This Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad recipe is barely a recipe in that most of the ingredients are listed in the title. Plus diced red onions (or yellow or white if that’s what you have), plus a simple lemon and olive oil dressing, plus a handful of chopped herbs. Oh, and plus salt and pepper. But you knew that.

This summery salad is perfect with pretty much anything that comes off of a grill, and also the kind of salad that kind of functions as a topping, in that it would be great heaped over a seared or grilled chicken breast, some poached salmon, or a big fat burger.

And if you want to offer a real show-off assortment of summer salads on a buffet, think about pairing this Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad with Israeli Couscous Salad, Caesar Salad, and Chickpea Salad. The vegetarians in the crowd will leave talking about what a terrific human being you are.

Tomato, Avocado and Cucumber Salad: Colorful and fresh and filled with a variety of textures, this easy recipe is a great summer and early fall go-to salad for all kinds of meals.

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Ingredients for Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad

• Tomatoes – Use the ripest, best tomatoes you can find. This might mean switching up the type of tomato.
• Cucumber – I like to leave the skin on the cucumber for an additional touch of dark green color. Do scrape out any seeds — they aren’t so nice in this salad (or any other, I find).
• Red onion – I like the bite that the onion brings to this salad.
• Avocados – When you are adding the avocado, use smooth, gentle tossing motions and try not to bang up the little cubes as much as possible. But a little dinging up will happen and it’s fine!
• Extra-virgin olive oil – Good quality olive oil tastes great with these fresh ingredients.
• Lemon juice – Adds brightness and helps prevent the avocados from browning.
• Parsley – Feel free to switch up the herbs. Parsley is fresh and not particularly assertive, so go for a full 1/4 cup. Cilantro has a more pronounced flavor, so play with the amount, between 2 and 4 tablespoons, and taste and see how much you like, starting with a lesser amount. You can also use other fresh herbs — add a tablespoon of thyme or oregano, and increase from there. For basil, 2 tablespoons of chiffonaded or slivered basil is a good place to start.

How to Make Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad

1. Toss: Toss together the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and avocado.
2. Dress: Dress the salad with olive oil, lemon juice, herbs, and salt and pepper.
3. Serve: Serve the salad as quickly as possible, to avoid the avocado browning. See below for tips on making it ahead.

Make-Ahead Salad Recipe

I like to juice the lemon, mix it with the olive oil, and chop up the onion and cucumber a day ahead. A few hours before I plan to serve this, I toss it all together along with the tomatoes, and then just before it goes on the table, the avocados are cut and added, and the dressing gets folded in. Each section of the process takes about 3 to 4 minutes, which is almost not even time worth counting.

You can drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil right into the salad as well — no need to combine them ahead of time, unless you feel like it.

What to Serve With Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad

Grilled Lamb Loin Chops and Onions with Herb Salad

Grilled Split Turkey Breast

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More Simple Summer Salad Recipes

• Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad
• Chickpea and Fava Bean Salad
• Grilled Corn Salad
• Summer Shrimp and Avocado Salad