This salad couldn’t be easier, and because it borrows the classic flavors of a BLT sandwich, what’s not to love?! Trust me: you won’t miss the bread. My hubs who’s usually all “meh” over salads even likes it! And because there’s no bread, this salad is gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, low-carb, Paleo, and Whole30 compliant. (Assuming you use compliant mayo and bacon.)
You could also add chopped cooked chicken to this and call it a one-dish meal!
Did you know that, besides the healthy fat avocado brings to the table, it’s also a good source of potassium and several vitamins?
You’ve likely heard that bananas are great for potassium levels, but avocados have more potassium in them!
One average serving of avocado (around 3.5oz) will give you 14% of your recommended daily amount of potassium. You’ll also get 26% of the recommended amounts of vitamin K to help with blood clotting, 20% of your recommended daily amount of folate, and 17% of your vitamin C recommended allowance. There are also excellent amounts of vitamins B5, B6, and E.
For the best flavor, use perfectly-ripe summer tomatoes. Homegrown or farmer’s market, if you can get ’em!
BLT salad with avocado recipe
Serves 1; scale up as needed.
a handful of leaf lettuce, chopped to bite-size pieces
…(use romaine, leaf lettuce, bib – whatever you like, as long as it’s a bit crunchy)
1 small-ish tomato (about 2-3″ diameter), chopped into about 1/2″ pieces
1 strip of bacon (or more, to taste), cooked to crispy
1/4 of an avocado, cubed (optional, but highly recommended)
1 T. mayo (homemade, if possible)
1 fresh chive leaf, snipped or minced (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Let the mayo sit at room temp for about 10 minutes. If it’s still too thick to drizzle, add a tiny bit of olive oil (or other cooking oil of your choice) and stir till well mixed.
Start by chopping the tomato, and placing it in a shallow bowl to drain. You don’t need to be picky about getting rid of all the liquid, but if you just let it sit and drain while you prep the other ingredients, and pick up the pieces with your fingers or a slotted spoon leaving the juice behind, then your salad won’t be too watery.
Chop the remaining ingredients.
You can put this all on one large plate for a crowd, or make individual salads on small salad plates. My plate shown below is 7″ (18mm) from rim to rim, and it’s perfect for a single serving. A dinner plate would be about right for four servings. Just provide a large serving spoon for guests to scoop out their portion.
Put down a layer of chopped lettuce. This isn’t as lettuce-dominant as most green salads: the tomatoes are really the star. So you just want a layer of greens thick enough to cover up the plate and catch all the goodness that will be dripping down on it!
Then arrange the chopped tomatoes on top of that, and drizzle the mayo over it. Add the bacon and avocado, and sprinkle on the chives, salt, and pepper.
Enjoy!
Make-ahead notes: The bacon can be cooked in advance. It, as well as the chives and lettuce, can be chopped well in advance and kept in airtight containers in the fridge. (Don’t put the bacon and lettuce together, though. The salt in the bacon will wilt the greens.) The avocado needs to be chopped at the last minute, and the whole salad should be assembled shortly before serving.
