Healthy Avocado Salad Recipes

Tender salmon tops a hearty salad of red cabbage, carrots and avocados tossed with a creamy dill vinaigrette in this quick, easy dinner.

This healthy, super-fast salad recipe swaps out romaine for kale, giving you more than 10 times the vitamin C. Easy flavor hacks like store-bought ranch and pickled jalapeños help make a creamy, tangy and spicy dressing you'll want to drizzle on everything from salad to sliced veggies and shredded poached chicken.

Looking for a clean, packable lunch for work? This healthy homemade chicken salad served inside an avocado instead of with bread is just the ticket. Plus, this recipe makes enough for ready-made lunches for the week! If you have leftover cooked chicken on hand, skip Step 1 and use about 2 1/2 cups shredded chicken in Step 2.

This easy salad recipe allows for a wonderful use of leftover cooked chicken. Look for escarole in the produce section near the leafy greens; if you can't find it, you can use romaine instead.

Good-quality canned salmon is high in protein and brain-loving omega-3 fatty acids. Mix it with pesto-spiked yogurt and pile it old-school style into a halved avocado for a quick healthy lunch.

Give classic pasta salad a fresher, more flavorful spin. This fast pasta dish calls for avocado to replace some of the mayonnaise, which makes it extra creamy. Whole-wheat elbow macaroni and fresh vegetables lighten up this healthy pasta salad that you'll be making all summer long.

This colorful salad would be a welcome addition to a Mexican-inspired meal.

This easy salad recipe makes a stunning side dish for anything you've got cooking for dinner. The bright flavor of the citrus pairs perfectly with peppery arugula and avocado, plus a bit of jalapeño for a slight kick.

Precooked quinoa helps keep this healthy salad recipe quick and simple. Loaded with black beans, kale and avocado, this recipe is as filling as it is nutritious. You can also make the sweet potatoes and dressing ahead.

Combine cucumber, avocado and mango with a salty-sweet dressing for a taste of the tropics.

Enjoy this refreshing healthy salad recipe as a side dish or dice the tomatoes, watermelon and avocado smaller (1/2- to 1/4-inch pieces) and serve as a condiment for grilled fish, shrimp or chicken.

The smoky flavors of grilled shrimp and corn in this healthy chopped salad recipe are a tasty match for the creamy cilantro dressing.

Peppery fresh radishes complement sweet shrimp and creamy avocado in this quick salad. Enjoy this healthy salad as a quick light dinner or for lunch.

Skip the cleanse and eat this instead. Packed with veggies, avocado and seeds, this healthy salad recipe is bursting with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Everything can be prepared ahead of time except the avocado. If you love beets, shred one raw and add it to the salad for extra color, crunch and flavor. Excerpted from The Dinner Plan by Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion, published by ABRAMS © 2017.

Serve this summery strawberry spinach salad alongside soup or a half sandwich, or top with grilled chicken or roasted salmon for a complete and easy healthy meal.

This herb-loaded green goddess-inspired dressing gets a color boost from creamy avocado. Make a double batch of this healthy salad dressing to keep on hand for salads throughout the week.

Avocado, fresh chives and spinach are blended right into the creamy, bright-green dressing in this healthy edamame salad recipe. Pink beans are popular in the Caribbean, but you can substitute pinto beans or light red kidney beans if you can't find them.

Jicama is the crunchy, sweet tuberous root of a legume native to Central America. If you love it in this salad, try including sticks of it with your next crudités spread.

This tofu-topped watercress salad is a fresh, plant-based meal perfect for when you want something hearty but are looking to cut down on the meat. The mango and avocado add tangy flavor and creamy texture to bring the salad together.

In this mango-avocado salad, the sweet, bright mango works beautifully with the creamy, rich avocado. There is just a touch of heat from the chile-lime seasoning; if you want to kick it up a notch, add a thinly sliced habanero to the mix.

Romaine lettuce takes on a nice charred, smoky flavor with a quick trip to the grill in this healthy wedge salad recipe. Avocado makes the dressing extra-creamy without any cream. Serve alongside grilled chicken or fish.

John Willoughby helped to launch Cooks Illustrated, was executive editor at Gourmet and has authored several cookbooks, including Big Flavors of the Hot Sun, from which this salad was adapted for a March/April 1995 EatingWell story about olives. It's one of the favorites--chosen from more than 1,000 salad recipes--that we revisited in our 30th anniversary issue.

This pasta salad looks like the classic picnic side, but in one bite you'll know it's special. It holds all the incredible flavors of deviled eggs and is creamy too, thanks to mashed avocado and hard-boiled eggs. For the best texture, don't make this more than a few hours before you plan to eat it.

Salad for breakfast? Yes, please! A hard-boiled egg adds protein to this spinach salad while baked tortilla strips provide texture and crunch.