Strawberry Mango Avocado Salad

5/19/14

A light and refreshing mix of sweet and tangy, creamy and crunchy, healthy and satisfying, perfect as a lunch or side dish, or add your favorite protein to make it a meal, spring and summer are the seasons for strawberries and this Strawberry Mango Avocado Salad with Pine Nuts & Goat Cheese.

Strawberry Mango Avocado Salad with Pine Nuts & Goat Cheese

Am I totally lame? I mean, I know most foodies love kitchen gadgets. But seriously, receiving a box of goodies from the awesome folks at OXO is like my Christmas morning. And not because I necessarily rip them out of the package and get ready to start prepping or cooking or baking. No, the first thing I do is look at them and consider the thought process behind the design of each tool. I start to use them, and think about how they made a previously frustrating task into something so quick and easy. And forget just thinking about it – when The Hubby got home, I was going on and on about how I was so intrigued by how they must identify and think about these annoyances and try to come up with ways to make them so much less annoying and so much more fun!

Some things are fairly straightforward, like the Salad Dressing Shaker. But it so perfect for me, since I had previously been using empty mustard squeeze bottles for making and pouring my homemade dressings, like my super favorite Creamy Greek Yogurt Maple Dijon Dressing. The Berry Bowl – smart, cute, but not flashy.

But the Mango Splitter. The Big Man Upstairs needs to have some serious discussions with the engineers and designers at OXO, because that mango he created has some serious design flaws. Luckily those guys compensated for these shortcomings with this awesome tool. I mean, other than gnawing on that crazy excuse for a “pit”, there is no way to avoid leaving behind so much of that sweet, sunny fruit. Well, unless you get your hands on this bad boy. You’ll never see me slurping mango remnants off of the pit again.

And the new Strawberry Huller is super cool! It takes out all the stuff you don’t want without removing or wasting the good parts of the strawberry. Then just push the little button, and it spits out the guts. Although one tip – if your strawberries have big leaves, rip them off firsts, and it doesn’t work as well if, you know, you receive an entire flat of Driscoll’s strawberries, and the last stragglers that have been in your fridge for a week are starting to get soft. This might be my new favorite little kitchen helper. The design is just brilliant!

And I am so excited to give you the opportunity to geek out like me with some of these awesome kitchen tools and tons of strawberries to play with. Keep reading for the details and entry form.

You can take the girl out of engineering, but you can’t take the engineer out of the girl.

Nor can you take away my ongoing obsession with salads topped with fruit, cheese, nuts, and a super-flavorful dressing…

Strawberry Mango Avocado Salad with Pine Nuts & Goat Cheese was just what I needed as the cold air that seemed to pervade the Northeast (and many other areas of the country), decided to say it’s final “good-bye”. The bright fruit colors just evoked thoughts of spring and summer, and the light, sweet and tart Creamy Greek Yogurt Honey Lemon Lime Dressing brought a little zing to freshen the rich creaminess of the goat cheese and avocado. And you know, I always need crunch, so pine nuts were a perfect choice, though I probably could have also gone with pecans. The Hubby wasn’t home for dinner the night I made this, but my little guys and I did a number on these four salads. I had just enough left for an al fresco lunch the next day.

And guess what – YOU have the opportunity to win everything you need to make this incredible salad and more with this OXO and Driscloll’s prize pack worth $350.

With a flat of Driscoll’s strawberries and a selection of OXO kitchen tools, there are so many recipes that you can create. And today you’ll find many more from all of these amazing bloggers:

a farm girl’s dabbles | Confessions of a Bright-Eyed Baker

Crepes of Wrath | Crunchy Creamy Sweet | Diethood

Eat Your Heart Out | Eats Well With Others | Food in Jars

Food n’ Focus | Hoosier Homemade | Never Enough Thyme

Rachel Cooks | Sweet Remedy | Very Culinary

Disclaimer: OXO and Driscoll’s provided the products and strawberries for me for create this recipe, and the prize pack for the giveaway. No additional compensation was received, and, as always, all opinions are my own. 

Do you have a favorite kitchen gadget?

Print Recipe

Strawberry Mango Avocado Salad

A light and refreshing mix of sweet and tangy, creamy and crunchy, healthy and satisfying make this a perfect spring or summer salad.

Course: Salad

Servings: 4 as a side, 2 as a main dish

Author: Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons pine nuts
• One 5-6 oz. bag of mixed baby greens spring greens, or your favorite salad mix
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• Half of a mango thinly sliced
• Half of an avocado thinly sliced
• 4 oz. goat cheese cut into about 8 slices
• Creamy Greek Yogurt Honey Lemon Lime Salad Dressing

Instructions

• Place the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium low heat and gently toast, tossing occasionally, until
• Divide the salad greens between 2-4 plates or bowls (depending on whether you are serving this salad as a main dish or a side dish).
• Divide the strawberry slices, mango slices, and avocado between the dishes. Top with the goat cheese and pine nuts. Drizzle with the Creamy Greek Yogurt Honey Lemon Lime Salad Dressing.

Enjoy!

Looking for more summery salads?

• Fruity Summer Shrimp Salad with Strawberry Lime Poppyseed Vinaigrette
• Grilled Steak & Mango Salad with Buttermilk Avocado Ranch Dressing
• Summer Fruit & Blue Cheese Salad with Strawberry Lime Poppyseed Vinaigrette

Plus here are a few from my friends…

•  Blood Orange & Avocado Salad from Sumptuous Spoonfuls
• Spinach Strawberry Champagne Salad from Flavor Mosaic
• Roasted Beet Salad with Blue Cheese and Pistachios from Healthy. Delicious.