This Brazilian hearts of palm salad is irresistibly good...and ridiculously easy to make. What I love about this dish is how a couple of cans of artichoke hearts and hearts of palm can transform a simple summer salad into an exotic tropical side dish. The creamy lemon-mustard-garlic dressing brings it all together for a colorful substantial salad that goes with everything and is easily doubled or tripled to feed a crowd.
Do you ever find yourself digging to the bottom of the salad bowl to get all the good stuff? The chunks of avocado, cucumber or tomato that have sunk down under all the lettuce leaves?
This hearts of palm salad is all that good stuff, all the favorites: hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, cucumbers, avocado and cherry tomatoes, bathed in a delicious mustardy vinaigrette. This is the dish you want at every picnic, barbecue or cookout.
Maybe you're wondering 'what in the world are hearts of palm?' They are a curious ingredient with lots of mystery and intrigue so here's the scoop.
WHAT ARE HEARTS OF PALM?
- Hearts of palm are the tender inner section of a baby palm tree trunk or stem
- They're vegetables that many consider to be a gourmet delicacy.
- In the past hearts of palm production was endangering the Brazil icara palm tree population but now the hearts are harvested from quicker-growing, non-endangered palm trees.
- Hearts of palm can be eaten raw but they don't keep for very long when fresh, so the majority are sold in cans or jars, preserved in brine
- Hearts of palm have a delicate flavor and texture similar to canned artichoke hearts or canned asparagus
- They add an exotic and tropical twist to salads. You'll find similar chopped vegetable salads with hearts of palm throughout Latin America, especially in Brazil, Costa Rica and Ecuador, where hearts of palm are grown..
HOW TO MAKE THIS HEARTS OF PALM SALAD
To start, whisk up the dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper.
Next, open the cans of artichoke hearts and hearts of palm. Drain out the liquid and slice the hearts of palm into discs. Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters and remove any tough outer leaves.
Peel, halve, and scrape out the seeds of two hothouse cucumbers. Slice them into moons. Slice the avocado and immediately toss it with dressing to prevent it from turning brown.
Halve the cherry tomatoes and add them to the mix.
Toss everything with dressing. That's it!
I make this salad all year long, but especially in the summer when cherry tomatoes are at their best.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH HEARTS OF PALM SALAD
As I mentioned, this salad goes with everything, especially anything grilled. And here are some of my recent favorite dishes to serve with hearts of palm salad on the side:
- Spanish arroz con pollo (chicken and rice casserole)
- Grilled Chicken Sliders
- Korean BBQ Burgers
- Grilled Aleppo Pepper Chicken Thighs
Here's the recipe for Hearts of Palm Salad with Artichokes, Cucumber, Tomato and Avocado. If you try this recipe I hope you will come back to leave a comment and a star rating. I'd love to know what you think.
PrintRecipe
Hearts of Palm Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Cucumber, Tomato, Avocado
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 10-12 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A colorful festive salad that's easy to throw together and perfect for casual entertaining.
Ingredients
- Dressing Ingredients:
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 large garlic clove, pressed or finely minced (2 teaspoons)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Salad Ingredients:
- 2 hothouse cucumbers
- 1 pint of ripe sweet cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 14-ounce cans whole artichoke hearts in water, not oil (if you can't find whole artichoke hearts, quartered artichoke hearts are fine, too)
- 2 14-ounce cans whole hearts of palm
- 2 ripe but firm avocados
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Make The Dressing: Whisk all the ingredients vigorously until they're emulsified. Set aside.
- Cut the cucumbers into half moons: Peel the cucumbers. Slice them in half lengthwise. Using a small spoon, scrape out the seeds that run down the middle of each half. Then make ⅓-inch cuts crosswise, which will give you little cucumber half moons.
- Quarter the Artichoke Hearts: Pull off any tough leaves from the outside of the artichoke hearts. Then slice each heart into quarters, lengthwise.
- Cut the hearts of palm crosswise, into ⅓-inch rounds
- Halve the cherry tomatoes
- Cut The Avocados: Cut the avocados last, right before you toss the the salad with dressing, to make sure they don't discolor. Cut them into bite-sized cubes or slices. If you want a nifty way to slice avocados, check out the photos in my guacamole recipe post.
- Toss all the ingredients together with the dressing, in a large bowl. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve cold or at room temperature.
- NOTE: This recipe can be easily halved.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: no cook
- Cuisine: Brazilian
[This post first appeared on Panning The Globe in March 2017. It was updated in May 2019 with added nutritional information and more details added to the written post]
Anna
This is delicious! I love hearts of palm and artichokes so was excited to try this. I don’t like cucumber so I omitted it but it was still really tasty. My husband is picky about artichokes but he also liked it! Very lovely and fresh taste. Thanks!
