A delicious garden salad with creamy avocado dill dressing is an easy gluten free and vegan meal!
These warmer days have made me crave more salad. That and the idea that at some point this summer I will have to put on a swimsuit. ;)
Usually when I make salad dressing it is a vinaigrette, or a honey mustard dressing, but this time I was in the mood for something creamy. I do miss ranch dressing since going dairy free, so I decided I would make a flavorful, creamy dressing with tons of flavor and no dairy. The best way to get that creaminess without the dairy? An avocado, of course!
This salad with this combination of veggies has been my lunch several times lately. Of course you can customize the vegetables to suit your taste. I actually prefer to grate my carrots, but on this particular day, someone (I’m looking at you, Darryl!) hid my grater. :) Â If you want to add more protein, you could include some nuts or some garbanzo beans as well.
The avocado dressing has lots of dill flavor, and also a little bit of a kick from the raw garlic. I love to add raw garlic to dressings because it has so many health benefits. If you are not used to the spiciness of raw garlic, you may want to use it sparingly at first.
Garden Salad with Creamy Avocado Dill Dressing.
Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed salad greens
- 1 red pepper chopped
- ¾ cup shredded carrots
- 1 cucumber chopped
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
For the dressing:
- 1 avocado pitted and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
Instructions
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Prepare the dressing: In a blender, blend the avocado, salt, dill, garlic, and non-dairy milk. Set aside.
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Divide the salad greens among two bowls, and top with carrots, peppers, cucumbers, and sunflower seeds.
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Serve with the dressing.
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Makes 2 large entree sized salads.
Enjoy! And have a great weekend…what do you have planned? I have rehearsals and a concert, and we are also going to go to Day Out With Thomas! My boys are very excited about that.
Kathy
I really appreciate all you do to help your readers manage food allergies etc. Your emails with ideas is sooo helpful. I still struggle all the time with my food allergy combo list. Just seeing your emails pops up helps me. My daughter loves the dairy free ranch I gave her from you. Me too. I used the macaroni and potatoe salad recipes from you when they all came home last month. Thanks again. Hope your Summer was a fun one.
Kelly Roenicke
Thank you for your note, Kathy! I’m so happy to hear that your family is enjoying these recipes! :)
Katie
Delicious recipe!
madparmors
I just typed this post address into my cooking software, and it captured the whole recipe for me. No typing necessary. It even included your name as the recipe creator! :) I snagged a picture for the recipe as well. Is that ok?
Sarah@WholeandHeavenlyOven
Oh my gosh I am in LOVE with this salad! That avocado dill dressing seriously has me salivating. Just love how fresh and colorful this salad looks! Perfect with summer just around the corner. Pinned. :)
Allison @ Clean Wellness
I love this dressing! Sometimes when I want something super-crunchy, I make myself a big salad with a creamy dressing. It always hits the spot! There’s just something about the taste and texture of creamy/crunchy/dilly that brings me back to my Hidden Valley Ranch days. Definitely bookmarking this one!
Kelly
Thanks, Allison! I was a big Hidden Valley Ranch girl when I was younger! I used to love that stuff.
Anne
YUM! This dressing was great; I substituted the almond milk for coconut milk. How long do you think the dressing is good for?
Kelly
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it! I am not sure how long it will last. We ate it up right away. I think it would be fine the next day. I think the main issue would be that the avocado might darken up. Also, I wonder we if it would separate at all. Sorry I’m not more help!
Amy-Lyn
Mmmmm, healthy, creamy dressing. Good ol’ avocado always ready to help out! A tip for another creamy dressing is that olive oil solidifies in the fridge, so I mix a bunch of fresh minced garlic cloves, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and olive oil in a mason jar, shake it up, and stick it in the fridge. The next day when you’re ready for salad, you take it out before you start getting your salad ready to give it a few minutes to warm up a bit, then when you’re ready for it, you shake and shake and shake it, and you’ll have a creamy, oh-so-garlicky caesar dressing!
Kelly
Wow, that sounds really delicious! Thanks for sharing! I love garlic.
Isadora
I am right there with you about eating a ton of salads lately with the warmer weather. I also am loving your avocado, dill, and garlic salad dressing! I tried to grow some dill in my garden, because I love it so much, but it just isn’t working, so I guess I will have to break down and go buy some!
Pam
I’ve never thought to combine dill with avocado. I am excited to try it!The salad looks tasty.
theprettybee
Enjoy! I think you will really like the dressing! Thanks for stopping by!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely
This dressing sounds so good! Avocados seriously make everything so much better. What a great idea to put it in the dressing. And don’t remind me of swim suit season! I’m going to Santa Barbara next weekend, and am already feeling a little, “uh oh” about wearing a swim suit. Haha!
theprettybee
Ugh, I hear you about the swimsuit thing! Although I am jealous that you are somewhere warm enough for swimming! Still pretty cold here!