Here’s a generous selection of naturally vegan recipes for using avocado, including salads, appetizers, bowls, sandwiches and wraps, tortilla specialties, and more.
For true aficionados, splitting an avocado in half and scooping it out to eat plain with a spoon is enough to satisfy, but having a slew of recipes and ideas is always welcome.
How to choose avocados, and other tips
When you buy avocado, it should optimally be solid but not rock hard — as you never know how well it will ripen, or how long it will take. That said, if you’re not planning to use the avocados right away, go for firm ones and let ripen at home, on the counter. The skin of riper avocados turn a darker green.
Use avocados once they have a bit of give when you press with gentle pressure. If you’re planning to use them for dips, spreads, and guacamole, let then ripen a bit more.
Avocados are generally eaten raw (peeled, pit removed, of course); using them uncooked showcases their flavor and texture best. If you open an avocado and it’s all bruised and stringy inside, it’s time to toss it.
Ripen on the counter: Let avocados ripen until they have a bit of give when pressed. Then, use right away or refrigerate. If the plan is to make guacamole, another dip, sauce, or cold soup, let them ripen a bit more. You’ll need to use instinct on this, as just a bit too long and you’ll open them to find a bruised-looking mess inside.
The lemon tip: If your avocado is going to be exposed to air for a while before eating, a common tip is to toss the peeled, diced, sliced, or mashed avocado with a little lemon juice, which will prevent it from browning.
Avocado varieties & nutrients
Avocado varieties: The most common variety is Hass; that’s the one you’re most likely to see in your supermarket and natural foods store. Learn about different types of avocado varieties.
Organic, optional: Avocados always come at or near the top of Environmental Working Group’s Clean 15 ™ yearly list of produce — that is, the fruits and vegetables that are safest to eat even if not organic. That means they’re grown with minimal or no pesticide.
So if you don’t want to spend the bit of extra for organic avocados, you needn’t be as concerned as you would be with items like strawberries and apples, for example, which often appear at the top of the most pesticide-intensive produce.
Avocados are good for you: Avocados don’t just taste great, they’re also packed with a ton of nutrients, They provide folate, vitamins B, C, K and E, fiber, niacin, potassium and more. The monounsaturated fats help your body absorb the nutrients from other foods too. Here’s a full look at the nutrition profile of avocados.
Avocado Sandwiches and Wraps
Cucumber and Kimchi Avocado Toast: Cucumber and kimchi avocado toast teams up a set of tasty ingredients that will send you straight to sandwich heaven!
Deliciously Offbeat Ways to Make Avocado Toast: With a wealth of good fats and carbs, avocado toast makes a great quick breakfast or lunch. Here are 5 deliciously offbeat ways to embellish it, plus lots more ideas.
Pepper Jack Roasted Pepper and Avocado Tartine: A yummy and easy sandwich, this vegan pepper jack roasted red pepper and avocado tartine is from The Vegenaise Cookbook.
Vegan Reuben Sandwich: The classic Reuben sandwich is easy to make meatless as well as dairy-free. This vegan reuben sandwich recipe is a quick-to-fix lunch and a fantastic choice for a soup-and-sandwich dinner.
Baked Tofu Wraps with Greens, Apple, and Avocado: The title gives away most of what makes these fast and easy baked tofu wraps so good — baby greens, avocado, and the surprising pop of tart green apple.
Olive Hummus Wraps with Greens and Avocado: Featuring an easy homemade olive hummus, these wraps are an easy and delicious lunch for home, school, or work.
Vegan Breakfast Sandwiches: It’s easy to make vegan breakfast muffins using plant-based bacon and/or sausage, with other tasty plant-based ingredients embellishing the recipe.
Tortilla specialties using avocado
Easy Black Bean Tostadas: The nice thing about serving tostadas is that everyone can construct their own at the table, making it easy on the cook. These easy tostadas make a quick weeknight meal for the family or fun fare to serve to company.
Vegan Fish Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Cream: Save the oceans as well as its living beings with these easy and tasty vegan fish tacos (or more accurately, fish-less tacos). Using any of the plant-based fish alternatives available or DIY tofu-based fillets, this recipe makes an easy, fun weeknight dinner.
Vegan “Carne Asada” Tacos: This recipe for vegan carne asada tacos replaces the meat with steak-style plant protein. It’s equally good made with seitan.
