Avocado Mango Salad with Arugula, Pine Nuts, and Honey-Lime Dressing is everything you want in a salad. It’s healthy, refreshing, colorful, and really easy to make. A perfect Summer salad that you can bring to picnics, potlucks, and BBQ parties. It pairs well as a side dish with any grilled meats and main courses. Or, make it for lunch or as a healthy snack.
Avocado mango salad – healthy Summer salad
If you’re looking for a simple salad recipe that you can make not only in the Summer but year-round, using just a few ingredients, you’ll love this vibrant and colorful salad. Peeled mango chunks and avocado slices are tossed together with arugula, sliced red onion, and toasted pine nuts, in a homemade honey-lime salad dressing. This beautiful and healthy salad takes only 15 minutes to make – a perfect choice for those busy weeknights. At the same time, the bright orange color of mango and toasted pine nuts create a beautiful presentation – a great salad to make for those special occasions when you want to impress your guests. Share this Summer salad with your friends at picnics, potlucks, barbecue parties, and other Summer festivities.
Why you’ll love it
- Easy to make. The recipe features only 5 main ingredients (mango, avocado, arugula, pine nuts, and red onions). The salad dressing is made with only 3 ingredients (honey, lime juice, and olive oil). The simplicity at its best!
- Highly nutritious. Mango is an excellent source of vitamin C. Arugula is rich in Vitamins A, C, and K, and is a great source of calcium, potassium, and folate. Avocado is a super fruit. This salad is packed with fiber and low in calories.
- Turn it into dinner by adding your favorite protein. Avocado mango salad can be easily turned into a complete meal by adding cooked shrimp, salmon, or chicken. Grilled or pan-seared shrimp (such as this delicious cilantro-lime honey shrimp) works especially well. Or, add shredded rotisserie chicken or cooked skinless boneless chicken thighs (thinly sliced).
Avocado Mango Salad
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Ingredients
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Salad
- 5 oz arugula
- 1 mango ripe, peeled, pit removed, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 avocado peeled, cored, and diced
- ¼ cup red onions thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup pine nuts toasted
Instructions
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In a medium, high-sided bowl, or in a mason jar, combine together lime juice, olive oil, and honey. Whisk with the fork until emulsified.
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In a large serving bowl, combine arugula, diced mango, diced avocado, and red onions.
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Drizzle with the salad dressing (you don’t have to use the whole amount) and toss to combine. Top with pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Notes
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread pine nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in the oven for about 5 minutes until they turn a rich golden color. Watch the nuts at all times as they burn really quickly.
Nutrition
Recipe tips
- Use only ripe mango. Cut up the mango into bite-sized pieces so that you get that delicious rich sweet flavor in every bite!
- Use your favorite greens or a mix: arugula, spinach, mixed greens, etc.
- Toast pine nuts in the oven briefly (about 5 minutes in the preheated oven at 350 F). The pine nuts should turn a rich golden color. Watch the nuts carefully as they burn quickly.
- What can you use instead of pine nuts? Pine nuts are usually expensive and are sometimes hard to find. Toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are a great substitute for pine nuts!
- Add sliced avocado last – add it to the salad only immediately before serving to avoid browning.
- Add salad dressing right before serving to prevent arugula leaves from wilting.
When is mango season?
Even though the mango season technically runs from May through September, usually you can find imported mangoes at many grocery stores all year round. I’ve definitely made mango salads for Thanksgiving and Christmas! So while it’s considered a Summer fruit, you can actually find it pretty much any time of year.
How to tell if a mango is ripe?
- Skin color. The mango is ripe when the outer skin is mostly orange or red, with just spots of green (or no green at all).
- Texture. When you press on the skin, ripe mango should have a little give. If the skin is too soft – the mango might be too mushy and over-ripe.
- Unripe mango will be green or the majority of the skin would be green with just a spot of orange or red. Unripe mango has a sour taste, and it’s harder to cut it than ripe mango. Let the mango ripe before using it.
Do you peel mango skin?
Mango skin has a tough texture and somewhat bitter flavor. It’s not really tasty, and it also contains some compounds that might cause allergic reactions. I always peel mango using a vegetable peeler. Mango just tastes better and looks better when peeled.
How to tell if an avocado is ripe?
- A ripe avocado should have a little give when gently pressed. It should not be overly soft – nobody likes over-ripe avocados that turn into mush.
- An unripe avocado will have no give and will feel almost like a rock when lightly pressed. It will be really hard to cut it and remove the pit.
Storage Tips
The salad can be refrigerated for 2 days. It’s best to refrigerate the salad and the dressing separately.
What to serve with mango avocado salad?
One of the easiest ways to dress up this salad is by adding pre-cooked shrimp, cooked rotisserie chicken, or even sliced cooked steak strips. Mango avocado salad also pairs great with any grilled meats and seafood. Here are some other ideas:
Other healthy salads you might like
If you want other salad recipes that look just as pretty as this mango avocado salad, but with different ingredients, here are my favorites:
- Apple Spinach Salad
- Holiday Salad with Spinach, Mandarin Oranges, Pecans, Cranberries, Goat Cheese, and Honey-Mustard Lime Vinaigrette
- Peach Blueberry Spinach Salad
- Berry Spinach Salad with Blueberries, Raspberries, and Balsamic Dressing
- Strawberry Spinach Salad with Feta cheese, Pecans, and Balsamic Dressing
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