Bright Lime Avocado Salad with Red Onion and Cilantro

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A no-cook Mexican-style side that leans entirely on timing: ripe avocado is cut in generous wedges, the red onion is quick-pickled in lime so it loses its bite, and everything gets dressed at the last minute so the flesh stays vivid green instead of dulling. Five minutes of prep, ten minutes of waiting, and it eats like the $17 salad it was inspired by.

Ingredients

• 1/2 small red onion, halved and sliced paper-thin
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar

• 3 ripe but firm Hass avocados
• 1 serrano or jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
• 1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly torn
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Flaky sea salt, to finish
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

• 2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or cotija

Instructions

1. Slice the red onion as thinly as you can — a mandoline or a very sharp knife on the pole-to-pole cut gives the best result. Put it in a small bowl with the 3 tablespoons lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and the sugar. Toss with your fingers to coat and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour; the onion will soften and turn bright pink while the lime picks up its flavor.
2. While the onion pickles, halve the cherry tomatoes and set them cut-side down on a paper towel to drain — this keeps the salad from going watery. Seed and mince the chile and tear the cilantro. Do not cut the avocados yet.
3. Just before serving, halve the avocados, remove the pits, and scoop each half out of the skin with a large spoon. Lay them cut-side down and slice each half lengthwise into 4 to 5 thick wedges, or cut into large 1-inch chunks — bigger pieces hold their shape and stay green longer than small dice.
4. Arrange the avocado on a wide platter or in a shallow bowl in a single loose layer, overlapping slightly. Scatter the drained tomatoes over and around it.
5. Lift the pickled onion out of its liquid with a fork and scatter it over the avocado. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the leftover lime pickling liquid evenly over the salad, then drizzle with the 2 tablespoons olive oil.
6. Sprinkle over the minced chile, then the cilantro. Finish with a generous pinch of flaky sea salt and several cracks of black pepper. Add the pepitas and crumbled queso fresco now if using.
7. Serve immediately with lime wedges alongside, and toss only very gently at the table — no more than two or three folds — so the avocado stays in distinct pieces. This salad is at its best within 20 minutes of dressing.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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