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    Home » Recipes » Summer Recipes

    Published: April 29, 2020 | Last Modified: March 4, 2021 by Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju | This post may contain affiliate links. 💬 - No Comments

    Spinach Avocado Salad

    Dairy Free RecipesGluten Free RecipesNut Free RecipesVegan Recipes
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    This light and refreshing spinach and avocado summer salad has cherry tomatoes, radishes, cotija cheese and is finished with a lemony vinaigrette. Perfect for summer cookouts!
    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

    This delicious summer salad has avocados, spinach, cherry tomatoes, radishes, cotija cheese, and finished with a lemony vinaigrette. It is the perfect accompaniment to any summer cookout!

    Assembled salad bowl with vinaigrette in the background

    This post contains helpful tips and tricks! If you're in a rush, please use the "Jump to Recipe" link!

    This post might contain affiliate links. If you click on those and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to:
    • 💭 Why you'll love this recipe
    • 📋 Ingredients & notes
    • 📖 Assembling the summer salad
    • Finally, prepare the lemon vinaigrette and assemble the salad
    • 🍴 Serving suggestions & storage
    • 📖 Recipe

    💭 Why you'll love this recipe

    • Great way to use up avocados: If you're bored of making avocado toast and guacamole, then this is a great way to use up avocados in a delicious summer salad!
    • Simple, comes together in just 30 minutes: This is a really fuss-free salad that even salad haters will love. Fresh ingredients, simple vinaigrette!
    • Easily customizable: You can add almost any other fresh summer vegetables to this salad to make it even more nutritious and delicious!

    Jump to:
    • 💭 Why you'll love this recipe
    • 📋 Ingredients & notes
    • 📖 Assembling the summer salad
    • Finally, prepare the lemon vinaigrette and assemble the salad
    • 🍴 Serving suggestions & storage
    • 📖 Recipe

    📋 Ingredients & notes

    This spinach and avocado salad uses a super simple recipe with just seven ingredients, so picking the freshest produce and being thoughtful is important. This is especially true for some of the produce.

    Labeled ingredients photo showing salad requirements - check recipe card for details!

    Ingredient notes

    • Spinach. I typically use baby spinach, fresh and triple washed, and typically organic. Recent federal data shows that conventional spinach has more pesticide residue by weight than all other produce tested. It even had trace quantities of DDT, a chemical that was abolished in the 70s!! Just goes to show how much soil health really matters.
    • Avocado. Pick avocados that are ripe, but a bit firm, and definitely not mushy! You can also add pickled avocados for a really unique flavor profile!
    • Radishes. Radishes add a nice crunch to complement the soft avocados. But you can substitute this with red onions in a pinch. Make sure to slice them really thin and drop them in water for a few minutes to reduce the astringent notes! Or you can also use pickled onions for a sweet and spicy note!
    • Cotija cheese. This brings a nice pop of flavor and contrast without overpowering the dish. If you want the same flavors, but can't find cotija, feta works great or you can use almost any soft cheese (e.g., goat cheese, or even blue cheese or gorgonzola!) To make this salad vegan, you can substitute with vegan feta!

    For other variations, you can add corn, toasted pepitas, or fresh herbs like dill and cilantro. Keeping it simple typically works though!

    📖 Assembling the summer salad

    Start by preparing the radishes

    Chop off the edges of the radishes and use straight cuts on your box grater or a mandoline slicer. Alternatively, you can just use a small paring knife to thinly slice them into rounds.

    Three panel collage of chopping radishes

    Next, slice up the avocados

    I do this at the end to prevent them from browning. To get neat slices, remove the pit, and slice the avocado into halves. Then, slice each half vertically. Then you can remove the skin, and slice vertically to get 3-4 slices per half. Alternatively, you can slice vertically into smaller slices and then remove the skin.

    Four panel collage of slicing avocados

    When you're done, you should be left with clean, thin slices of avocados that are begging to be eaten!

    Sliced avocados on a platter to show thickness

    Finally, prepare the lemon vinaigrette and assemble the salad

    For a simple dressing, I use 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Note that it has to be fresh, don't use the ones that are in the squeeze bottle! To take it up a notch, try my poached garlic green goddess dressing with parsley!

    Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl, drizzle with the lemon vinaigrette and give it a good mix, taking care not to smash the avocados.