Lisa
Hi Anna - I'm so glad you enjoyed the salad. Also great to know that it works well even without cucumbers. Thank you for circling back to leave a review.
Joyce
Don't get the excessive amount of mustard called for. Spouse suggested we cut the amount of mustard way back but I foolishly decided to make as instructed which unfortunately resulting in ruining the salad. Ours sadly went to compost bin.
Lisa
Oh no - I'm so sorry you felt there was too much mustard. I wonder if different types of Dijon are more overpowering than others. I really appreciate your candid feedback. I'm going to make this salad again today and see if it needs an adjustment. Again, I'm very sorry the recipe didn't work out for you.
Lisa
Hi Joyce - I retested the recipe today and I found the mustard overpowering. I've made the correction. Again, I really appreciate your feedback. It's important to revisit my old recipes from time to time and retest them and make any necessary tweaks. I love when my followers give me candid reviews so I can see where there may be an issue. I hope you will try the recipe again with less Dijon.
Cynthia Martinez
While I love this salad idea and all of its great ingredients, I found the dressing to be a bit on the bitter side and would have liked it to be slightly sweeter. Perhaps adding a bit of honey and less lemon would have done the trick? Not sure, I’ll play around with it next time! All in all the family of 6 loved it
Lisa
Hi Cynthia, Thank you for your feedback. There's a good amount of Dijon mustard in this recipe. Mustard does have a bitterness about it. I happen to love that bitterness but it's not for everyone. If you're not a fan of a strong mustard flavor, I suggest using less dijon. That might just do the trick. Anyhow, I'm very glad to hear that you all still loved it and that you're up for making it again!
Mary Schultz
I did not have avocado one time so used celery and it was delicious either way! Thank you for a great recipe
Lisa
Hi Mary - I'm glad you enjoyed the salad, and I'm also glad to know it works with celery in case I'm every out of avocados. Thanks so much for your note!
Heather
Really flavorful and simple! To make this more of a meal, I always toss in some couscous and highly recommend it!
Lourdes sliwa
Love love love it . … The way it is. My only question is : is it possible to pre-‘make it and refrigerate for a day or 2? Has anyone tried this ?
Lisa
I'm so glad you love it! You can slice the artichoke hearts and hearts of palm and mix them with the dressing a couple of days ahead but I recommend adding the cucumbers, tomatoes and avocados just before serving, to keep them fresh and crunchy and prevent the avocados from discoloring. I've refrigerated this salad when I've had leftovers and it's delicious for several days but just not quite as crisp and bright as it is the day you make it.
Donna Shears Alcee
How many servings does this make?
Lisa
10 to 12 servings.
Patricia
I was excited to try this salad; I’ve never eaten hearts of palm or artichokes. I struggled with the mustard flavor, so I added some more olive oil and key lime juice.
Overall, it was a huge hit! My husband practically ate the entire thing. I’ll be making it again soon.
Diana
Everything about this salad looks amazing! I will be making this tonight but am wondering how long it keeps in the fridge? Thinking about taking some leftovers but worry it might not hold well.
Lisa
It keeps well in the fridge overnight - the cucumbers are not quite as crunchy but it's still good. I hope you enjoy!!
Erika
This salad is our go to! It’s so versatile, we add fresh spinach to it, sometimes we do without the artichokes...the dressing is da’ bomb!! ????
Lisa
I'm so glad you like it! I like the idea of adding spinach.
Gwen
This salad, will be my 4th of July salad. I did not have fresh lemon, so I used grapefruit juice and decided to use the rest of the grapefruit in it. This salad was easy to make and delicious!
Gwen Planteen
I made this because, I purchased a can of Hearts Of Palm, I had never tried this food before. I used grapefruit juice instead of lemon and used the whole grapefruit also. I will make this again. I am excited to try this in the summer. I will use fresh vegetables from the garden. Thanks so much for sharing this terrific recipe.
Jennifer Moe
You didn't find it to be too mustardy?
Tori
So delicious! Made it for a family party and everyone commented on how refreshing and delicious it is. It’s my absolute go to. Honestly one of my favorite things I’ve ever made 🙂
Lisa
Hi Tori. I'm so happy to hear this. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Dominique Ranieri
I make this salad almost every week. So delicious and healthy, yet filling.
Lisa
I'm so glad to hear it! Thanks so much for letting us know.
Lydia
Great dish! Easy to prep, and we loved the dressing. Unfortunately, we had no avocado...But it was still delicious! Would definitely use an avocado another time.
Lisa
Yay! That's great to hear!!
Elizabeth R. Straight
I love this! So fresh. So filling and so delicious! Sometimes I add capers and olives.