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As soon as the weather starts warming up, you’ll find me having some cucumber salad iteration almost daily, like this smashed cucumber avocado salad.
It’s a combo of smashed Persian cucumbers, avocado, dill, and parsley, paired with a honey dijon vinaigrette. Yeah, it’s amazing!
This salad works best as a side (it pairs well with almost everything), but it also tastes great spooned on toasted sourdough as a little afternoon snack.
Bonus: this salad comes together in one bowl (like, literally just one bowl) and is super easy to make!
Everything You Need For This Smashed Cucumber Avocado Salad
Consider this a grocery list!
- Persian cucumbers
- Hass avocado – yep, just one
- Dill
- Parsley
- Dijon mustard
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Honey – agave, maple syrup, or granulated cane sugar all work great as subs.
- Kosher salt – I use Diamond Crystal
- Black pepper – freshly cracked black pepper to be specific
Notes
- Why smash the cucumbers? The rough, uneven texture of the cucumber after it’s smashed helps the dressing cling better to the surface. Plus, smashing the cucumbers releases a bit of the cucumber water, which will make the salad less watery!
- Use a firm (but still ripe) avocado. A firmer avocado will hold up better in this salad – if the avocado is too soft, it’ll get mushed into the cucumber and create a weird cucumber guacamole situation.
- No, you can’t meal-prep this, sorry!! This salad tastes best immediately after dressing. After an hour or so of sitting in the dressing, the cucumbers will start to release water, making the salad a bit soggy and sad.
- Play around with this salad – throw in some feta, add in some roasted pistachios, omit the avocados, make it your own. The only component of this salad that’s important to measure is the dressing!
So excited for you to make this cucumber avocado salad!
-Yasmeen
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Smashed Cucumber Avocado Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
- Category: Salads
- Cuisine: American
Description
A smashed cucumber salad with creamy avocado and herbs, tossed in a honey dijon vinaigrette, aka the perfect summer side salad!
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp dijon mustard, adjust to preference
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 5–6 persian cucumbers
- 1 medium Hass avocado (ripe but firm), chopped into cubes
- 1/4 cup loosely packed dill, finely minced
- 2 tbsp loosely packed parsley, finely minced
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, mustard, and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk until emulsified.
- Smash the cukes. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise, and with the cut side facing down, gently smash the cucumber with the back of a knife, then slice the cucumber into bite-size pieces. Repeat this process with all of the cucumbers.
- Prep the remaining ingredients. Roughly dice the avocado, mince the herbs, and add to the bowl.
- Toss & serve. Toss the salad together with a spoon, adjust for salt, and finish with freshly cracked black pepper.