When ripe and juicy berries are in season, stretch your dip game to include this Strawberry Avocado Salsa. It’s a sweet-not-spicy salsa packed with vibrant colors. This vegan salsa recipe is perfect for snacking, pot lucks, picnics, or as a topping for grilled chicken or fish.
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Sweet, sweet summertime is just around the corner and in this house that means we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of several warm-weather activities:
- Picnic-style meals at the pool
- Dinners that don’t require the use of the oven (AKA “snack dinners”, AKA how my kids eat every day regardless of the season, but I digress)
- ALL of the grilling
- Summer parties and potlucks (my community rocks this so well and I love it)
What do all of these things have in common? Dip and salsas of every variety for every occasion.
We may or may not rely on chips and dip for half our calorie consumption in the summer months and there is NO SHAME. Guac for lunch by the pool? Here for it. A trio of salsas with grilled steak for dinner? On repeat.
Furthermore, sidling up to the salsa bowl is the #1 place you’ll find me at any gathering, and for good reason – it’s where all the gossip gets shared. I swear, salsa bowls are to parties as theoretical water coolers are to offices.
This strawberry avocado salsa is one of my favorites. It’s a sweet salsa, super quick to pull together, and on rotation indefinitely as long as the berries are ripe and juicy. This quick salsa recipe is vegan and totally kid-friendly, and also really filling thanks to those super-fruit avocados.
How to Make Strawberry Avocado Salsa Step-by-Step
Chips and dip as a meal is totally a thing in my house, especially when I’m home alone (rare, but glorious!). When ripe juicy berries are in season, I forgo my typical guacamole and opt for this sweet strawberry avocado salsa. It’s a quick and easy recipe, packed with vitamins and nutrients, and surprisingly filling. If you’re not into snack meals, that’s okay – this salsa is perfect for a party spread, or as a topping for grilled chicken or pan-seared fish.
Dice half a red onion into ½″ pieces and mince one or two cloves of garlic. In a large, shallow bowl combine the red onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and the juice from 1 lime (about a tablespoon). Stir until the onions are coated in the lime juice, then set the bowl aside at room temperature for 10 minutes. This process of soaking the red onions in an acidic medium, maceration, will soften the onions and take the edge and bite out of their flavor.
While the onions and garlic macerate, prepare the remaining ingredients.
Hull and dice a pound (one pint) of fresh strawberries into ½″ pieces. Peel half an english cucumber, remove the seeds, and dice the cucumber into ½″ pieces.
Slice an avocado in half, remove the pit, then slice the avocado into quarters. Peel the skin from the avocado quarters, then dice into ½″ pieces. This method of removing the avocado skin will give you the cleanest pieces (I learned this trick from Cookie and Kate in this post!).
Finally, chop or tear a few sprigs of fresh basil.
Add the strawberries, cucumber, avocado, and basil to the onions and garlic. Add another pinch of salt, then toss to combine.
Taste for seasoning, and add additional salt and lime juice if needed (you want the flavor to POP!), as well as a few turns of cracked black pepper if desired. This salsa recipe is on the sweeter side, so I only added a touch of black pepper (less than ¼″ teaspoon).
Serve immediately with your favorite tortilla chips, over grilled steak, or with pan-seared salmon.
Tips for Making Perfect Strawberry Avocado Salsa
- This is a sweet salsa, so macerating the alliums is a must! Macerating (soaking for a short time, in this case in an acid) takes the sharp edge off the raw onion and garlic, leaving the salsa infused with the sweetest possible flavor.
- Dice the onions, strawberries, avocado, and cucumber to roughly the same size for best texture – about a ½″ dice. You’ll get a burst of each flavor in every bite.
- Use slightly underripe avocados for best textures – the lime juice will soften them up. The flesh should just barely give under light pressure – AKA, not guacamole avocados (they’re too soft). Too ripe avocados will turn to mush.
- This dip is best enjoyed immediately after making and doesn’t store well.
- For a sweet and spicy variation, add one minced jalapeno (include seeds to taste), a pinch of red pepper flakes, and a few cranks of fresh cracked pepper.
- Not a chip fan? Avoiding grains? Use this salsa to top grilled chicken or pan-seared salmon.
More Healthy Dip and Salsa Recipes
- White Bean Green Goddess Dip
- Yogurt Spinach Dip
- Roasted Corn Salsa
- Cauliflower Hummus
- Muhammara Party Dip Cups
Did you make this Strawberry Avocado Salsa? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Strawberry Avocado Salsa
Description
Ingredients
- ½ red onion, minced
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 lb strawberries, hulled and diced to ½″
- 1 avocado, pitted and diced to ½″
- ½ english cucumber, skin and seeds removed, diced to ½″
- ¼ c fresh basil, chopped
- cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the red onion, garlic, fresh lime juice and salt in a large bowl. Toss to coat the red onion and garlic in the lime juice, then set aside to macerate for 10 minutes.
- Add the strawberries, avocado, and basil to the bowl and toss. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.
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