Vegan Honeydew Avocado Cucumber Crudo
This Vegan Honeydew Avocado Cucumber Crudo is made with raw honeydew, avocado and cucumber and then tossed in a slightly spicy caper, olive oil, red pepper, cilantro and lime dressing then garnished with fresh mint leaves for the best, healthy side salad!
What Is Crudo?
Traditionally crudo includes fish, shellfish, or beef, and is defined as an Italian raw dish topped with olive oil, fresh herbs, and a splash of citrus. In this Vegan Honeydew Avocado Cucumber Crudo I’m letting the produce shine and what a gorgeous salad this is indeed!
How To Make This Crudo
There are two methods to making this gorgeous salad. You can simply chop the honeydew melon, avocado, and cucumber into 1-2″ chunks OR you can get fancy schmancy and ball the melon and curl the cucumber into ribbons like I did 😉
If you’re taking the simple route, and there is nothing wrong with simple here, you’ll add the melon, avocado, and cucumber to a large bowl and then toss with the dressing, season to taste, and garnish with fresh mint leaves right before serving.
If you’re feeling spunky and want to beautify this crudo salad, grab your melon baller and ball 1/2 of a large honeydew and add the balls to a large bowl. I still cut the avocado into chunks- add it to the bowl. Gently toss with half of the dressing. To make the cucumber ribbons, take your vegetable peeler and peel thin slices of cucumber. Spoon the honeydew and avocado onto a serving plate or shallow bowl. To make the curls, you simply wrap the cucumber slices around your fingers to make the ribbon shape. There’s a video on Instagram on how I did this. Then place the curled cucumber slices on top, and spoon the remaining half of dressing over the salad. Squeeze the juice from the other half of lime over top and garnish with fresh mint leaves and a sprinkle of salt.
The Dressing
The dressing comes together quickly and is made with olive oil, garlic, ginger, capers, red pepper flakes, white wine vinegar, lime juice, cilantro and salt. I added capers to the salad dressing to bring a touch of umami (a savory, almost “fishy” flavor) that you would experience when eating traditional crudo. I also use capers in my Vegan Caesar Dressing to enhance the flavor to make it more “authentic”.
To start, you’ll simply heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. I used La Tourangelle Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, capers, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the capers start to soften and the garlic starts to turn slightly golden. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl. Let it cool slightly, then add the white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro, and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cut the lime in half; squeeze in juice from 1 half and whisk to combine. Season the dressing with salt to taste. Set the dressing aside while you prepare the veggies.
And that’s it! It’s such a simple, beautiful salad to accompany your main meal or to eat on its own 🙂 I’d love to hear how like this Vegan Honeydew Avocado Cucumber Crudo down below in the comments section, as well as giving it a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so that others can discover this unique salad recipe! Tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest if you make it!
Vegan Honeydew Avocado Cucumber Crudo
This Vegan Honeydew Avocado Cucumber Crudo is made with raw honeydew, avocado and cucumber and then tossed in a slightly spicy caper, olive oil, red pepper, cilantro and lime dressing then garnished with fresh mint leaves for the best, healthy side salad!
Ingredients
- 1/2 large honeydew melon
- 2 large avocados
- 1 large cucumber
- handful of fresh mint leaves
Dressing
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 garlic clove, minced (or 1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 3 tablespoons capers
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced and divided
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, capers, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the capers start to soften and the garlic starts to turn slightly golden. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl. Let it cool slightly, then add the white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro, and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cut the lime in half; squeeze in juice from 1 half and whisk to combine. Season the dressing with salt to taste. Set the dressing aside while you prepare the veggies.
- Simple Method: Cut the melon, avocado and cucumber into chunks and add them to a large bowl.
Decorative Method: Use a melon baller and scoop balls of the honeydew. Add the balls into a large bowl. Next, cut the avocado into chunks and add it to the bowl with the melon. Make cucumber "ribbons" as seen in the photos by using a vegetable peeler and peeling thin slices of the cucumber to create the thin ribbon-like strips. If using the ribbon method, set the cucumber aside and garnish the salad after the rest is already plated. - Add 1/2 of the dressing to the bowl with the melon and avocado and gently toss to coat.
- Transfer salad to a platter or shallow bowl and gently curl the cucumbers into ribbons and place on the salad. Squeeze juice from remaining lime half over and top the salad with the remaining half of the dressing. Garnish the salad with fresh mint leaves and a sprinkle of salt.
Notes
*The salad is best enjoyed fresh, but may be stored in an airtight container and enjoyed the next day.
**I used La Tourangelle Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil in this recipe.
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