Tomato, Onion, Avocado Salad
Posted by Elise Bauer on
In spite of the oddly cool weather here in Sacramento, my tomatoes are growing swell. And there is nothing better to do with fresh home grown tomatoes on a summer day than have them in a cool, colorful salad. While most summer tomato salads rely on basil, this one uses fresh parsley and dried oregano, along with onions and avocados. It comes from my friend Michelle (we’ve known each other since age 13) and is one her favorite salads to bring to summer potlucks and family gatherings. Michelle comes from a large extended Italian American family that truly loves food. This salad is like a traditional Italian tomato salad, but with avocados instead of mozzarella.
Tomato, Onion, Avocado Salad Recipe
If you are making to bring to a potluck, slice the onions ahead, but plan on cutting and assembling on site, right before serving. Do not refrigerate the tomatoes or you will destroy their flavor and make their texture mealy.
Ingredients
- 3-4 fresh large tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 2 avocados, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- Red wine vinegar (a good, strong red wine vinegar)
- Extra virgin olive oil (the best quality)
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Place a layer of sliced tomatoes on a large serving platter. Arrange the slivers of red onions and the chunks of avocado over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with parsley, garlic, and oregano. Drizzle red wine vinegar and olive oil over the platter. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve immediately. Do not refrigerate.
13 Comments
Looks scrumptious! My favorite summer sandwich is tomato (fresh picked), avocado and onion with a little mayo on nutty, multigrain toast. This would be just great as a salad or stuffed into a wrap, I think. Thanks to you and Michelle!
This is a firm favourite in my family since I was a young girl. I like the addition of garlic in your recipe.
:-) Mandy
For a simple variation, just chunk cut the tomato onion, and avocado; toss with mayo and serve. We had that in a restaurant a few years ago and it is super simple and wonderful.
This is great. You can slice a turkey kielbasa sausage, grill briefly on top of the stove, and add to the salad. Makes a great meal!
How do you prevent the avocado from discoloring?
You cut the avocado right before serving. You dress the salad with oil and vinegar. It’s oxygen that discolors avocados, so as long as the avocados are coated with dressing, you’re fine for a while. ~Elise
Caprese a la California. I love it. :) We made this for supper tonight and my two year old twins keep chorusing “matos and ‘cados!” It was a big hit. :)
I saw this recipe this afternoon and made it for dinner tonight. It was terrific. I used cherry tomatoes because they were on sale and too good to pass up; I also halved the recipe since there were only 3 for dinner today; worked beautifully. Thank you, Elise!
I’ve often made this salad as my lunch (yes, I eat the entire salad). I use one roma tomato and I add an ounce or so of fresh mozzerella or feta cheese.
I introduced my family to your recipes and my sis in law made this for a huge get together. Wonderful! Fresh! It was gone in about 2 min. Think pigs at the trough. It was that good. Thanks for another great Elise moment!
This looks sooo good. I will make this but maybe a more Latin version: substituting lemon for the vinegar and cilantro for the parsley.
I made this on Sunday to accompany an egg, sausage and mushroom strata I was serving for brunch. This not only looked beautiful on the platter but seconds were had by all. Thank you for a great recipe.
I made a half version of this the other day. The reason I say version is that for some reason I forgot to add the garlic and accidentally used to too much vinegar. The salad was still good, but knowing it could have been so much better if I’d done it right made it tough to swallow (pun intended!).
Looking forward to making it again. Thanks for the recipes.
Mahalo for this delicious and simple recipe! I made this recently as a side dish for grilled ribeyes and it was a perfect match.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but comments are closed. You can share your thoughts on our Facebook page ~ Elise.