, you can cover and refrigerate it for up to one day.
2When you’re ready to serve the salad, cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and then cut them into cubes.
3Add the cubed avocado and sliced cucumber to the salad bowl with the dressing. Gently toss the avocado and cucumber around the bowl to ensure they are evenly coated in the dressing.
4Take a taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, adding additional salt if desired. If you like some heat, add your favorite hot sauce as an optional extra.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- I love using thin-skinned, seedless cucumbers for this like English or hothouse cucumbers or the smaller Persian cucumbers. If you are using regular garden cucumbers with tough skins, you might want to peel some or all of the skin and scoop out some of the seeds.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
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Made this salad for the first time tonight. Will not be my last. It’s so Delicious! 10/10 recommend.
Yay! So happy that you enjoyed it!
Excellent! I used dried Parseley and Basil, and garlic powder.
Excellent👍
Five stars! Loved the jalapeño pepper in the dish” easy and delicious. I made the dish.
Made this salad last night. My husband loved it!!!!!! Will be my go-to salad for the summer. It’s very tasty and easy to make and would definitely compliment all meals. I give this salad 5-star rating! M
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OMG This. I make a similar version without the jalapenos and with lemon juice instead of the lime and add halved cherry tomatoes – my favorite salad ever! So I can’t wait to try this jalapeno lime version!! Cheers A&J!