Chunky Vegan Avocado Dressing

I’m a big olive oil guy, but occasionally I want more on my salad— something creamy and deeply flavorful that can turn an average salad into a salad you’d want to repeat again, and again.

I’ve come up with a vegan avocado dressing that is creamy, zesty, and just a tad bit spicy, though you can definitely skip the chili pepper if you’re not a spicy person. But let me confess it adds a unique flair to the dressing!

👍🏻 Why This Recipe Works

It’s quick and easy to make

Whenever I’m at home and planning to make a salad— it’s either because I’m too lazy to cook something else, or it’s just too hot to be eating a warm, hearty dish.

You know, it kinda sucks to be enjoying your food but gradually feel sweat dripping out the pores, haha. 

Also, as I’m writing this, I’m located in Thailand where the temperature is above 86ºF and the food I’m eating is typically warm and a bit spicy (extremely spicy, for my wife).

You may ask, but Alex, why don’t you just order a salad?

Well, the doc suggested I should be careful with salads, smoothies, and anything else that doesn’t involve cooking foods above a certain temperature. The water here is not potable, you see.

Anyway, I can still wash my veggies at home but I’ve been using store-bought water, and that’s what I’ve done for this recipe and others whilst in Thailand.

To make this yum-azing vegan dressing you only need a few, easy-to-find ingredients, and literally 5-10 minutes of your time, so you can quickly prepare it after making your salad and just pour it on top after you’re done. It’s perfect if you don’t want to spend too long in the kitchen but still want your taste buds to thank you.

Say goodbye to boring salads

Not only is this dressing one that combines beautifully with so many different salads, but it’s also a dressing that can make a no-name salad a lot more exciting.

For instance, I made a simple chickpea salad to experiment with this dressing, and it turned out yummy! The salad had chickpeas, onions, carrots, yellow pepper, cherry tomatoes, olives, and parsley.

Aside from the cherry tomatoes and the olives, there wasn’t an ingredient that was exceptionally flavorful on its own, so the dressing made the entire salad shine.

I don’t know if this dressing would work with a very elaborate, fruity salad, but it seems to work beautifully with salads lacking intense flavors. In other words, perfect for a more bland salad!

🗒️ Ingredient Notes

Avocado: This wouldn’t be a dazzling avocado dressing without a perfectly ripe avocado that can be effortlessly sliced in two and separated from its skin by gently scooping out the flesh with a spoon.

Olive oil: Don’t use any other type of oil, apart from olive oil. If you want your avocado dressing to be velvety and rich, olive oil is an absolute must!

Lime: Needless to say but the powerful zesty flavor in this dressing comes from the lime. Some choose to use lemon, but I prefer the lime as it contrasts better with the spiciness of the chili pepper. It’s actually something they do a lot here in Thailand— which is to give you a lime if you order a spicy dish.

Red chili pepper: I use a small red chili pepper. I would stay away from extremely spicy varieties, otherwise, you might as well just eat a warm, spicy dish rather than a salad. I use a very mild chili pepper just to provide the dressing with hints of spiciness— nothing too overwhelming.

Fresh parsley: I was never a big fan of parsley when I was younger, but now that I’ve been cooking I have to say it’s such a magical ingredient. It brightens the presentation and flavor of this dressing, and it certainly contributes to the overall flavor of the recipe.

Salt & Black Pepper: Both the salt and the ground black pepper contribute to the flavor. You could potentially make do without them, but they add to the depth of the dressing.

👌🏻 Tips for Making This Dressing

Anyone can make this dressing as it’s not, particularly rocket science— you just put 5 different ingredients in a blender, and voilá, you’ve got your avocado dressing. It’s quick and easy!

However, it’s really important that you nail down these two things.

Choosing a ripe avocado

You don’t want to make anything with avocado if it’s not ripe. An unripe avocado will have no taste, which means it won’t play any role in a recipe apart from existing as a piece of blandness. It may actually make your dressing taste bad so you ought to avoid these!

I’m not an expert at picking ripe avocados, but typically, if an avocado yields to firm gentle pressure it’s ripe and ready to eat. It may occur that your avocado has brown spots but may not be completely rotten, and if that’s the case, you may need to cut out the brown parts.

If you want to learn how to choose a ripe avocado, there’s a pretty good article that covers this topic.

Be careful with the chili

The reason I’m telling you to be careful with the chili pepper is (1) don’t exaggerate and add more than one chili pepper (unless you’re making a way bigger portion) and (2) avoid extremely spicy chili peppers, as well as (3) take out the seeds from your chili pepper (as those are HOT).

Although I’m a fan of spicy food, there’s a level of spiciness that completely tarnishes the pleasure we can take from food— and I’ve felt that a couple of times here in Thailand! (Sorry, lovely Thai people)

Be sure to choose a normal, small red chili pepper, and be sure to remove the seeds if you don’t want your avocado dressing to be ultra spicy.

Chunky Vegan Avocado Dressing

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5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Alexandre Valente
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 2 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

With this vegan avocado dressing you can turn a boring no-name salad into an exciting, flavorful dish worth of being repeated week after week.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 small avocado
• 6 tbsps olive oil
• 1 lime juice
• 1 red chili pepper (sans seeds)
• 4 fresh parsley sprigs
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. In a food processor, add all the ingredients and mix them until you’re left with a creamy, light-green dressing.
2. Serve as dip or use it to dress your salad.

Notes

• If the dressing is too thick, feel free to add an extra tablespoon of olive oil. Alas, if it’s too runny, then add more avocado. I would add the avocado in pieces as you don’t want the dressing to get needlessly thick.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Salad Dressing, Sauce, Topping
• Cuisine: Mexico

🙏🏻 Before you go, I’ve got a favor to ask!

I’d love to get your feedback on this recipe! Feel free to leave a comment below detailing your experience— and let others know how you feel about it!

Of course, you can also ask any questions you may have about the recipe— and we’ll try to respond ASAP.