    Two panel collage showing how to mix the salad

    Add salt and pepper on top if you prefer, to your taste. And then, your salad is ready!

    🍴 Serving suggestions & storage

    You can make this salad up to a couple of hours before serving. I do recommend slicing the avocados right before you serve though!

    Three tips for ensuring freshness of the spinach avocado salad:

    • Prevent the avocado from browning by squeezing some lemon juice directly on it before adding the rest to the salad. Citrus contains antioxidants, preventing the avocado from browning too much.
    • To avoid the avocados getting mushy, add them last. You can either toss the rest of the ingredients together using tongs, and then add the avocados, or gently just shake the bowl and transfer to a serving platter to make sure they're well mixed.
    • If you end up using the green goddess dressing, I suggest adding it on at the very end - about two tablespoons should be sufficient. This adds a really herbal note to the salad and brings a pop of freshness that's hard to beat!
    Bowl of spinach avocado salad with green goddess dressing, lemony vinaigrette in background

    I don't recommend storing leftovers for this salad because the textures tend to change overnight. But you could totally store it in an airtight container. The avocados and vegetables will become softer, but they'll still taste delicious. Add a squirt of fresh lemon and give it a stir before serving.

    If you love this salad, you might also enjoy these other salad recipes:

    • Vegan Caesar Salad (with Shaved Brussels Sprouts)
    • Tortellini Pasta Salad
    • Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
    • Homemade Caprese Salad (Heirloom & Cherry Tomatoes)

    Did you make this recipe?! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Please leave a comment and a star rating and let me know how it went! We love hearing from you, thank you so much

    📖 Recipe

    Close up crop of spinach avocado salad
    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Spinach Avocado Salad

    This light and refreshing spinach and avocado summer salad has cherry tomatoes, radishes, cotija cheese and is finished with a lemony vinaigrette. Perfect for summer cookouts!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Total Time10 mins
    Course: Salad
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 210kcal
    Author: Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju

    Ingredients

    • 6 oz baby spinach, read post about why you should consider going organic for spinach
    • 1 ripe avocado, sliced into thin vertical pieces
    • 8-10 cherry tomatoes
    • 4-5 radishes, sliced into thin rounds
    • 1 oz cotija cheese, crumbled, can substitute feta
    • 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper, adjust to taste
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Wash the baby spinach and set aside (or consider buying pre-washed spinach)
    • Wash the radishes thoroughly and slice off the edges. Then, using a mandoline slicer or a paring knife, slice the radishes into thin rounds (see post for step-by-step pictures)
    • Grate a small wedge of cotija cheese or feta cheese (~ 1 oz) and set aside
    • Slice the avocado into two halves. Then, remove the pit. Slice each half into four slices and then remove the skin. To keep them from browning, sprinkle some lemon juice on them and set aside.
    • Add three tablespoons of olive oil to one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice (approximately juice from half a lemon wedge). Then using a small whisk, whisk them together until emulsified (i.e., combined properly)
    • Assemble the salad with the spinach base; followed by radishes and cherry tomatoes; then cotija cheese and finally avocados. Drizzle the vinaigrette on the salad, then add salt and pepper, and serve fresh!

    Notes

    • Easily upscale the salad by replacing the lemony vinaigrette with a delicious poached garlic and parsley Green Goddess dressing!
    • To make it vegan, simply leave out the cotija cheese.
    • Check out the post ingredient section for a variety of other variations - for instance, adding a crunch element (using pepitas or nuts), substituting radishes with onions (or pickled onions!) and finally, substituting the cotija cheese with other soft cheeses (e.g., goat cheese or blue cheese)

    Nutrition

    Calories: 210kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 703mg | Potassium: 576mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 4259IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Tag @urbanfarmie or #urbanfarmie to let me know – I would LOVE to see your creations!

    Note. This post was originally published on April 29, 2020 and it was updated on February 20, 2021 with clearer process photographs. Recipe remains the same!

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    Shruthi Baskaran - Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, and Blogger at Urban Farmie

    I am Shruthi, the recipe developer, photographer and blogger behind Urban Farmie. I have two graduate degrees from Stanford, one focused on food systems. And I hope to bring you everything you need for healthy-ish, comforting, nourishing vegetarian cooking.

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    Recipe Key

    Dairy free
    Gluten free
    Nut free
    Vegan
    Vegetarian

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