Cantaloupe and Avocado Salad with Chili Dressing

This is a great seasonal salad for summer, and possibly for your Fourth of July festivities. It is not a red, white, and blue salad you typically see this time of year, but it packs a punch! This recipe is from my dear Mom, from a Colorado cookbook, and other than it is so flavorful, colorful, and seasonal—that is all I know about this recipe.

This recipe is so easy, and simple to make. The recipe calls for making the chili dressing ahead of time, and chilling it covered in the refrigerator. I make it a day ahead. You can also take liberty with the type of greens you use.

In California, cantaloupes are in season from May to November, and avocado peak season is April to August. Key to this recipe is having a beautiful, sweet, and room temperature ripe cantaloupe to slice. I recommend Reed avocados that are round like baseballs, creamy dreamy in taste, and don’t brown once exposed to air. You can find them at Farmers Markets, or you might be lucky and have a tree in your garden. Other ripe avocados can certainly be used, with a squeeze of lemon or lime over them before adding to the salad.

This is the best kind of salad because it has refreshing flavor, texture, presentation, sweetness, and spice all in one. The chili dressing will stand up to and complement barbeque flavors. The original recipe doesn’t call for it, but to further dress up this salad, you could add chopped, lightly toasted pistachios as a garnish. Avocados and pistachios are a particularly nice flavor combination.

Cantaloupe and Avocado Salad with Chili Dressing

Chili Dressing

1/4 cup prepared chili sauce

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons minced onion

1/2 cup canola oil

Fine sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

Salad

1 small head butterhead lettuce, torn

1 small head red leaf lettuce, torn

1/2 cup chopped celery (optional)

1 small ripe cantaloupe, sliced

1 large ripe avocado, sliced

Garnish option, 1/3 cup chopped, lightly toasted pistachios.

Directions:

For the dressing, combine the chili sauce, honey, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and onions in a bowl and mix well. Add the canola oil and whisk until blended. Add a pinch of fine sea salt and desired cracked pepper to taste. Chill, covered, in the refrigerator. Whisk before serving.

For the salad, toss the lettuce and celery in a large salad bowl. Add the desired amount of dressing and toss to coat lightly. Compose the cantaloupe and avocado slices on top of your salad greens. Drizzle desired chili dressing over cantaloupe and avocado slices. Sprinkle pistachios over the salad. Serves 6.

French Fabulous! We all know and love Ina Garten for her numerous cookbooks. Did you know she has playlists she shares too? I had no idea, until dear visiting family mentioned it! Search Spotify, Sonos, etc.

Ina Garten’s Trip to Paris

Ina’s Dance Party

Other Ina Garten genre playlists people have created:

Ina Gartens Cooking List

Ina Garten French Dinner Menu

Ina Garten’s Summer Playlist

Bon Appétit, Bon Weekend, et Bon Fourth of July….Bonnie