Mango Avocado Salad
Fresh mango, avocado, and a chili-lime dressing mixed at the table on night one.
- calories
- 250
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 42
- protein
- 2 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snack
- No cook
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Day hike
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Day one only
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ripe but firm avocados | 3 | firm is the whole point; soft ones turn to paste in a pack |
|---|---|---|
| Ripe mangoes | 2 | same rule, firm enough to cube |
| Red onion | 1/2 small | sliced thin |
| Jalapeño peppers | 2 | seeded for less heat |
| Fresh coriander | 1/2 cup, chopped | |
| Olive oil | 6 tbsp | |
| Lime juice | 6 tbsp | about 3 limes |
| Lime zest | 1 1/2 tsp | zest at home, it does not travel as a whole lime job |
| Garlic | 2 cloves, minced | |
| Ground cumin | 1/2 tsp | |
| Chili powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Maple syrup | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Shake the dressing bottle hard. The oil and lime separate on the drive out.
- Cube the mangoes into the pot. Slice the onion and jalapeños thin and add them.
- Cut the avocados last and add them straight into the acid, or they brown while you work.
- Pour the dressing over, add the coriander, and fold gently with a spoon. Two or three turns, not stirring.
- Taste for salt and eat within the hour.
This one only works on the first day out, and that is fine. It is the meal for the drive-in night when the cooler is still cold and nobody wants another pot of noodles. Everything past day one, use dried mango and skip the avocado entirely.
The dressing is premixed at home for a reason. Zesting a lime and mincing garlic on a picnic table is possible but slow, and once the avocado is cut you are on a clock. Mixing the acid first means the fruit goes straight into it. Fold, do not stir: the avocado is doing the work of a creamy dressing and it only does that while the cubes are still cubes.
Packing
Mix the dressing at home into one small leakproof bottle: oil, lime juice, zest, garlic, cumin, chili powder, maple syrup, salt. Whole avocados and mangoes ride in a hard container in the cooler or they arrive bruised. Onion and jalapeños can be cut at home and bagged; coriander keeps a day wrapped in a damp paper towel.
Variations
- Halve the dressing and spoon it over tortilla chips as a salsa instead.
- A drained can of black beans turns it into a real lunch and adds protein.
- Swap the maple syrup for honey if you are not keeping it vegan.
https://blog.9jakitchen.com/mango-avocado-salad-recipe