This Avocado Sauce hits home in a way that guacamole never has for me. Now Guacamole is one of my favorite dips, but I take issue with it at times. It is not the most versatile sauce and I find it to lack in visual appearance. Plus it has such a short life before browning. The flavor of this avocado sauce is reminiscent of a really good guacamole. But where it differs, is that it’s smooth, stays fresh longer, and I find it to be more adaptable.
I came up with this recipe through necessity one night working at a private club. Some last minute reservations came in. We were already short of avocados. And I really needed to stretch a sauce for our tasting menu’s Tuna Crudo. So I ended up making my first version of an avocado sauce. Ever since, I have been putting this sauce on a wide variety of cuisines with great success.
Before you Start Cooking
Here are a few helpful tips to making this avocado sauce.
- Your best bet is to make this recipe in a blender affixed with a Tamper, like this one. The consistency of this avocado sauce is difficult for most blenders to handle without some manual agitation while blending.
- If you do not have a tamper, I suggest assisting the blender with a wooden spoon, just make sure not to go low enough to hit the blade. You may need to turn off the blender and stir the contents a few times. But the struggle is totally worth it.
- Storing this avocado sauce is done best in an air tight container of with plastic wrap directly touching the surface. It will not brown as quickly as guacamole, but it should still be treated as if it would.
- Some people cover their guacamole with water or lime juice to prevent browning. I do not recommend doing that with this avocado sauce. It will dilute it.
- If you want to use it in a squeeze bottle and really chef it up. Fill a pastry bag with avocado sauce and use the pastry bag to fill the squeeze bottle. You can really get creative with your presentations this way.
- Using a tortilla chip or another food that the avocado sauce will be served with is a more accurate way to taste for seasoning.
Choosing ingredients for Avocado Sauce
Avocados
The main ingredient for avocado sauce is in fact avocados. One benefit of this recipe is you don’t need avocados in the absolute perfect stage of ripening to be successful.
Avocados that have turned brown are not going to work for this recipe. The resulting color of your avocado sauce will be very off putting.
But if your avocados are slightly under ripe they will still be ok. Really under ripe avocados, so hard that they do not give at all when you squeeze them, will need a few days before you would want to use them for avocado sauce.
Most groceries stores in the United states will typically only have one or two varieties of avocados available. Hass being the most common variety and what I typically use. Regardless though, most varieties of avocados will work well with this recipe.
Sour Cream
Sour Cream is what gives this avocado sauce a smooth texture. Either a regular of light sour cream will work. Not all brands of sour cream taste the same. I have always found this surprising. So choose one that you are familiar with.
If you do not use Sour Cream in your typical meal rotation, a good substitute is Greek Yogurt. I have made this avocado sauce several times using sour cream vs yogurt and really I cannot taste a difference. But, choose a plain Greek yogurt for this avocado sauce. You will want to stay away from added flavors or anything with added sweeteners. It really doesn’t matter if you use a fat free, low fat, or whole milk Greek yogurt. I do not recommend a standard plain yogurt.
If you are looking for a dairy free option, I would recommend using a coconut or almond yogurt. They both have a somewhat similar consistency and taste as milk based yogurts. I would stress that you still look for a plain (unsweetened, unflavored) version if using a dairy alternative for this avocado sauce.
Peppers
In the recipe for this avocado sauce I have Jalapeno peppers listed. These can be optional if you have a zero tolerance for spice. Leaving them out will not totally change the flavor. And you will still be very happy with the finished sauce.
Alternatively, if you do like spice. Jalapenos will give some flavor, but not a lot of kick as the avocado and sour cream neutralize the heat effectively. Since I recommend removing all seeds to keep the consistency smooth. Using no seeds does limit the amount of heat. So, if you are looking for some intense heat, try using Serrano peppers or green Thai Chilies. These will definitely give your avocado cream a kick.
Equipment you will need to make this Avocado Sauce
The items listed below are ones that I personally use my own kitchen, but any purchases made through the affiliate links support this website’s content.
- Blender
- Blender Tamper or Wooden Spoon
- Silicone Spatula
- Chef Knife
- Cutting Board
- Citrus Reamer or Juice Press
- Microplane Grater
- Plastic Wrap– one roll of this wrap lasts my household 2 years typically.
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Avocado Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Avocado approximately 2 large
- ½ Cup Sour Cream
- ¼ Cup Green Onion approximately 2-3
- ¼ Cup Jalapeno Pepper Seeds Removed
- ¼ Cup Cilantro
- ¼ Cup Lime Juice
- ½ tsp Lime Zest
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- Slice avocados in half by rotating around a knife. Remove pits and spoon out flesh.
- Remove stem and seeds from Jalapeno pepper. Then roughly dice to measure amount needed.
- Trim the root end off of green onions and roughly chop. Lightly pack sliced green onions into a measuring cup to determine volume. Repeat this stem with cilantro by removing the majority of them stems.
- Use a Microplane grater to zest lime. After zest needed is harvested, slice lime in half and extract juice. A citrus reamer or juice press work well for this.
- Measure out the remaining ingredients and place them all in a blender.
Blend Avocado Sauce
- Using either a blender tamper or a wooden spoon, press the ingredients down to compress them into the blender's blades.
- Blend on a low setting. A high setting with only create a void and not allow sauce to mix. You will likely need to hand agitate the sauce as it blends. This is best done with a tamper, but a wooden spoon will work. Be careful not to come in contact with the blender's blades.
- Occasionally turn of blender and use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender and redistribute the sauce from the blender's corners.
- Once the sauce is able to blend unassisted, forming a whirlpool when viewed from above, it is done blending.
- Taste sauce to check for acidity, salt, and spice. Using a tortilla chip or another food that the avocado sauce will be served with is a more accurate way to taste for seasoning. Adjust if needed.
- Store refrigerated with plastic food wrap in direct contact with the surface to prevent browning. Avocado sauce should keep for 5 days if properly stored.
Serving Ideas for Avocado Sauce
As I mentioned previously the versatility of this avocado sauce is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. You probably imagined already that tacos or other Mexican dishes would go great with it. One of my favorites are these Vegetarian Enchiladas that are filled with Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans.
Tuna Poke is another dish also really like this with avocado sauce with . The flavor pairs perfectly with the subtle Japanese flavors. I especially like using a new England style bun, tuna poke, and this avocado sauce as a casual lunch item.
I even eat it with roasted potatoes or French fries. Using it in these Fully Loaded Potatoes in place of the sour cream would be absolutely delicious.
Avocado Sauce is versatile and once you start making it you will actively look for things to put it on.
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