Avocado Salad Dressing

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Chef Abbie Gellman RD

My Avocado Salad Dressing is a delicious reason to eat some greens!  It whips together in minutes and pairs with so many meals.  Serve it with your favorite greens, a grain bowl, pita or as a vegetable dip.

Avocado

I love avocados! If you scroll through my website you will notice MANY avocado recipes that highlight how diverse and delicious they are.  Two of my biggest crowd pleasers are the Avocado Green Goddess Dressing and Avocado Sauce.

Avocados are the original plant-based butter and offer amazing health benefits and are nutrient dense.  Avocados are full of healthy fats, fiber and over 20 vitamins and minerals.1  If you want to learn more about  their health benefits, click on the recipe links above.  For all their deliciousness, the avocado’s edible flesh hides behind a deceiving skin, which makes it challenging to select, store and ripen.

Thanks to the Haas Avocado board, there is Love One Today®­––my trusty source for evidence-based info on avocados! Keep reading below as I share some of the tips I have learned and also check out their website www.loveonetoday.com/.

Picking An Avocado 2

Avocados ripen or soften after they have been harvested from the tree.  The key indicators for ripeness are color and feel.  Start by checking the outside color of the skin, a darker color usually indicates a riper avocado.  The feel, in my opinion is the main indicator, that’s why we gently squeeze to assess the ripeness.

If the avocado is hard and has no give when gently squeezed it will most likely have a bright green color.  It will take about 4-5 days for a firm avocado to ripen at room temperature.

Avocados that are slightly more ripe are considered “breaking.” When you gently squeeze, they will not be hard or soft and typically have a mix of bright green and darker colors.  These avocadoes will ripen in  about 1-2 days at room temperature.

The perfect, ready to eat avocado will feel slightly soft, but not mushy like banana.  Ripe fruit should be enjoyed the same day, or else stored in the refrigerator to avoid spoilage.

Cutting an avocado to find a brown, mushy mess is so sad.  Signs of an overripe fruit include––dented outer skin, no firmness, and when cut has a brownish color and rancid smell.  If any of these indicators are noticed, I recommend not eating the avocado.

Ripen Quicker!2

It’s frustrating when you go to the grocer and all the avocados are rock hard! And it’s hard to be patient when you are so excited to make my Avocado Salad Dressing.  Thankfully, there is a trick to speeding up the ripening process––place the avocado in a brown paper bag with an apple or banana.

How does this work? Apples and banana release a gas called ethylene which encourages the ripening process. By placing in a brown bag with the avocado the gas is trapped and the avocado will ripen 1-2 days quicker!

Preserving Leftover Avocado2

Once the avocado is cut in half, it is exposed to oxygen leading to the avocado browning and quickly deteriorating into something less than palatable.  To store a leftover avocado half add an acid like lemon or lime juice.

Next, limit the exposed surface area by covering with clear plastic wrap and placing in a sealed container and place in the refrigerator.  When storing, make sure to leave the pit in the avocado.  Pending the ripeness of the avocado, the leftovers can be stored for up to 3 days!

To store my Avocado Salad Dressing place in a resealable container and cover the surface with clear plastic wrap before placing the lid on.  The dressing is best when enjoyed the same day it is made, but by following these tricks you can avoid food waste!

Let’s Get Blending!

This simple Avocado Salad Dressing combines the creamy fat of an avocado, with the smooth and tart flavor of buttermilk.  In replace of the buttermilk feel free to use ¾ cup of yogurt and ¼ cup of water.  The addition of the basil and parsley is not be missed! They both have a fresh, slightly floral flavor that brightens up the dressing.

Like anything made with avocado, my Avocado Salad Dressing is best made in the blender or food processor right before serving.  If you follow the storage techniques mentioned before you can store the dressing for up to 2 days.

My favorite way to serve this dressing is in a burrito bowl––romaine lettuce, black beans, tomato, red onion and chicken.  It’s also great with kale, spinach and any combinations of greens and chopped vegetables. Enjoy!

Similar Pages

Looking for more delicious reasons to eat a salad? Try my Crunchy Romaine Salad with Yogurt Dressing, Tomato Corn Salad & Miso Dressing or Lemon Tahini Dressing with Roasted Broccoli.

References

  1. Dreher ML, Davenport AJ. Hass Avocado Composition and Potential Health Effects. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2013;53(7):738-750. doi:10.1080/10408398.2011.556759
  2. Avocado Nutritional Information – Health Benefits of Avocado. Love One Today®. Accessed July 27, 2020. https://loveonetoday.com/
Avocado salad dressing

Avocado Salad Dressing

4.50 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Keyword: avocado, dip, dressing
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup parsley
  • ¼ cup basil
  • 1 clove garlic peeled
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 ripe avocado pitted, peeled, and chopped into chunks

Instructions

  • In a blender or food processor, add buttermilk, parsley, basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and avocado. Process until smooth consistency.
  • Serve on top of salads, grains, vegetables, meat, fish, or poultry.

Video

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