Sweet ripe mango, creamy avocado and crisp baby romaine make a generous salad with quick pickled red onions and jalapeño lime vinaigrette. The onions bring tang and crunch, while the dressing coats the greens with fresh lime and a little pepper heat. On Full GAPS, serve this raw-fruit salad as a snack between meals once its ingredients have been introduced and tolerated.
Have the quick pickled red onions and jalapeño lime vinaigrette ready before you cut the avocados. The onions need a full hour in the refrigerator. The salad card’s estimated 15 minutes covers preparing the fruit and greens and assembling the salad with those two components already made.
What You Need for the Salad
Use 8 cups baby romaine, 4 ripe mangoes and 4 ripe avocados, along with one complete batch of quick pickled red onions, drained, and one complete batch of jalapeño lime vinaigrette. This makes a large bowl or platter for six to eight snack portions.
Choose mangoes that yield slightly to gentle pressure and have flesh that cuts easily into bite-size pieces. An avocado should yield gently too, without feeling collapsed or mushy. You want slices that will hold their shape while you turn them through the salad.
Wash and dry the romaine well. Water left on the leaves will dilute the dressing and collect at the bottom of the bowl. A salad spinner is useful if you have one; a clean kitchen towel also works for drying the leaves.
How to Assemble Avocado Mango Salad
- Prepare the greens. Wash the baby romaine, drain it and dry the leaves. Tear any large leaves into bite-size pieces, then measure eight cups and place them in a large bowl or spread them on a large platter.
- Cut the mangoes. Wash the mangoes. Cut the flesh away from the flat pit, remove the peel and cut the flesh into bite-size pieces. Add all four mangoes to the romaine.
- Slice the avocados. Wash the avocados, cut around each pit, and separate the halves. Remove the pits carefully, scoop out the flesh with a spoon and cut it into slices. Add the slices just before dressing the salad.
- Add the onions. Lift the full batch of prepared quick pickled red onions out of their liquid with a slotted spoon or fork. Let excess liquid drain back into the container, then scatter the onions over the fruit and greens.
- Dress and serve. Stir or shake the prepared jalapeño lime vinaigrette, pour the full batch over the salad, and gently turn the ingredients with salad servers until coated. Keep the avocado slices as intact as you can. Serve immediately.
What to Look for When You Toss It
The leaves should look lightly coated, with mango pieces, avocado slices and onion distributed through the salad. Turn the ingredients from underneath instead of pressing down on them. If a little dressing gathers at the bottom, bring it up through the greens with another gentle turn.
Drain the onions before adding them. Their pickling liquid is separate from the vinaigrette; leaving that liquid behind keeps the finished salad from becoming watery. The dressing has its own lime juice and oil already measured into it.
Where This Fits on Full GAPS
Raw fruit is introduced gradually after digestive symptoms have settled and is eaten as a snack between meals on Full GAPS. This salad contains raw mango, so plan it for that fruit-snack window. Wait until the raw greens, onion, avocado, mango and the dressing ingredients are tolerated. It is not an early Intro recipe.
The vinaigrette contains jalapeño, which belongs to the nightshade family. This salad is unsuitable while you are avoiding nightshades. Pepper heat varies, even with the seeds removed, so taste a small amount of the prepared dressing before deciding whether this is a suitable salad for you.
The onions are a quick vinegar pickle. Their one-hour rest does not turn them into fermented vegetables. You can find more help with the wider progression in the GAPS food list and stage guide.
Plan the Preparation Around Serving
If you are starting from scratch, make the onions first and allow their one-hour refrigerator rest. Prepare the dressing and wash the greens while they chill. Cut the mangoes and avocados near serving time, then drain the onions, assemble, dress and serve.
The 15-minute time in this salad card starts with the onions and dressing ready. Their preparation and the onion’s one-hour rest are additional lead time. Follow each linked component recipe for its own measurements, method and handling.
Keep prepared components and undressed ingredients covered in the refrigerator until you need them. This salad is best assembled just before eating, while the leaves are crisp and the avocado slices are freshly cut. Refrigerate any leftovers promptly and plan to use them the same day; the dressed leaves will soften as they stand.
Recommended Equipment
Have a large salad bowl or platter, a sharp knife, a steady cutting board, measuring cups, a spoon for scooping the avocados, a slotted spoon or fork for draining the onions, and salad servers ready. Use a salad spinner or clean kitchen towel to dry the greens. The blender work belongs to the prepared vinaigrette recipe.
Avocado Mango Salad Questions
Does the onion liquid go into the salad?
No. Add the drained onions and the complete batch of prepared vinaigrette. Leave the remaining pickling liquid in its container.
Can I prepare it ahead?
Prepare the linked onions and dressing first and keep them refrigerated as directed. Wash and dry the greens ahead, then cut the fruit, combine and dress close to serving. The finished dressed salad is intended for immediate serving.
How does the 2× setting change the yield?
This recipe makes six to eight snack portions. At 2×, use 16 cups romaine, eight mangoes, eight avocados, two batches of drained onions and two batches of vinaigrette. That makes about 12 to 16 portions.
More Fresh Snack Ideas
Keep the quick pickled onions and jalapeño lime vinaigrette recipes handy for their separate preparation steps. For more ideas that do not need an oven, watch for the planned No-Bake Snacks Cookbook. Find current resources and upcoming releases in the WFLI shop.
Avocado Mango Salad With Pickled Onions For Full GAPS
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Start with the complete quick pickled onions and jalapeño lime vinaigrette already prepared. Wash and dry the baby romaine. Tear large leaves into bite-size pieces, then measure the amount listed in the ingredients and place in a large salad bowl or on a large platter.
- Wash the mangoes. Cut the flesh away from the flat pit, remove the peel and cut into bite-size pieces. Add the prepared mango to the romaine.
- Wash the avocados. Cut around each pit and separate the halves. Remove the pits carefully, scoop out the flesh with a spoon and cut into slices. Add the slices near serving time.
- Lift the prepared quick pickled red onions from their liquid with a slotted spoon or fork. Let excess liquid drain back into the container, then scatter the measured onion batch or batches over the fruit and greens. Do not add the remaining onion liquid.
- Stir or shake the prepared jalapeño lime vinaigrette and pour the measured batch or batches over the salad. Gently turn the ingredients with salad servers until coated, keeping the avocado slices intact. Serve immediately.
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