Creamy Avocado Vinaigrette

This post was updated in January 2016.

At our Valentine’s Day dinner last week, the chef served us a starter salad that was incredible. A bed of roasted purple potatoes, topped with fresh arugula, shallots, shaved asparagus and toasted almonds all dressed in a creamy, tart avocado vinaigrette. It was so ridiculously good that my husband got halfway through his plate, glanced at his beer and said, “This salad is so delicious that I totally forgot to drink the beer.”

Salad trumping beer? It must be something special. Even more so, I thought I hated arugula but in this dish, it was absolutely perfect. Obviously, it was the work of a well-trained, talented chef. The layers of flavors and textures were complex and interesting. And if Babyface actually touched his beer, he would have known that it paired perfectly with the small pour of Upland Wheat we were served.

Basically, it was the god of salads.

Creamy Avocado Vinaigrette

I knew immediately I had to try my hand at recreating it. If it was possible to make me want to cram greens into my piehole, I had to harness that genius in my own kitchen. After some thought, I realized the real super star of the salad was the vinaigrette. While all the individual elements were amazing and came together in a beautiful veggie-rific symphony, the vinaigrette was what really set everything off.

I highly doubt I’ll ever pull together a salad of arugula, roasted purple potatoes and shaved asparagus, but I might be willing to spoon some of that vinaigrette on a standard mixture of greens and top it with some toasted almonds. And that I did. Dare I say, it was almost as good as the salad we were served?

Creamy Avocado Vinaigrette

The avocado in this dressing makes it so silky creamy that you’ll have a hard time believing there isn’t diary in it. Use good olive oil and fresh, bright lemon juice and you’ll have a new house dressing. This stuff now lives in a bottle (we like these bottles for homemade salad dressings) in our fridge.

On the nutritional front, it’s hard to think of a better salad dressing for you. Avocados are packed with healthy fats, fiber, and vitamin K. Avocado flesh also helps the body to absorb two key antioxidantsโ€”lycopene and beta-carotene. Want to make sure your body gets all the antioxidants it can from your garden salad? Just add some avocado or this dressing and your body will soak ’em right up.

The healthy fats in both the avocados and the olive oil helps the digestive tract to absorb nutrients, help keep inflammation down and help to lower the risk of heart disease. I bet your bottle of ranch dressing can’t say the same thing.

 
Creamy Avocado Vinaigrette

Creamy Avocado Vinaigrette

Yield: 1 cup dressing
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

This creamy avocado vinaigrette is healthy, delicious, and ready in less than five minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • Juice of one lemon (use a good citrus juicer, like this one)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, combine avocado, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Run processor until very smooth and creamy.
  2. With processor running on low, stream in olive oil through the chute until just combined.

Notes

Some people have said that this recipe is way too tart for their tastes. I've retested the recipe a few times and reworked it to make it a bit less tangy.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 222Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 39mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

 

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108 Comments

  1. I had a few avocados that needed to be used and decided to try this recipe. So glad I did! So simple and quick. I used my blender and used white balsamic vinegar and it turned out perfectly!

    1. That’s wonderful to hear, Heatherโ€”thank you! We’re so glad you liked it, and we’re grateful that you took the time to come back and tell us about it. =)

  2. Was throwing together a tossed salad and contemplated adding avocado, but decided against, knowing there would be leftovers and avocado doesnโ€™t hold up well in leftover salad. Came across this recipe and what a perfect solution! Used white wine vinegar in place of white vinegar. Would be helpful to have measurements for approximately how much avocado and lemon juice, as depending on the season and where one buys their produce, size can vary greatly. Thanks for the recipe – will definitely make again!

    1. Thanks for the feedback, Marni! We really appreciate you taking the time to tell us about your experience. We’re so glad the dressing was a hit!

  3. We made this recently and it is TO DIE FOR. We used it on a taco salad (romaine, taco-type veggies, avocado, spicy ground beef) and I honestly ate the same salad for 3 days straight because the vinaigrette was so amazing. One ingredient change: we used apple cider vinegar instead of white wine vinegar. That may be the trick for those who find this “too tart” – because apple cider vinegar is milder. But seriously – this is my new favourite vinaigrette. And the colour is just gorgeous. ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thanks, Karen! We’re so happy to hear that it was a hit. We really appreciate you taking the time to come back and tell us!

      1. Hi Shari! This vinaigrette will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container. We haven’t made big batches of this to stash in the freezer, but it should be fine in an airtight, freezer-safe container for a month or two. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out!