Easy Coleslaw & Plant Protein Soft Tacos: It’s easy to make your own tasty plant protein soft tacos using any of the “beefy” vegan crumbles available these days. Or, you can make your own easy plant-based ground using whole foods.
Salads with avocado
Vegetable Sushi Salad: Here’s a fun and economical way to enjoy the flavors of vegetable sushi but not the mess of making it — a tasty vegetable sushi salad featuring rice, avocado, carrots, cucumber, and nori.
Grilled Corn with Avocado: With avocado, red onion, chile peppers, and lime juice, summer corn becomes a delicacy in this room-temperature dish.
Boston or Bibb Lettuce Salad with Avocado, Green Beans & Couscous: The key to this simple Boston or Bibb lettuce salad is to use the best possible ingredients—especially the green beans, in season. Avocado, grape tomatoes, briny black olives, and a small amount of couscous nestle with the tender lettuce.
Avocado and Radicchio Salad with Lime Vinaigrette: This colorful salad uses a minimum of ingredients: avocado, radicchio, tender greens (like watercress or others), and cherry tomatoes — that’s it! It’s a simple salad that makes a statement.
Watercress and Radicchio Salad with Beets and Avocado: The colorful selection of fresh produce in this salad needs little embellishment to offer a heaping portion of refreshment. The mellow flavors of beets, avocado, and apple (or pear) are a nice contrast with the bracing greens.
Super-Easy Avocado and Bean Salad: For a salad that’s a little heftier than the usual lettuce and tomato variety, this super-easy avocado and bean salad is just right.
Spinach Avocado Salad with Pineapple and Pomegranate: Pretty much all the main ingredients in this simple salad are listed right in the title! Fresh lime juice and extra virgin olive oil are enough to pull the flavors together.
Avocado and Jícama Salad with Roasted Corn: Avocado and jícama salad has become a summer classic. Embellished with blueberries and roasted corn kernels, it adds a splash of color to the plate.
Black Bean and Mango Salad with Avocado: I’m not the first, nor will I be the last, to present the classic black bean and mango salad on a food blog. I don’t see avocado added to the mix very often, and it’s a fantastic third major component.
Mixed Greens Salad with Avocado and Blueberries: This gorgeous salad is a snap to make and adds a splash of color (and lots of antioxidants) to the summer plate. A medley of mixed greens with avocado and blueberries, it’s the perfect addition to almost any kind of summer meal.
Salsa Pasta Salad with Avocado, Corn, and Peppers: Here’s an easy pasta salad, embellished with salsa, avocado, corn, and bell peppers, that can become a summertime staple.
Barbecue-Flavored Tempeh Salad: As a light meal, this delectable barbecue-flavored tempeh salad can stand on its own, especially for lunch. Add some baked fries (homemade or organic frozen) for a fun meal.
Fiesta Chopped Salad: Soul Fire Farm’s bounty makes its way into lots of produce-centered recipes like this colorful fiesta chopped salad, which can be enjoyed almost any time of year using favorite vegetables.
Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Corn: Black beans, corn, and avocado come together in a hearty southwestern quinoa salad that’s good as a main dish or side.
Vegan Cobb Salad: This veganized Cobb salad, an American classic recipe, swaps in plant-based proteins for the traditional chicken and bacon, and replaces the customary hard-boiled eggs with chickpeas.
Hot and Cool Layered Black Bean Taco Salad: Here’s a fast and fun main dish salad that has it all — salad veggies, avocado, beans, and two “yum factor” ingredients — good-quality tortilla chips and vegan cheese.
Israeli Couscous Salad: This summery salad combining herbs, raw veggies, and lush stone fruit makes a light and refreshing companion to grilled foods or bold-flavored plant-based protein dishes.
Kale and Avocado Salad: Kale and avocado salad is seriously delicious, with the addition of corn and tomatoes. Add the optional beans and it becomes a main dish salad. You can also make it into a cool soft taco.
Kale Salad with Chickpeas and Avocado: A simple kale salad with chickpeas and avocado, this features a lemon-olive oil dressing and is arranged in a pleasing presentation for extra eye appeal.
Black Bean and Corn Salad for a Crowd: This main-dish salad is a fantastic potluck dish, and a good choice to make when you’re expecting more company than usual.
Avocado dips and appetizers
Creamy Guacamole with Red Onion: A Tex-Mex-themed meal wouldn’t be complete without guacamole. This creamy guacamole gets its yum factor from vegan mayonnaise. Flavored with lime, red onion, and jalapeño, serve the classic dip with chips or use it in other recipes.
