Print Options

Tomato, Onion, Avocado Salad

Tomato, Onion, Avocado Salad

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.

Print Options

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.

You might also like...

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!

Posted by: CherylK on August 11, 2010 6:34 PM

This is a firm favourite in my family since I was a young girl. I like the addition of garlic in your recipe.
:-) Mandy

Posted by: Mandy Frielinghaus on August 11, 2010 10:55 PM

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.

Posted by: Dave on August 12, 2010 7:08 AM

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!

Posted by: James on August 12, 2010 7:48 AM

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

Posted by: Shreddie on August 12, 2010 10:17 AM

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. :)

Posted by: Aimee on August 12, 2010 3:39 PM

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!

Posted by: sophia on August 12, 2010 5:27 PM

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.

Posted by: Sandy on August 17, 2010 6:31 AM

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!

Posted by: raquel on August 20, 2010 5:00 PM

This looks sooo good. I will make this but maybe a more Latin version: substituting lemon for the vinegar and cilantro for the parsley.

Posted by: TERESA RIVERA on August 26, 2010 6:18 AM

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.

Posted by: Rosie on September 7, 2010 8:21 AM

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.

Posted by: Sarah on July 9, 2011 10:56 PM

Mahalo for this delicious and simple recipe! I made this recently as a side dish for grilled ribeyes and it was a perfect match.

Posted by: Sofia on January 16, 2012 11:45 AM

Post a comment

(Your comment may need to be approved before it will appear on the site. Thanks for waiting. First time commenting? Please review the Comment Policy.)

Link to this recipe

Bookmark this page using the following link: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomato_onion_avocado_salad/

Do you have a website? You can place a link to this page by copying and pasting the code below.

<a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomato_onion_avocado_salad/">Tomato, Onion, Avocado Salad</a>