A hot summer’s day calls for a fresh summer salad, such as this garden salad with Dijon honey balsamic vinaigrette. This simple salad requires only a few fresh ingredients and little effort to prepare, made with cucumber, carrots, tuna, avocado, and navy beans all combined in a sweet and spicy vinaigrette.
You can also personalize this healthy salad by adding some of your favourite ingredients, such as red peppers, green or black olives, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, or fresh Bufala mozzarella!
The weather here in Sardinia has been hitting record highs and with the hot weather comes the innate desire for fresher and lighter meals. This twist on a traditional garden salad is light yet filling, and made with simple, fresh ingredients, most of which you probably already have stocked in your fridge and pantry.
This salad might be simple but it’s packed with textures and flavours, from crunchy cucumbers and carrots and creamy avocado and navy beans, seasoned with spicy Dijon mustard, sweet honey, and tart balsamic vinegar.
It honestly looks really good. It makes me want to have this for tomorrow.
This looks really good. I was sold at avocado. I’m sure we’ll be eating more salads as it heats up around here.
We’ve been using a lot more avocado in our cooking lately, it’s such a great flavor and the creaminess lets you avoid things like mayonnaise for a much healthier dish.
I rarely use mayo! I even make tuna or egg salad with mashed avocados instead of mayo…and I find it tastes so much better!
That salad look amazing! I’m usually a ranch only type of girl but that vinaigrette look great!!
You might like this because the Dijon gives it a creamy consistency!
The avocado looks nutty and delicious! I love my salad without any kind of dressing so the the veggies alone would be fine with me.
Really? I always have to something…it’s usually just some good quality extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt!
That looks so good! I love salads, especially this time of year and it’s always fun to try something new!
That looks really tasty. I really love alvacados so this would go over well with me. =)
This looks so delicious. It would be great for my BBQ i am having this weekend. I will have to try this.
Thank you Ann!
Sounds great to me! I don’t eat avocado much. I’ve tried it a few times but am willing to try it in other recipes. This looks so good!
I think avocado is a great addition to salads because it adds a creamy texture. If you don’t like the flavour alone it is very subtle in the salad since the dressing is very flavourful.
I think I can handle all of the ingredients except for the spicy Dijon mustard. I’d have to use the regular. Otherwise, it looks great!
Just mentioned to someone else on the thread…you could omit it altogether or reduce the amount.
This is the perfect summer salad, I’m making this this week.
I love fresh salads during summer too! Your photo made me want some avocados right now. 🙂
Marie
http://amittenfullofsavings.com
I love everything in your salad except the dijon.you can tell i’m not a big on it.
You could definitely omit it although it does great flavour…just a hint might be nice!
This is so my husband’s type of food. He loves salads and always asks me to try new ones. Maybe it’s time to do just that. 🙂
Now that summer is on the way I’m always looking for new salad recipes to try out. Thanks for sharing yours, I’ve never seen this combo in a salad before.
Good to know it’s somewhat original 😉
Oh my goodness, this is my favorite salad! My mom would throw together something eerily similar to this, and man it is SO GOOD.
Really?! Are you Italian by chance? lol!
Hmmm I’m not sure I would like this. Never had beans in a salad (except taco salad) and the honey + Dijon + vinaigrette just doesn’t seem like it goes together to me. Has it been a hit? It seems healthy and easy enough for me to bring to functions though!
It’s worth a try…the vinaigrette is really delicious because it has a balance of different flavours (tangy, sweet, creamy). We love it!
I might have to! We are running out of lunch and dinner ideas for the summer!
Sounds like a really delicious salad to try out! I love the combination of dijon with honey!
One of my faves! I actually learned about this type of vinaigrette (with the Dijon) from a friend in France.
I’m not a fan of salads but this one really looked tasty with those sunny colors. Here in Manila, the hot weather is too much to handle. I love how the salad is mixed with creamy avocado–quite hearty!
I’d like to think this one is unique enough (and hearty enough) that it surpasses the idea of regular salad 😉
Looks like a very interesting salad. 🙂 I’ve never tried a salad without lettuce and spinach so it’d be interesting to try something new!
Really? most of my salads DON’T have lettuce in them! lol!
Yum, that looks like such a rich salad. I’d definitely add a lot of peppers and tomatoes!
I’m not a huge fan of raw peppers but if they’re sliced really thinly I can handle them…they would add great flavour in this for sure!
What an amazing looking salad, the ingredients are insanely healthy! This is something for those who are looking for a nice and delicious recipe in their diets.
It is packed with omega 3 fatty acids and protein…many more nutrients than you would find in a traditional lettuce-based salad 😉
Those ingredients for the salad looks yummy! I would love that salad dressing too.
I’m always looking for new and different salads to serve. Especially with summer coming. This looks so good! and easy! Will try.
The dressing sounds awesome and the salad looks so good! My husband would love the tuna. I love a good vinaigrette!
I love tuna and almost always add it to salads!
Wow! We love salads, but ours are usually very boring. I can’t wait to give this a try.
It’s nice to switch up from time to time…I was acutally thinking of posting a superfood salad recipe made spinach leaves, goji berries, etc. Would be a recipe you’d be interested seeing?
My salads generally consist of lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers, but that dressing sounds like it would rock them.
This looks amazing, and perfect for summer too. I wish I could have a lesson!
Monica, the lesson is the RECIPE, lol! You should try it…at least this one! It’s so easy!! 😉