This Popular Cucumber-Avocado Salad Is Better than I Could’ve Possibly Imagined

I usually despise cucumbers. With some rare exceptions (like in a banh mi), I try to avoid them at all costs. But a strange thing happened when our social media manager, Andrea Kaufman, sent me a recipe for spicy cucumber-avocado salad: I wanted to eat it immediately. 

I have a couple of theories for why I, a cucumber hater, decided to take on this recipe review. First, I’m partial to a crunchy, refreshing salad. In this salad, each chunk of cucumber is glistening with a dressing made from vibrant, punchy flavors like lime juice and apple cider vinegar. It screams refreshing. Second, I’m a sucker for avocados. Last, and maybe most realistically of all, the creator, Nicole Keshishian Modic, sells it really well. Tell me something is “SO SO GOOD” and that you eat it “at least once a week,” and I must know more. 

In the video, everything is tossed casually into a single bowl, hardly measured, and stirred together with a big spoon. Here’s how to do it. 

Dice English cucumbers and an avocado, finely chop some cilantro (or parsley), and mash a clove of garlic. Throw everything into a bowl, then add some ground cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. 

Her recipe serves four people. Because it was just me eating this for lunch, I scaled down this recipe a bit, using only one English cucumber but sticking to a whole avocado and the juice from a whole lime (more on that later). 

I wouldn’t call myself a converted cucumber fan, but I do really enjoy this salad. It’s creamy, crunchy, refreshing, and bright, not to mention a breeze to assemble. I can definitely see myself making it often, especially when the weather gets warm, and riffing on it with other spices, depending on what else I’m eating. 

I didn’t eat the whole bowl in one sitting, as she “warned” (language I don’t particularly love). But I like it more as a fun and satisfying side to something heartier, like a sandwich or protein. 

Because I only used one cucumber, I initially halved the cumin, the salt, and lime juice, but I felt like it was pretty under-seasoned and I was also craving more acid. I ended up squeezing the juice from another half of lime and adding another generous pinch of salt. Next time, I’ll season to taste. Although I didn’t find the salad particularly spicy and could’ve easily added more pepper flakes, I opted not to. I wasn’t missing any heat. 

• Mix the dressing separately. I always try to avoid dirtying an extra bowl, but whisking the ground cumin into the lime juice and olive oil will distribute the spice more evenly. 
• Microplane the garlic. I minced the garlic and then used my knife to mash it into a chunky paste. This worked well, but next time I’ll most likely reach for my Microplane to make things easier. 
• Season to taste. Cucumber and avocado are both mild in flavor, so I found a generous bit of salt was necessary to really make the flavors sing. 

Get the recipe: Cucumber-Avocado Salad