Simple Avocado Ranch Salad

There’s so much to love about this simple avocado ranch salad. Crunchy and creamy, it’s the type of vegetable salad recipe you’d expect in a salad kit. In my book, avocado salad ranks up there with all the restaurant-style salads I love. It’s a great side dish for sandwiches, burgers, and tacos. And – bonus – it takes less than 10 minutes to make.

Everyone loves it when I put a big bowl of this avocado and ranch salad down on the dinner table.

Let’s make it…

What’s in avocado ranch salad?

Crunchy, juicy vegetables like carrots, yellow bell pepper, red onion, and corn come together in this avocado salad with lime juice and ranch dressing. To top it all off: fresh avocado chunks.

How to make a simple avocado ranch salad

Set out a large mixing bowl.

Add diced carrots, diced yellow bell pepper, diced red onion, and corn to a large bowl.

Add fresh lime juice, salt and pepper.

Add ranch dressing and stir to combine.

Add diced avocado to the top of the salad and serve.

Also try this delicious watermelon appetizer salad.

Tips for making avocado salad ahead of time

This is a great salad to make ahead, but there’s one little trick to remember.

To make avocado salad ahead of serving time, mix together all the ingredients other than the avocado up to a day ahead. Add the diced avocado to the salad right before serving so it’s served fresh and perfectly green.

Love make-ahead salads with lots of vegetables?

Check out this make-ahead Mexican ranch salad (it was featured on the local Portland news) and tortellini pasta salad. They’re great salads for a crowd.

Tasty things to add to avocado salad

• Crumbled tortilla chips
• Black beans
• Poppy seeds
• Chopped cilantro

Adjust the amount of ranch dressing to accommodate extra ingredients by adding 1 teaspoon of ranch at a time.

Kitchen staples for easy make ahead salads

• Save time, use a mandoline or food processor to chop vegetable salads and make them faster.
• Use a sharp high-quality knife like my 8″ Shun chef’s knife.
• A nice clean work station like these bamboo cutting boards or my beautiful Acadia wood cutting board.
• Did you notice my mixing bowls? The bowls come in a set with lids. SO I can make and serve the salad in the same dish. They’re also easy to stack in the fridge, which is a bonus.
• Beautiful wood serving spoons to keep the salad classy.
• Mini tongs can be handy for serving sides and salads, too.

Get your knives sharpened ~conveniently~ by mail with Knife Aid. Have you heard of them? They were featured on Shark Tank. Use code SBG10 at checkout for 10% off. Here’s my documentary-style video on mail-in knife sharpening.

Substitutions and final tips

• Making it head of time? Mix together all the ingredients other than the avocado up to a day ahead. Add the diced avocado to the salad right before serving.
• Bell peppers – My preference is to use yellow, orange, or red bell pepper. Green bell pepper is more bitter than the other colors, and since there’s red onion in this avocado ranch dressing recipe, there’s no need for any other bitter flavors.
• Corn – To thaw frozen corn for salad, add it to a small pot with enough water to cover the corn. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook it for a couple of minutes until the corn thaws.
• Ranch dressing – Usually a little ranch dressing goes a long way. Begin with recommended amount and a 1-2 teaspoons of ranch at a time as needed.
• Lime juice – Use fresh squeezed lime juice for the best taste.

Next, try this Spinach Salad with Everything Bagel Croutons.