I’ve been making this Avocado Pine Nut Salad for YEARS. First discovered at my sister’s house eons ago while plowing through her loads of community cookbooks, this has since become a classic family favorite.
It’s a simple salad with a short list of ingredients. The dressing is tangy and and delicious! Need a great salad for a potluck? This Avocado Pine Nut Salad is it. Need a salad that most people will eat? I’ve got you covered. Need a new side salad for dinner because you’re tired of the same old thing? This is the one.
Ingredients needed for Avocado Pine Nut Salad:
- one head of red leaf lettuce
- one head of green leaf lettuce
- tomatoes
- avocado
- toasted pine nuts
- shredded mozzarella cheese
How to toast pine nuts:
To quickly toast the pine nuts, just put them in a small fry pan over medium heat. Watch them closely, and use a wooden spoon to move them around until they are lightly toasted. Be careful- they’ll burn if you don’t tend to them! Pour them onto a paper towel to cool before adding them to your salad. I like to buy pine nuts at Costco. They’re less expensive there, and you can keep the big bag in the freezer and use them as needed.
How to make the dressing:
This is my favorite salad dressing ever. It’s so easy to make that I often make it to add to other simple green salads that we make for dinner. Combine 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar and a tablespoon and a half of Dijon mustard. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper, whisk it all together, and it’s ready to use for your Avocado Pine Nut Salad. The dressing may be made ahead, or you can make extra and keep it refrigerated.
This is a simple salad, and it’s darn good. Many in my extended family and network of friends have now incorporated this salad into their meal rotations. It’s that good! Add grilled chicken to make this a main dish salad.
This has been my family’s favorite salad recipe for years and years. Every family gathering we have, this salad makes an appearance! And every event you bring it to, everyone will ask you for the recipe! Serve Avocado Pine Nut Salad with grilled chicken, grilled flank steak or grilled shrimp. Honestly, it’s a great salad that will pair well with just about any main dish.
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you will find a link to WW Points on the recipe card below.
Avocado Pine Nut Salad
Ingredients
DRESSING:
- 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste
SALAD:
- 1 head green leaf lettuce, cleaned and chopped
- 1 head red leaf lettuce, cleaned and chopped
- 2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
- 1 large avocado, chopped (about 1 cup)
- ⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
PREPARE THE DRESSING:
- Place the dressing ingredients in a shaker jar. Shake well (or whisk in a bowl) and refrigerate until chilled.
PREPARE THE SALAD:
- Add the salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss with the chilled dressing (add a little at a time until you have used a desired amount).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- An easy way to toast raw pine nuts is to dry toast them in a heated saucepan, stirring often so that they do not burn (they burn easily if not watched).
- Grill some chicken and marinate it in the salad dressing for a great summer, main-dish salad!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I really liked this recipe! Thank you for sharing! The dijon mustard with the vinegar really paired well with each other. This is such a healthy and delicious salad.
This looks scrumptious!! Thank you
This salad looks yummy. I will be doing it tonight for dinner.
I love a salad, this looks spectacular!
Thank you!