Kiwi Salsa with Avocado and Pomegranate: Here’s an offbeat kiwi salsa with avocado and pomegranate. Serve it with tortilla chips for a fantastic change of pace from tomato-based salsas.
Cilantro Avocado Hummus: If classic hummus and guacamole got married and had a baby, this simple and delicious cilantro avocado hummus would be the result.
Avocado and Tahini Dip with Baby Greens: A richly flavored blend that makes a fantastic appetizer or snack, this is kind of a marriage of guacamole and hummus, this delectable and downright addictive dip is packed with baby greens.
Fiesta Vegan 7-Layer Bean Dip: This luscious vegan 7-layer bean dip, including a generous avocado guacamole component, is the perfect dish for any party! Make sure to serve it with plenty of chips because it disappears quickly.
Easy Hot and Cool Salsa Tater Tots: A close cousin of tater tot nachos (aka totchos), this presentation is even simpler. Baked tots are simply tossed with salsa, avocado, jalapeño, and cilantro. It’s a fun and festive appetizer that couldn’t be easier to make.
“Beefy” Vegan Nachos Grande: These hearty nachos take almost no time to make, and makes fantastic party fare or even an emergency dinner.
Bowls & other mains with avocado
Easy Asian Noodle Bowl with Avocado and Baked Tofu: Super-easy Asian noodle bowls are as welcome for a quick lunch as they are for dinner. Flavored with sesame-ginger dressing and embellished with avocado and baked tofu, this quick recipe will have you eating in no time.
Nori Rice Bowls with Tofu, Cucumber, and Avocado: Simple nori rice bowls are subtly infused with the tasty sea vegetable. Embellished with crispy tofu, cucumber, and avocado, it’s like veggie sushi deconstructed.
Vegan Burrito Bowls: These Southwestern/Mexican-inspired bowls offer all the great flavors of vegetable burritos — and then some. Burrito bowls, popularized by Chipotle, have become quite popular on food sites around the web; this one is plant-based all the way.
Thai-Inspired Easy Vegan Green Curry: You can have a fiery bowlful of easy vegan green curry using this recipe, and the results will be fresher and more flavorful than takeout. With green curry paste and coconut milk stocked in your pantry, this delicious meal is never more than a few minutes away.
Vegan Jamaican Jerk Seitan: This skillet dish, arranged in bowls is light and lovely, like an ocean breeze, even if not totally authentic. It’s a feast for the eyes and a treat for the palate, with its sweet and savory notes.
Vegan Mexican Rice Bowl: This colorful vegan Mexican rice bowl, filled with fresh flavor and great texture, makes an easy and affordable everyday main dish. Contributed by Toni Okamoto, author of Plant-Based on a Budget.
Beautiful Buddha Bowls You Can Make Without a Recipe: Here’s an amazing array of beautiful vegan Buddha bowls you can make without a recipe. Many of them feature avocado. Keep a selection of fresh ingredients on hand, arrange, and enjoy!
Pasta con Palta (pasta with avocado pesto): This easy, luscious recipe for pasta con palta (pasta with avocado pesto) comes courtesy of Sandra A. Gutierrez, an expert on the cuisines of Latin America.
Soups
Cold Avocado Soup: Chilled soups are one of my favorite ways to feel refreshed in the summer heat. What makes this kind of recipe even better is if it needs no cooking at all, like this cold avocado soup.
Vegan Tortilla Soup with Summer Squash and Corn: There are many ways to make a classic southwestern tortilla soup. The one constant is the addition of corn tortillas, cut into strips and cooked on the stovetop or baked until crisp. This vegan tortilla soup is filled with corn and summer squash and embellished with avocado.
Smoothies and a dessert
Green Smoothie with Banana and Avocado: Here’s a basic green smoothie recipe featuring kale, collards, or spinach, made filling and tasty with banana and avocado.
Kale, Banana & Avocado Maca Smoothie: Leafy greens (kale, collards, or spinach), banana, and avocado are perfect partners for maca root powder in this tasty green smoothie. Enjoy this avocado maca smoothie to start your day or as a mid-day energy booster.
Vegan Silken Tofu and Avocado Chocolate Mousse: This luscious and easy vegan silken tofu chocolate mousse — or is it an avocado chocolate pudding? — is a mash-up of two contemporary classics. Whatever you call it, this smooth pudding-style dessert is easy and luscious.
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