Thick, creamy and full of flavor, this Ginger Citrus Avocado Dressing recipe will take your salad to the next level. It’s gluten-free, vegan, paleo and ready in minutes!
**Post and photos updated 1/14/16**
Hi Friends!
There are days when you feel like getting a little fancy and cooking a nice warm dinner and there are days when you just don’t have the energy to anything but pull some leftovers from the fridge, chop them up and throw them over a big bowl of greens and call it a night. Am I right?!
The good news is, there’s nothing wrong with salad for dinner. In fact, it’s one of my favorite ways to clean out the fridge! The problem often lies in the dressing. Store-boughtt dressing, while convenient, isn’t always the healthiest choice. They’re often loaded with weird ingredients, added sugars, etc.
But, as we all know, a good dressing can really take your salad to the next level! So that’s why it’s good to have a few recipes like this in your back pocket! Dressing recipes that you can whip up in about 60 seconds that are made with simple ingredients and packed with flavor.
This one is for all of you avocado lovers. It’s perfect for adding some healthy fats to your meal and a great way to use up ripe avocados if you’re not in the mood for homemade guac! It’s super thick and creamy- without any cream- which makes it great for coating every bite of salad! However, if you prever a thinner, more pourable dressing, you can just add a little extra liquid!
Original photo
Ready to whip up a batch of your own? Here’s how you make it:
PrintGinger Citrus Avocado Dressing
Thick, creamy & flavorful, this Ginger Citrus Avocado Dressing will take your salad to the next level. It’s gluten-free, vegan, paleo & ready in minutes!
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small avocados
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- juice and zest from 1 lemon
- 1 – 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
- splash of maple syrup or honey for sweetness, optional
Instructions
- Combine first 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.
- Taste and add sweetener if desired.
- For a thinner dressing, add additional citrus juice or water until desired consistency is reached.
Like I mentioned, you can adjust the sweet or spicy factor by adding cayenne pepper or a splash of sweetener if desired. I like mine with extra cayenne and no sweetener 🙂
[Tweet “This Ginger Citrus Avocado Dressing from @leangrnbeanblog is great on any salad!”]
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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Cara says
Hey Lindsay! I was so happy to come across your blog! I just signed to be a foodie pen pal, it’s an awesome idea! I’m not a huge fan of avocado, but this dressing looks awesome! I basically put vinagrette on everything :p
Lindsay says
hi!! so glad you found me 🙂 can’t wait for you to enjoy your fist month of foodie penpals!
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says
This is hilarious. I just posted a third version of this dressing recipe this morning. Do we secretly share the same brain?
Kierston says
I’ll have to try out this recipe! It looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing it! 🙂
Lindsay says
you’re welcome! let me know how you like it!
Toni@runninglovingliving says
Recipe looks awesome,I can’t wait to try it out!
Lindsay says
definitely let me know what you think!
Brittany @ GOtheXtraMile says
This looks absolutely amazing. Such a beautiful color!!!
Lindsay says
isn’t it so pretty! i just like looking at it!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says
You and Sarah need to get outta each other’s heads! LOL!
At least you guys are posting these when I have a ton of avocados… actually, this would be good drizzled over the salad I posted today…
Lindsay says
i had that same thought! your salad looked so yum!
Aparna B. @ Not A Leaf says
Yum! Sounds delicious 🙂 I make simple dijon-mustard-olive-oil-lemon vinaigrettes. That’s our go-to for the warm goat cheese salad I make!
Lindsay says
ummmm you had me at warm goat cheese 😉
Aparna B. @ Not A Leaf says
I’m not going to lie to you, it’s pretty delish 😉 hehe. WHY IS CHEESE SO DELICIOUS?!
Tiff says
Yum! Sounds like a good way to dress up a salad.
Lindsay says
i’m pretty much obsessed!
Parita @ myinnershakti says
Wow! That sounds wonderful. I could swim in any kind of avocado dressing all day long. 🙂
Lindsay says
haha love the mental image of you swimming in avocado!
Claire @ Live and Love to Eat says
Beautiful photos – looks so healthy!
Lindsay says
thanks girl!
Rachel @ The Avid Appetite says
I am always on the hunt for new dressings! I usually go with a balsamic-honey-mustard combo or a red wine vinegar-dijon combo…both are delicious, but need to change it up now and again! How long does this last in the fridge?
