Avocado Watermelon Salad
A refreshing, easy and colorful summer salad featuring avocado, watermelon, and cucumbers. It's the perfect salad to bring to a gathering or make for your family at home. Be sure to read the recipe notes to learn about the best watermelon and avocados to use!
Ingredients
- 2 cups seedless watermelon, cut into ¾ inch cubes
- 2 Persian cucumbers, cut into ¾ inch cubes
- 2 large ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and cut into ¾ inch cubes
- ¼ cup crumbled cotija cheese
- Handful of basil leaves, hand-torn into small shreds
- Aged balsamic vinegar, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Arrange watermelon, cucumber and avocado cubes in alternating rows on a plate.
- Sprinkle with cheese and basil. Drizzle entire surface with balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with pepper. Serve salad immediately.
Notes
Watermelon Tips
- The watermelon should feel heavy for its size, so be sure to note this when picking one out.
- Watermelons grow laying on the ground and have a spot on one side that was in contact with the ground as it grew. You know the watermelon is ripe when the color of that spot is a buttery yellow. If it is white the watermelon is not ripe yet.
- My tried-and-true method for choosing a sweet and ripe watermelon is the thump test. Tap/thump/knock on that yellow spot and you should hear a hollow sound. This indicates the watermelon is ripe. If you aren’t sure what you are listening for, test it out on a few watermelons. Some will give a dull thud sound, which indicates it is overripe and the flesh is usually already soft and mushy. The sweetest watermelon not only have a hollow sound when you tap it, but you will also hear a soft gushing sound of liquid moving through.
- You want to use ripe avocados for your salad. You can tell when an avocado is ripe when you can lightly press on it and it gives a bit but doesn’t feel mushy. If your avocado is firm and doesn’t give at all when you press on it, it’s not ready. If you press on it and it feels mushy it’s too ripe.
- It’s a good idea to buy your avocados a few days in advance to allow them time to ripen on the counter before you use them unless you are lucky enough to find ripened ones at the store. If needed, you can store ripened avocados in the refrigerator for a few days. Chilling them slows down the ripening process.
- To save time, you don't need to arrange the salad the way I did. Feel free to toss all the cubes together into a salad bowl.
- Because avocados do brown when left out too long, it's best to prepare the avocado close to when the salad will be consumed. You can also keep them in a sealed container until right before serving to prevent them from browning.
- Wait until right before serving to add the balsamic dressing otherwise it will brown your salad.
Calories: 155kcal, Carbohydrates: 15.7g, Protein: 2.4g, Fat: 10.7g, Saturated Fat: 1.5g, Sodium: 9.6mg, Fiber: 5.3g, Sugar: 7.4g, NET CARBS: 10
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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