Avocado and Olive Salad
Two of the great sources of good fat on one plate — buttery avocado and briny green olives, with lemon and oil to bring them together. Rich, simple, and ready in three minutes. Here is how to build it well.
Avocado and olives are natural partners: both are buttery, both bring the monounsaturated good fats we actually want, and the olive’s salt is exactly what mild avocado is missing. Put them together with citrus and a good olive oil and you have a salad that eats like something far more indulgent than its three-minute effort suggests.
What you need
Ripe avocado, sliced or cubed; a handful of pitted green olives — a buttery Castelvetrano is ideal, halved, though any good green olive works; thinly sliced red onion or shallot; coriander or parsley; and a dressing of good extra virgin olive oil, lime or lemon, and a little chilli. Ripe tomato and cucumber are welcome if you want to stretch it into a fuller plate.
Method
Arrange the avocado and olives on a plate, scatter over the onion and herbs, and dress with olive oil, citrus, chilli, salt and pepper. Eat at once, while the avocado is bright and before the acid dulls its colour. That is the whole recipe — the skill is all in the seasoning, not the technique.
Getting the balance right
The one trap is salt. Let the olives do the salting and taste before adding any of your own — a good Castelvetrano and a squeeze of lime may be all the seasoning the avocado needs. Dress the avocado with acid to keep it fresh and lifted, go easy on the oil since the avocado is already rich, and choose an olive you would happily eat on its own, because there is nowhere for a dull one to hide.
| Serves | 1–2 as a light plate |
|---|---|
| Time | About 3 minutes |
| Core | Ripe avocado + good green olives |
| Aromatics | Red onion or shallot; coriander or parsley |
| Dressing | Extra virgin olive oil, lime/lemon, chilli |
| Optional | Ripe tomato, cucumber |
| Key tip | Let the olives do the salting; taste first |
- Let the olives salt it — taste before adding any extra salt.
- Use a buttery green olive you would happily eat alone.
- Dress with acid to keep the avocado bright.
- Eat straight away, before the avocado dulls.
Avocado and olive salad: common questions
Why do avocado and olives work together?
Both are buttery and rich in good monounsaturated fat, and the olive’s salt seasons the mild avocado perfectly. Citrus and oil tie them together.
Which olives are best?
A buttery green olive like Castelvetrano is ideal, halved. Any good green table olive works — choose one you would happily eat on its own.
Do I need to add salt?
Taste first. The olives usually bring enough salt, so season only after tasting to avoid an over-salty plate.
Can I make it ahead?
Best eaten straight away, while the avocado is bright. If you must wait, dress it with plenty of citrus to slow the browning.
How do I turn it into a bigger meal?
Add ripe tomato and cucumber, or serve it on bread or with grains. It is a flexible base rather than a fixed recipe.
This is the kind of plate that lives or dies on the olive. Use a tired, sharp brined thing and it drags the avocado down; use a plump, buttery green olive and the whole dish lifts. Taste your olive first, and if it is good enough to eat from the jar, it is good enough for this.
A house recipe built around good green table olives and ripe avocado.