Avocado Dressing

5 from 2 votes

Use this versatile avocado dressing or avocado crema to add flavor and creaminess to tacos or bean and rice bowls. Or use it as a dip for vegetables, a salad dressing, or serve it over pasta or spiralized zucchini.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Salad Dressing

Cuisine: Tex-Mex

Keyword: gluten-free, vegan

Servings:

Calories: 29kcal

Author: Heather Reseck, RDN

Ingredients

1 large, ripe avocado
½ cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lime (or lemon) juice
1 Anaheim chile pepper, seeded and cut into large pieces
1 handful fresh cilantro, including stems
1 garlic clove, peeled or minced
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

Instructions

Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop out pulp and transfer to a blender.
Add water, lime juice, chile, cilantro, garlic, and salt. Process until smooth.
Add more water as needed for desired consistency.
Makes about 1½ cups. Keeps for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Notes

Variations:

Avocado Sauce or Avocado Crema: Reduce water to ¼ cup or desired consistency. Use instead of sour cream.
Avocado Dressing without Cilantro: Omit cilantro. Or Substitute 2 coarsely chopped green onions, parsley, spinach, arugula, or other greens.
Avocado Dip: Reduce water to make it a dipping consistency.
Avocado Spread: Reduce water. Add 2/3 cup cooked white beans.
Cucumber-Avocado Dressing: Substitute 1½ cups peeled chopped cucumber for chile pepper. Substitute a handful of fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill for cilantro. If desired, add 2 green onions.

Tip:

Cilantro stems have as much flavor as the leaves so they can be used in blended recipes such as this. This is also a good way to use bolting cilantro from the garden.

Meal Prep Tips:

Make extra since this avocado sauce keeps its color for up to a week, unlike guacamole which turns dark.
Put avocado dressing in a squeeze bottle and drizzle it on burrito bowls, tacos, salads, burrito bowls, and more.

Avocado Safety Tip:

Take care when removing the pit from the avocado. Place the avocado half on the counter and strike the pit with a sharp knife to remove the pit. Don't hold the avocado half in your hand for this step --this is a common cause of hand injuries.

Nutrition