Avocado Tomato Salad – A perfect summer salad

By Dave
Updated on Aug 23, 2021

Checked for accuracy

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Two bowls of salad are on a blue and white striped table cloth, with an empty avocado shell, salt and pepper grinders and half a lemon | Hurry The Food Up

This refreshing avocado tomato salad is the perfect dish to enjoy on a warm summer evening…not that we are getting many of those at the moment, here in Northern Europe…but we can dream!

Let’s say it’s an aspirational summer avocado salad!

Anyway, it’s pretty irresistible – the creamy avocado is nicely offset by sweet juicy tomatoes, sharp balsamic vinegar and spicy rocket leaves, while a sprinkle of toasted sunflower seeds adds a rich nuttiness and a nice bit of crunch.

So if you’ve been looking for a vegan avocado salad, look no further, this is it!

What’s more, we’d say that as far as vegan salad recipes for weight loss go, this is a pretty great option.

‘But avocados are full of fat!’ You cry, ‘How can they possibly be good for weight loss!?”

Let us explain…

The ingredients for an avocado tomato salad are laid out on a chopping board. These include two halves of avocado, chopped cherry tomatoes and lemon, with some tomatoes on the vine in the corner | hurrythefoodup.com

Avocado tomato salad: why fat is fab!

The lovely avocado is an incredible fruit that comes with a whole host of health benefits, making this vegan avocado salad recipe a super healthy, weight loss friendly lunch or dinner option (if this all sounds good to you, we’ve got more like this in our vegan protein salads list!).

So what’s so great about them? Avocados have a very high fibre and fat content. This recipe calls for one medium avocado – that’s 9g fibre and 21g fat.

People tend to think that foods with a high fat content are bad if you are trying to lose weight.

However, that’s a bit of a myth, it depends on what type of fat, and exactly how much of it.

In actual fact, fat is a super important part of your diet and fat is actively beneficial to healthy weight loss.

The fat in avocados is unsaturated, which is the healthy kind of fat, used to help the body absorb all the good stuff from the food you eat.

Furthermore, because the energy from fat is released slowly in your stomach, a vegan salad with avocado in it will provide a sustained release of energy for far longer than one that is just leaves.

Combined with the high fibre content of avocados, this salad is super filling and the perfect way to avoid snacking on empty calories between meals.

It’s really a case of making the most of the calories you eat – and an avocado tomato salad does just that.

If you still aren’t convinced, have a look at our article on avocados and weight loss, which looks at this question more in depth.

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Teaming up with tomatoes

Another great thing about the avocado in this tomato avocado salad recipe is how it interacts with the other ingredients to maximise health benefits.

For example, tomatoes are a fantastic fruit and contain lycopene, an antioxidant that may help to protect cells and therefore boost your immune system, among other things.

That’s amazing of course, but it’s important to know they won’t work properly without some kind of fat to help absorb them.

Tomato carries very little fat of its own – that’s where avocados step up. Thanks again to all that unsaturated fat, your body is able to absorb the lycopene in tomatoes.

So when combined in an avocado tomato salad, you can be sure you’re getting all the goodness your food is packing.

Who said fat was bad for you? 😛

If you want to learn more info like this about weight loss as a vegetarian, check out our Vegetarian for Weight Loss e-book ! It’s been downloaded 6000 times already, so we reckon it’s doing the trick!

What our readers are saying

Simple, easy and delicious. Perfect!
Mel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Perfect, light and heart-healthy! Good job…
Krystallia Giamouridou

I could eat this salad everyday! Thanks for sharing.
Michelle@healthiersteps

Two bowls of avocado and tomato salad on a blue and white table cloth, with sunflower seeds and lemon scattered around | Hurry The Food Up

Avocado Tomato Salad – A perfect summer salad

The bowl of salad is on a blue and white striped table cloth with salt and tomato | Hurry The Food Up

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5 from 14 votes

This avocado tomato salad is healthy and delicious, perfect for adding to a weight loss meal plan, or just as your new favourite go-to lunch!

Cuisine:Vegan, Vegetarian

Diet: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, vegan

Prep Time:5

Cook Time:3

Total Time:8

Servings:2

Calories:374kcal

Author: Dave

Ingredients

4 tbsp sunflower seeds
2 big handfuls arugula/rocket (You could also use any leafy greens that you prefer – about 100-150g = 2 handfuls)
1 large avocado (1 large avocados = 2 small avocados)
8 cherry tomatoes
½ lemon (juiced)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic cream (or balsamic vinegar)

Optional

2 slice wholegrain bread (eg. whole grain toast)

Instructions

Put the sunflower seeds in a saucepan over a low heat. They only need 3 or 4 mins, don’t forget about them!
4 tbsp sunflower seeds
While they’re toasting grab the arugula, give it a quick rinse and pat or drain dry.
2 big handfuls arugula/rocket
Slice the avocado(s) open, remove the stone, and scoop out the flesh. Cut it into little chunks, roughly 2cm each. Drip the lemon juice and a bit of salt and pepper onto the chunks.
1 large avocado, ½ lemon, Salt and pepper to taste
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
8 cherry tomatoes
The seeds should be done by now, time to serve.
Layer the rocket into a wide bowl, followed by the tomatoes and avocados. Sprinkle the seeds over the bowls next. Add a little more salt and pepper, drizzle the oil then balsamic cream/vinegar over the top and…..you’re done!
1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic cream
Enjoy your delicious vegan salad 🙂
Optional: Serve with a slice or two of whole grain toast if that’s what you fancy.
2 slice wholegrain bread

NOTES

There’s more where that came from!

Loving Avocado? Avocado Chickpea Salad

Super filling Lentil and Potato Salad

Sweet treat Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Stuffed with Superfoods Lentil and Quinoa Salad

Perfect Brunch Avocado Tomato Toast

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Avocado Tomato Salad – A perfect summer salad

Serving Size

792 g

Amount per Serving

Calories

374

% Daily Value*

Fat

Saturated Fat

Polyunsaturated Fat

Monounsaturated Fat

Sodium

253

Potassium

824

Carbohydrates

Fiber

Sugar

Protein

Vitamin A

519

Vitamin C

Calcium

Iron

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Avocado Tomato Salad – A perfect summer salad