Melon Mango Avocado Salad {Vegan friendly}

 Mango avocado salad is a healthy fruit salad with cantaloupe and a light melon dressing. Make this easy recipe for a delicious breakfast, afternoon snack, or dessert. No refined sugar and vegan friendly.

This is a revamp of one of my mom’s recipes! She used to make this salad in the summer when it was 100+ degrees in Texas. To say this is the COOLEST salad ever would be an understatement. Haha! Today we’ve swapped out the sugar for honey or sugar substitute to make it better for you.

I love this healthy fruit salad for a lot of reasons, but primarily because it’s so versatile. It’s not overly sweet like some fruit salads are, so it can be eaten any time of the day. Just like this warm breakfast salad, you can enjoy this mango avocado salad for breakfast, lunch, or even a light summer dinner.

NUTRITION FACTS: MELON

Cantaloupe (versus other tropical fruit) is almost all water, which makes this salad very hydrating. 1 cup of cantaloupe also contains 100% vitamin C.

Plus, if you use the seeds, which are edible, then you get an extra boost of minerals and fiber. Don’t waste them; try adding them to a lime smoothie or to the melon salad dressing!

Melon mango avocado salad ingredients

Building the salad is all about using whatever is fresh and local for you. I think we all know how difficult it can be to find fresh avocado that isn’t bad straight out of the produce bin. Or, ones that go bad within 2 days, right?

Ooo, I have a SHOPPING TIP to help you choose RIPE AVOCADOS!

To tell if an avocado is ripe, you- If  want to go by color AND firmness. It should feel firm and yield a little bit when you gently squeeze it.

Remove the little stem at the top of the fruit. If is nearly impossible to remove, it’s not ready to eat yet. Take it home, but give it some time to ripen. On the other hand, if the stem breaks off easily and you see green underneath, it’s time to make a mango avocado salad immediately!

If it’s brown, say nice things to it to make it feel better but don’t buy that rotten fruit. Haha.

Okay, here’s what you’ll need to make the melon mango salad:

• red lettuce – if you can’t find any red leaf lettuce, you can use radicchio
• spinach or arugula – If you don’t like the bitterness of these greens, buy the baby versions of them. As a result, they’ll be a little milder. Personally, you can’t go wrong with either spinach or arugula.
• cantaloupe or papaya – chop the fruit and keep the seeds for dressing. The seeds are FULL of good nutrition.
• fresh mango – I don’t think using frozen mango is good for much other than making smoothies and ice cream. Oh, or melon wine cocktails!
• ripe avocado and lime for garnishing. Ahh the best garnishes ever!

 

Melon Salad Dressing

Here are the ingredients for the fruit salad dressing.

• raw sugar or sugar substitute
• white vinegar – I have made this with red wine vinegar as well!
• dry mustard
• white onion – yellow onion or the white part of scallions are good substitutes.
• olive oil or avocado oil
• honey (optional) – omit for vegan
• sea salt – Fine sea salt works best.
• melon seeds (or papaya if you are substituting for cantaloupe)

This dressing is super easy to make.

Just drop all of the ingredients except for the seeds into a blender or food processor and start it up. A minute or two later, you’ll have a creamy, light, super flavorful dressing.

Then, add the seeds and blend for another 30 seconds or so. That’s it… DONE!

 

 

STORING THE DRESSING

Just be aware that the recipe makes a LOT of dressing. It’s possible that you won’t use it all (I didn’t), so you may need to store leftovers.

If so, place them into a covered mason jar or some other covered container and keep it in the refrigerator. It should keep well for three to four days.

Or, you can just grab some raw veggies or homemade tortilla chips and use the dressing as a dip!

 

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Alright my friends, let me know if you give this salad (or homemade dressing) a whirl! Summer isn’t over, so keep this in your arsenal for an easy no cook lunch or meal.

P.S it goes perfectly with grilled salmon or my coconut milk chicken!

Cheers,

LC