AVOCADO SALAD WITH TOMATOES, MOZZARELLA, BASIL PESTO
Avocado Salad with Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Basil Pesto – healthy recipe packed with nutrients and lots of fresh ingredients! Perfect Spring and Summer salad! Small fresh Mozzarella cheese balls are delicious when combined with avocado in this easy salad that also features red and yellow cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions. The dressing for this avocado salad couldn’t be easier to make – just combine fresh basil pesto with lemon juice! Basil pesto makes a perfect salad dressing as it is packed with olive oil.
One of many reasons that I love Summer is that it’s a perfect time of the year to make salads. I’ve been making all kinds of salads, including my favorite beet salad with spinach, goat cheese, and cashews and strawberry spinach salad. Well, now I’ve got another favorite! This recipe just screams Summer! I love using red and yellow cherry tomatoes (each sliced in half) in this avocado salad because they add natural color and look really good with the small fresh Mozzarella cheese balls and other diced ingredients. So easy to make! Just combine all the ingredients together, toss with a simple basil pesto dressing and the salad is ready!
INGREDIENTS FOR AVOCADO SALAD
1/2 pound red cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 pound yellow cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
2 avocados , diced
1 cucumber , sliced
1/3 cup red onion , diced
8 ounces small fresh mozzarella cheese balls
1/2 pound yellow cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
2 avocados , diced
1 cucumber , sliced
1/3 cup red onion , diced
8 ounces small fresh mozzarella cheese balls
HOW TO MAKE EASY BASIL PESTO DRESSING FOR AVOCADO SALAD
My favorite salad dressing for salads is just plain olive oil. Which is why basil pesto (which has olive oil as one of its ingredients) makes a perfect salad dressing for my avocado salad.
To make the dressing, just combine fresh basil pesto (I used 1/4 cup) with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. After you add the dressing to the salad, season the salad with salt and pepper, to taste.
I used to make my own basil pesto all the time, but these days you can buy really good pre-made fresh basil pesto in the store, so I just used store-bought basil pesto for this avocado salad.
MAIN DISHES THAT GO GREAT WITH AVOCADO SALAD
Many grilled meats, such as grilled chicken, grilled pork, grilled or roasted lamb will go great with this salad. Also, since this avocado salad is very Mediterranean, any Mediterranean style main dishes will do. And don’t forget about the fish. Such as salmon or trout. I cook fish a lot, and here are some of my favorite fish recipes go with this avocado and mozzarella salad:
Trout Recipe with Garlic Lemon Butter Herb Sauce
Steelhead Trout with Caper-Garlic Lemon Butter Sauce
Cilantro Lime Honey Garlic Salmon baked in foil
The following Mediterranean chicken recipes will also be perfect to go with this avocado salad:
Pesto Chicken and Veggies
Pesto Chicken, Veggies, and Tortellini
Pesto Chicken Pasta with Mushrooms
