Avocado Salsa – Chelsea’s Messy Apron

This Avocado Salsa is our favorite! It’s got a wonderfully fresh and vibrant flavor with the best juxtaposition of textures — crisp garden veggies with a delightful creaminess from the avocado.

Is Avocado Salsa Just Guacamole?

Not quite. Avocado Salsa is made up of uncooked diced ingredients and intended to have more of a chunky, substantial texture. Perfect with chips for dipping or atop some of your favorite Mexican dishes. Guacamole has more of a mashed texture.

Our Guacamole Recipe is a smooth and creamy dip made up by mashing up avocados with a few other ingredients.

Our Favorite Chunky Avocado Salsa

It’s no secret we are avocado super fans here — I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t eat at least one! They’re packed with good-for-you fats and add a wonderful creaminess to so many dishes. 

We love them in salads like this Quinoa Salad Recipe or Cucumber Feta Salad or used in a hearty breakfast like Avocado Toast. And we especially love layering them in tacos like these Shrimp Tacos or these Navajo Tacos.

And so it was time to put our love for avocados into the creation of the best Avocado Salsa recipe — and here it is!

Is Avocado Salsa Healthy?

This salsa is packed with good-for-you ingredients that are fresh and nourishing. It’s a great flavor (and nutritious) add to so many dishes.

What Is Avocado Salsa Made Of?

We combine avocados, tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, jalapeños, garlic, and a few other ingredients to deliver a stellar salsa that will dazzle up any dish you add it to!

Below are all the ingredients in this salsa, along with some helpful notes:

• Avocados. Ripe avocados are a game changer — they deliver the best flavor and creaminess. To tell if an avocado is ripe, press gently; they should yield slightly (think: touching the tip of your nose). 
• Tomatoes. Avoid unripe tomatoes– you won’t get the same robust flavor. Look for the ripest, reddest tomatoes, and in the winter, use cherry tomatoes (which have the most consistent flavor year-round). 
• Red Onion. If you are sensitive to onions, dice them and soak them in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes before draining and adding to the salsa.
• Cilantro. If you aren’t a cilantro fan, replace with flat-leaf Italian parsley and add in some lime zest.
• Jalapeños. Use plastic gloves (or even a plastic bag) to protect your hands from the oils which can burn your fingers/under fingernails.
• Lime juice. Juicing limes with this citrus juicer makes the recipe prep a breeze!
• Olive oil. The oil adds a nice layer of flavor and complexity to the Avocado Salsa.
• Garlic. If you don’t have fresh garlic, add 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
• Salt, pepper, and ground cumin. No recipe is complete without salt and pepper, and this salsa is no exception. Add to taste preference, remembering that an extra pinch can be the difference between a good and a stellar avocado salsa!

How To Make Avocado Salsa

This recipe requires some time to chop everything up, but overall it’s very simple to make!

Here are our top tips:

• Aim to cut ingredients into similar sizes for uniformity and the best texture.
  • What size? The finer the chop, the better — more flavor in every bite!
• Let the avocado salsa rest and chill. Allow time for the flavors to meld together and marinate — you’ll be rewarded with more flavor. About 10-15 minutes will do the trick!
  • That said, we don’t want it resting too long– otherwise, the avocado will begin to brown and take on an odd texture. This salsa is best enjoyed the same day it is made.

How To Serve Avocado Salsa

This chunky Avocado Salsa Recipe is the best with a bag of chips or served with any and all of your favorite Mexican dishes.

We especially love this salsa added on top of some grilled protein (like chicken, steak, salmon, etc.). This Grilled Chicken with Avocado Salsa is one of our favorite summer recipes!

Here are some of our favorite recipes to top with this salsa: 

QUICK TIP

Do you eat avocado salsa hot or cold? 

This salsa is best with chilled ingredients! I like to pop all the ingredients into the fridge a few hours before preparing so they’re nice and cold.

More Avocado Recipes:

Avocado Salsa

This Avocado Salsa is our favorite! It’s got a wonderfully fresh, and vibrant flavor with the best juxtaposition of textures — crisp garden veggies with a delightful creaminess from the avocado.

Avocado Salsa

This Avocado Salsa is our favorite! It’s got a wonderfully fresh, and vibrant flavor with the best juxtaposition of textures — crisp garden veggies with a delightful creaminess from the avocado.

Instructions

• PREP: Prep the veggies, starting with red onion (dice and soak in water if desired — Note 3). Quarter cherry tomatoes, chop cilantro, dice jalapeños, and finish with dicing the avocados. TIP: Aim to cut ingredients into similar sizes for uniformity and the best texture. What size? the finer the chop, the better — more flavor in every bite!

• COMBINE: In a large serving bowl, combine all the prepped ingredients along with the 3 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp lime zest, 3 tbsp oil, 1 tsp garlic, and 1/2 tsp each of salt, pepper, and cumin.

• SERVE: Toss gently (don’t overmix or the avocados will begin to disintegrate). Give salsa a taste test. Add any additional salt/pepper or lime juice to taste (flavors should sing!) then chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before serving. TIP: If enjoying with chips, we recommend testing the salsa with the chips to determine if it needs more salt. Since chips are typically salted, the salsa may be best with less salt.

• STORAGE: This salsa is best served fairly soon after making –avocados will brown and become mushy the longer they sit. To store any leftovers, cover tightly with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap directly on the surface of the salsa and then covering with container lid.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Avocados: Ripe Hass avocados are a game changer — they’ll deliver the best flavor and creaminess. To tell if an avocado is ripe, press gently they should yield slightly (think: touching the tip of your nose). 
Note 2: Tomatoes: Avoid unripe or pink tomatoes; you won’t get the same robust flavor. Look for the ripest, reddest tomatoes. If not using cherry tomatoes, cut the tomatoes in half and use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds and watery center before dicing. 
Note 3: Red onion: This is about 1 small onion. If you are sensitive to onions, soak the diced onions in a bowl of cold water for 5-10 minutes before thoroughly draining and adding to the salsa.
Note 4: Jalapeños: This is about 2-3 jalapeños. If you’re sensitive to spice, reduce or omit the peppers. (Wrinkly jalapeños are going to be spicier than smooth jalapeños.) When preparing the jalapeño, you may want to do this with gloves on (or a plastic bag over your fingers) as it can burn your fingers and under fingernails. Wash your hands immediately after preparing/touching them.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 6.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.5g | Protein: 1.3g | Fat: 10.6g | Sodium: 5.8mg | Fiber: 3.4g | Sugar: 1.6g

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.