Lindsay says
i’m guessing about a week or so. i’m on day 3 and it’s still bright green!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
Minus the cayenne, I’ve actually made a smoothie similar to this! which sounds pretty gross when compared to a dressing but it wasn’t! I can just imagine how amazing this is on salads (and everything else ;))
Lindsay says
you’re a brave girl with your smoothies! i’m trying to work up to adding an avocado to my smoothie for the first time next week! but i’ll still definitely need the fruit!
Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries says
you are brilliant! YUM! i love all things avocado. definitely adding this to my list of things to make. 🙂
Lindsay says
yes!!! let me know what you think of it!
natalie @ southern fit foodie says
Mmm this looks delicious! I make a mango wasabi vinaigrette that I love!
Lindsay says
omg, that sounds amazing!!! do you have a recipe?
natalie @ southern fit foodie says
I do! http://wp.me/p1Bo8h-9k
sarah @ sarah learns says
mmm, this dressing looks absolutely delicious! i’ve got some wholly guacamole in the fridge that needs to be used up – do you think i could sub that for the plain avocado in this?!
Lindsay says
i think that would definitely work!
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef says
love the sounds of this!
Amanda @RunToTheFinish says
ohh this is exactly the recipe I’ve been looking for! i don’t usually have oj at home, but could probably get a small one that D will drink
Lindsay says
you could also just buy a couple oranges and squeeze the juice out!
Val says
If I ever have any guacamole left over (which isn’t often), I’ll dump it in the food processor with a bunch of lemon juice, some olive oil and a spoonful of grainy mustard to keep in the fridge as a quick dressing. It’s great because the citrus keeps the avocado from getting brown.
Lindsay says
oooh i bet adding mustard would be good!
Alysia @ Slim Sanity says
yep…making this SOON!
Lindsay says
let me know what you think!
Danielle @ FoodosaurusRex says
Yum! I’m totally obsessed with avocados so I’m definitely going to give this a try!
Lindsay says
you will love it! i can’t get enough!
Abby @ Abz 'n' Oats says
Looks so good! 🙂 Does it turn brown fast or does the orange juice/keeping it tightly sealed prevent that?
Lindsay says
i’m on day 3 and it’s still bright green!
Jess @ Blonde Ponytail says
YUM! Pinning! keep ’em coming!!
Lindsay says
will do, my friend!
Matt @ The Athlete's Plate says
Yum 🙂
Michelle (Better with Berries) says
I love anything avocado, so this looks great! Sweet potato and avocado are a great combination – I’m craving it now!
Lindsay says
it’s an amazing combination. but in my world, sweet potatoes are good with anything, haha
Liz (Little Bitty Bakes) says
Oh my gosh, I just want to drink that dressing! I will be making this VERY soon! Love that it uses CHO.
Lindsay says
had to sneak that in there 🙂
Lauren @ Lawfully Wedded Wife says
This looks deeeeelicious! Avocado makes SUCH delicious dressing…so smooth and creamy without the bad stuff! 🙂
Lindsay says
agreed! can’t believe i waited this long to try it!
Samantha says
UM YUM! That looks delish! I need to make my own dressing because all the ones I find typically have ingredients that I don’t want in my body in them!
Jaime's Journeys says
This dressing sounds delicious Lindsay! This may have to be my next new thing to try making!
Diana @ VeggieNextDoor says
This sounds delicious, Lindsay! I bet I could veganize it by using some Silken Tofu instead of Chobani.
Kerstin says
What a lovely vibrant dressing – looks like the perfect way to enjoy a big salad 🙂
Mary @ Fit and Fed says
Hi Lindsay, I haven’t had sweet potatoes in a salad, don’t know why not since I love them and use them often. So thanks for that idea. We have avocado-based dressing once in a while, usually it’s my husband who whips it up. I tend to just slice the avos and put them in the salad. Avocado dressing is nice and creamy. The dressing I make most often is your basic olive oil-shallot-garlic-and-balsamic-vinegar, but my favorite? Probably an Asian style one with ginger, rice vinegar, and maybe a little nut butter. At least if you are asking me today.
Lindsay says
i love newman’s own sesame ginger dressing!!! so good!