14 Amazing Avocado Recipes
Avocado has gotten its fair share of hype in recent years — which it owes largely to the delicious innovation that is smashing it on toast. While we love our basic avocado toast (with lemon juice and chile flakes), there are so many incredible dishes that include the creamy, delicious fruit. From upgraded avocado toasts topped with extras like strawberries and burrata to unforgettable salads, you could easily — and happily — consume avocado every single day for two weeks, especially when you stock up any that haven't ripened. Avocado brings extra flavor and texture to basically anything you eat. So head to the grocery store for the green guys. Once you have avocado hollandaise (or avocado chimichurri, for that matter), you'll never look back. — Morgan Goldberg
Avocado and Shrimp Salad with Red Goddess Dressing
This fresh, summery salad is satisfying and delicious. We love the combination of creamy avocado and lean shrimp. Chef Jonathan Waxman makes his tangy goddess dressing red instead of the classic green, using red bell peppers for color and flavor. Once you try it, you'll never go back to green.
Dry-Rubbed Salmon Tacos with Tomatillo-Avocado Slaw
For maximum flavor in minimal time, chef Jeff Smith opts for spice rubs over marinades. After experimenting with spice blends for heartier fish, he discovered that a big pinch of ground coffee lends earthiness to the rub. The slaw, made with tomatillos, cilantro, jalape?o, garlic, sour cream, and avocado, is the perfect topper.
Avocado Burgers with Chile and Queso Fresco
There is nothing quite like a nicely seasoned, perfectly cooked, beautifully topped burger. This terrific one is sprinkled with a spice mix halfway through grilling; if you mix it in before cooking, the meat will get tough. Garnishes of crema and avocado add rich creaminess that pushes this burger over the top.
Tuna Ceviche with Avocado and Cilantro
We fell hard for chef Rick Bayless' salpimentado (salt-and-pepper) ceviche from the southern tip of Baja California in Mexico. From his menu at Chicago's Frontera Grill, it has an unmatched clarity of flavor because the short marinating time preserves the tuna's fresh taste. With just seven ingredients, the avocado is a major textural and flavor component.
Chipotle-Marinated Flatiron Steak with Avocado-Corn Relish
The flatiron steak, aka the top blade steak, is a marbled cut of beef from the shoulder. Uniform in thickness and rectangular in shape (just like an old-fashioned iron), it's easy to butterfly for quick cooking on the grill. Here, the meat gets flavor from a bold, Southwestern-style marinade made with smoky chipotles and fresh orange juice. It's served with fresh avocado and corn relish.
Scrambled Egg and Avocado Breakfast Sandwiches
This simple and satisfying breakfast sandwich recipe calls for using American cheese, but it's equally as delicious with Gruyère or sharp cheddar. Pretty much any cheese goes well with avocado. Feel free to use your favorite toast if you don't have English muffins. A dash of vinegary hot sauce is a great addition here.
Avocado Chimichurri
Inspired by chimichurri, a classic Argentinean herb sauce for grilled meats, this chunky avocado salsa is seasoned with lots of parsley and oregano. Like a classic chimichurri, this avocado mixture would be incredible on top of skirt steak. We would also be very happy eating it on a grilled chicken sandwich.
Avocado Hollandaise
Luscious, rich, and lemony hollandaise gets completely re-imagined here as a light, supremely creamy puree of avocado, lemon juice, and olive oil. If you thought you loved eggs Benedict before, prepare yourself to be completely overwhelmed and enamored by this clever variation.
Bacon Fried Rice with Avocado and Fried Eggs
Chef Ed Kenney uses both white and brown rices in this terrific bacon-studded, avocado-filled dish that he served at his casual Honolulu restaurant. "In Hawaii, we call it hapa rice; it's more interesting and flavorful than plain white rice," he says. "In Hawaiian, hapa means 'partial' and is often used as a term of endearment to describe people of mixed ethnic backgrounds."
Pink Grapefruit and Avocado Salad
This pretty salad from Alice Waters, the iconic chef-owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, is best in the winter, when grapefruit is at its prime. The acidity of the citrus goes well with the creaminess of avocado. We love this salad for a refreshing breakfast, light snack, or even dessert.
Grilled Strawberry-Avocado Toasts with Burrata
These hulking avocado toasts with fresh strawberries and creamy burrata are a great early summer lunch or, cut into thick slices, a crowd-pleasing appetizer. But we could truly eat this sumptuous dish any time of the day and in large quantities. Be sure to use a quality balsamic vinegar here.
Crab and Avocado Toasts
Chef Gerard Craft grew up in Washington, D.C., eating lots of Maryland blue crab. Here, he creates a very simple and delicious starter by tossing sweet crabmeat with fresh mint and lime juice, then spooning it over mashed avocado on toast. You can make the toasts or buy store-bought ones to save time.
Scallop Rosettes with Avocado and Creamed Tandoori Chayote
For this delicious recipe, chef Daniel Boulud quickly cooks scallop slices, then serves them with a rich, tangy avocado-tomatillo sauce and Indian-spiced hearts of palm (we substitute chayote, which is easier to find). This dish will seriously impress any and all dinner guests with its enticing combination of well-balanced flavors.
Shrimp Aguachile with Coconut and Avocado
Coconut water, celery, ginger, and chiles come together to flavor the base of this delicate aguachile, while pineapple, cucumber, and avocado garnishes help cool it down. Chef Claudette Zepeda makes homemade coconut chips by shaving and toasting fresh coconut, but we've substituted readily available store-bought coconut chips.
