This creamy vegan chipotle avocado dressing, with a nip of smoky spice, a twist of lime, and no added oil or nuts, can be made in 15 minutes or less.
Shout out for a creamy vegan dressing made with simple ingredients! I originally made it to dress up walnut and lentil vegan taco meat, but it's so much more! It's a great, nut-free alternative to cashew queso dip and delicious on salads or as an avocado sauce for veggies.
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Super quick to make with pantry ingredients.
- Avocado dressing is a great way to use up soft avocados.
- Versatile as a dressing or make it thicker to use as a spread.
Dressing Ingredients
Avocado – Use 1 fresh or the equivalent of frozen avocado.
Green onions – Scallions have a mellow onion flavor and are delicious in blended dressings. Use the white and green parts. Alternatively, use 2 tablespoons of diced red onions or shallots. In a pinch, onion powder will also do the trick.
Lime juice – Lime juice, fresh or frozen, sets off the flavor and keeps the avocado fresher. Lemon juice or, for something non-citrus, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar are good alternatives.
Maple syrup – A touch of sweetness is always a good thing! You can also whiz in date paste or check out my list of agave syrup substitutes for more options.
Chipotle powder – I use a combination of chipotle powder (ground chipotle chilies) and homemade chili powder. You can also use my highly recommended chipotle seasoning mix.
Plant milk – Depending on the desired consistency, use up to a cup of almond milk, oat milk, or other plant milk of your choice. If you’re making vegan salad dressing, stick to non-dairy products.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
How to Make Avocado Dressing
Before adding the plant milk, blend the rest of the ingredients. It will be thick, but it's easier to judge how much milk to add. This will depend on the consistency you are going for. A dip or spread will be thicker than a dressing.
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Pro Tips
- The secret to making creamy avocado dressing is using a ripe avocado and blending the ingredients smoothly.
- You don't necessarily need a high-speed blender, although it will whip this up quickly. You can use a mini blender or a stick blender if you like. The only difference might be whether you must chop the green onions and garlic first.
Cook's Tip: Let the dressing sit for a minute before you start adjusting the seasonings. Once the flavors mingle, the overall flavor will intensify. This is one reason why I recommend adding salt after blending. It's difficult to counter a too salty taste.
Serving Suggestions
Try this yummy dressing with loaded vegan taco salad, as a dressing with one-pot beans and quinoa, or barbacoa cauliflower tacos.
Storage
Store avocado dressing in an air-tight container for up to 2 days. The color of the chipotle and chili powders prevents this dressing from being intensely green. You may not notice avocado browning as you would with traditional avocado ranch dressing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once avocados are cut, they start to oxidize. That's what turns them brown. If you end up with half an unused avocado unused, rub lemon juice on it, cover it tightly in plastic wrap, and keep it in the refrigerator. This will help keep it from browning.
One easy way to tell if an avocado is ripe is to check the stem or ‘cap’ on the bottom of the avocado. If the cap of the avocado comes off easily and the flesh underneath is green or yellow, your avocado is ripe. Don't force it. If it doesn't come off, the avocado is probably not ready for consumption. If the avocado flesh underneath is brown, unfortunately, the avocado is likely to be overripe and brown throughout.
Ultimately, the amount of avocado dressing you end up with depends on the size of the avocado and how much plant milk and lime juice you use. A medium avocado will yield about 1 ½ cups of dressing. That’s about 6, 2-tablespoon servings.
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👩🏻🍳 Recipe
Vegan Chipotle Avocado Dressing Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 medium avocado
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1-2 teaspoons chili powder - see notes
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 3 medium green onions - scallions
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- ½ - 1 cup plant milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt - optional
Instructions
- Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh and place it in a blender.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, except the plant milk, in the blender and blend until smooth.
- Add ¼ of a cup of plant milk and blend. Then, start adding more plant milk until you reach the desired consistency. Taste and adjust the spices as desired.
Notes
- This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups of dressing, depending on how much milk you add. Nutritional information is based on ¼ cup of dressing.
- In place of chili powder and chipotle powder, use 1-2 teaspoons of my homemade chipotle seasoning blend.
- Store avocado dressing in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 days. Stir before serving, and add more lime juice to thin it out.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
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MH
Thank you for such a great recipe. We made this to go on our tacos along with the basmati lentil taco filling. Both recipes were outstanding. My sauce came out green instead of the lovely golden yellow color in your photo but it certainly didn’t matter as the flavor was amazing.
Denise
Thanks so much for your kind comments. We love tacos and this has become one of our favorites. Love 'em both! Happy eating 🙂
Denise Perrault
Enjoy this dressing as much as we do - thanks for reading this post.