Creamy, flavorful, and packed full of healthy fats – this creamy avocado lime dressing is perfect for your next salad or sandwich.

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: This dressing is so creamy but it’s heart-healthy with no mayonnaise or sour cream.

How long it takes: 5 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: mini-food processor or blender
Servings: makes 1 cup

Small clear jar containing avocado dressing on striped bamboo board, with red spoon and cut avocado in background.
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So creamy and delicious, avocado dressing is easy to make and is good for you. Because it’s homemade, this salad dressing is fresh tasting and doesn’t contain any artificial flavors or preservatives.

It is great on a simple salad of greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers. It’s thick enough that it works well as a dip or sandwich spread too.

Why make a dressing with avocados? Avocados contain healthy fats, have lots of fiber, and are loaded with vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals (Healthline). So I’d say, why NOT make a dressing with avocados?

If you like the idea of a dressing made with avocados, be sure to try avocado chicken salad. It’s a bit unique because you won’t find any mayo in this chicken salad. It’s really delicious!

This avocado dressing is vegan, vegetarian, keto-friendly, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

Overhead of dressing in jar with red spoon.

About this Avocado Dressing

This one is for all you cilantro-haters out there. When I did a quick search for creamy avocado lime dressings, many (if not all!) contained cilantro. I’m definitely a cilantro lover but I know many of you are not.

Instead of leaving it out completely, I replaced it with another powerhouse flavor. It just so happens to be one of my favorites – cumin. Cumin gives this dressing a nice warm flavor that contrasts perfectly with the bright citrus of the lime.

Avocado lime dressing is made in minutes using a blender or a food processor. It’s super versatile, and because it’s so thick and creamy, you could even spread it on a sandwich in place of mayo. It is wonderful in a wrap with turkey, bacon, and tomato!

What You’ll Need

  • Ripe Avocados: You’ll need two avocados. Avocados vary widely in size. If your avocados are on the small side, you may want to use three.
  • Olive Oil: Another heart healthy oil, this dressing has just 2 tablespoons of olive oil which keeps the calorie count low.
  • Lime Juice: Use freshly squeezed lime juice if at all possible. It just has a fresher taste.
  • Ground Cumin: This spice is used in so many cultures but we’re particularly familiar with it in south of the border dishes. It’s a warm flavorful spice made from ground cumin seeds.
  • Garlic Powder: You could also use fresh garlic, especially if you’re a garlic fan, but garlic powder provides a more subtle shade of this potent flavor.
  • Salt & Pepper: These simple seasonings perk up the flavor of almost everything. Add more or less, according to taste and preference.
  • Water: A fair amount of water is needed to thin the dressing. If you’re planning on using it as a dip or spread, you may need a bit less.

How To Make This Recipe

You’ll need a mini food processor or blender to get that perfect creaminess. A rubber scraper is helpful too.

This dressing really only takes about five minutes to throw together. Simply add all of the ingredients to the food processor and hit the on button. Process until the dressing is smooth and creamy.

Scrape the dressing out of the food processor with that helpful rubber scraper and serve it immediately if you want, or store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready for it.

Make It Your Own

  • If you love cilantro, by all means add it! Add 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro leaves and small stems to the food processor. Fresh dill or parsley are great, too!
  • Omit the cumin if you prefer. If you like, substitute chili powder or another spice.
  • Can’t find fresh limes? Fresh lemon juice works fine!
  • This recipe is dairy-free. If you prefer, add a tablespoon or two of Greek yogurt for even more creaminess.
  • Not into avocados? Clearly, this recipe isn’t for you. Keep reading for lots more homemade dressing recipes. I’m positive you’ll see some you like.

Storage Tips

Avocado dressing will keep in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container for two to three days.

More Salad Dressing Recipes

Looking for more homemade salad dressings to add to your repertoire? Here’s a few of my favorites:

Recipe

Avocado Dressing

4.61 from 28 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 8
Creamy, flavorful, and packed full of healthy fats (no mayo!), avocado dressing is perfect for your next salad or sandwich. It makes a pretty fine dip, too.
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Ingredients 

  • 1 large ripe avocado (8 oz.), about 1 cup diced avocado
  • ¼ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
  • teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ cup water (see note)

Instructions 

  • Blend all ingredients together in a small blender or a mini food processor until smooth.
  • Taste and season as desired. Add more water, if desired to thin the consistency (see note).
  • Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use. Makes 1 cup.

Notes

  • Use a ripe avocado! The dressing is not as tasty if the avocado is unripe. You can tell if an avocado is ripe if it yields slightly when you press it with your thumb. The stem nub should be easy to remove, revealing a bright green color.
  • Water amount: Adding water is necessary to make the dressing pourable. It tends to be quite thick. The consistency can be adjusted by adding more or less water. If you want to use this dressing as a dip, consider using less water.
  • More garlic: For a bolder garlic profile, substitute a clove of fresh garlic for the garlic powder.
  • Everything avocado: If you prefer, substitute avocado oil for olive oil. 
  • Storage: Avocado dressing can be refrigerated for 3 days in an airtight container. 

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoons, Calories: 72kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 148mg, Potassium: 129mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 0.2g, Vitamin A: 72IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 4mg, Iron: 0.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.61 from 28 votes (27 ratings without comment)

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33 Comments

  1. Sam Donnelly says:

    Quinoa salad too!   Very good on that as well! 

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      For sure! Thanks Sam!

  2. Sam says:

    It is really good on quinoa salad too!  

  3. Standa says:

    This is SO good! If you love avocados I definitely recommend making this. I’m well familiar with having a mountain of rejects to go through while trying to perfect a recipe — currently going through a lot of a very special vanilla cake phase.

  4. Nancy Roudebush says:

    This was excellent. I just need another recipe to use the leftover half cup of the dressing. Any ideas?

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Ooooh it would be great on tacos or nachos!

  5. Rebecca Snyder says:

    Wonderful and simple to make. . I love the added cumin. i use a small fresh garlic clove in place of the powdered. I’ve made this dressing many times and people love it. Cilantro compliments the flavors. Thanks you.

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      I’m so glad you liked this recipe, thanks for taking the time to comment! I love cilantro, too!

  6. Lacey says:

    Can i keep the olive oil out?

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      You may substitute the olive oil with a different oil or leave it out completely, but it will change the taste and consistency.

  7. Liz says:

    Made this tonight! I was looking for a recipe without cilantro because I don’t have any right now. This is delicious!

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      So happy you liked it! The cumin adds so much great flavor.

  8. Jen says:

    Any idea how long this will keep in the refrigerator? I know I will love it but my husband may or may not. It’ll take me a while to finish it by myself!

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      I would say 2-3 days probably, it disappears quickly in my house! You could easily cut the batch in half too.

  9. denise says:

    sounds delish

  10. Medha says:

    This dressing looks so good! Whenever I make any kind of Mexican food, cumin is involved, so this dressing complements that perfectly :)

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Thanks Medha! I’m a cumin lover too.