25 Ways to Use Avocados

By: Contributor
Jason Wrobel's Chocolate Avocado Pudding for Cooking Channel's How to Live to 100

Jason Wrobel's Chocolate Avocado Pudding for Cooking Channel's How to Live to 100

Photo by: Alice Gao ©2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Alice Gao, 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Cinco de Mayo means margaritas and guac (yes, I believe there’s a real holiday in there somewhere), but the recent surge in lime prices has been stealing the show. Let’s bring the celebrations back to the important things: avocados.

Avocados are native to Mexico and are, thankfully, available year-round. They shine on holidays like Cinco de Mayo when we see them in dips, but usually avocados are totally underutilized in the kitchen. Not that we don’t all love guac or avocado toast, but sometimes you need to take a step back and think about how to really use a fruit. Avocados are high in good-for-you (mono-unsaturated) fats and just taste darn great.

Learn more about avocados here and master the art of avocado pit removal here. Once you've learned all there is to know about avocados, hit the kitchen. Get the most out of your Cinco de Mayo with these awesomely avocado-filled recipes.

  1. Avocado Melts swap out the tuna and add avocados and pesto for a vegetarian twist on a classic.
  2. The Effen Avocado cocktail is a mix of avocado puree, cucumber vodka, agave and a splash of lemon juice -- the perfect drink for Cinco de Mayo during the lime crisis of 2014.
  3. Chocolate Avocado Pudding (pictured above) admittedly sounds awful. Who wants veggies in their dessert? But really, it’s delicious, rich and creamy -- and you’ll be able to trick the family into thinking it’s plain ol’ chocolate pudding. FYI, jungle peanuts are a type of heirloom legume grown in the Amazon.
  4. Sunny Anderson’s Mango and Avocado Salad is like a very chunky salsa that you can eat without chips.
  5. Keep it simple with five-ingredient Avocado Salsa or garlicky Avocado Salsa.
  6. Flautas, aka taquitos, start as tortillas that are stuffed and then rolled up and fried. Try out Sunny Anderson’s Chicken Flautas with Avocado Cream.
  7. Avocado and Edamame Salad is flavored with sweet Spanish paprika and cumin, proving that you can use avocados for cuisines other than Mexican.
  1. Kelsey Nixon’s Spicy Avocado Dill Dip may just take the top spot in your summer dip repertoire.
  2. Baked Avocado stuffed with Stilton, walnuts and pancetta is the substitute for twice-baked potato that you didn’t know you had been looking for. Normally avocados are left raw, but popping these under the broiler softens the avocado flesh slightly and gets the Stilton to melty, gooey perfection.
  3. Michael Chiarello sets up a simple Mexican fiesta: Michael’s Tacos with Chicken Taco Filling, Marinated Avocado and Whole Citrus Margaritas.
  4. Crab and Avocado Duet skips the mayo and is dressed instead with Dijon mustard and lemon juice.
  5. Continuing on with the shellfish theme, Lobster Avocado Cocktails are delicious with lemon roulade and cocktail sauce. Most importantly, they're served in martini glasses for cocktail hour fun.
  6. Cat Cora’s Pork Skewers with Avocado Tzatziki put a Greek spin on things.  A few tips: marinade the pork overnight for extra flavor and soak the wood skewers in water before grilling or use metal reusable skewers to avoid extra-charred skewers.
  7. Scallops with Mango and Avocado are served on fried wonton wrappers and dressed with a simple spicy coconut milk dressing.
  8. Michael Symon’s Jumbo Lump Crab Taco, Pickled Chiles and Avocado is a complete meal. Quick pickled chiles and onions take only 10 minutes to make and last for up to a month. Use any leftover pickles on pulled pork sandwiches or grilled vegetables.
  9. Stuff avocado halves with red snapper cooked in clarified butter, shrimp, rum and dill for Avocado Frenchman’s Cove.
  10. Papaya Avocado Salad makes a great side dish for some simple grilled fish such as Grilled Mahi Mahi with Jerk Spice.
  11. Chilled Avocado Soup with Crabmeat Relish or Yummy Avocado Sopita are quick chilled soups, perfect for the warm nights of spring. Ripe Haas avocados produce the creamiest soups.
  12. Bobby Deen’s Mini Taco Dip Tostadas with Avocado Cream are fresh and light, and help to prevent party guests from getting sucked into eating a whole bowl of taco dip (if you consider that kind of thing to be a problem.)
Guacamole: Alton Brown

Guacamole: Alton Brown

Photo by: Tara Donne ©Tara Donne

Tara Donne, Tara Donne

  1. Try avocado salad two ways: Avocado Salad with Tomatoes, Lime and Toasted Cumin Vinaigrette and Baby Spinach, Avocado and Pumpkin Seed Salad.
  2. Because you’re the kind of person who believes avocados should be a part of every course of every meal, you will definitely want to try out Avocado Ice Cream and Avocado Ice Pops.
  3. Serve up authentic Avocado Leaf Crusted Tuna Taquitos at your Cinco de Mayo bash. Avocado leaves are popular in Mexican cuisine. Try finding these leaves at specialty Latin markets or achieve a similar flavor with a mix of bay leaves and anise seeds.
  4. Retro Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosas are served in champagne flutes for festive flair.
  5. Ingrid Hoffman’s super easy Arugula, Avocado and Fennel Salad is dressed simply with lemon juice and olive oil, and gets a lot of flavor from cilantro leaves.
  6. Guac, because it wouldn’t be Cinco de Mayo without it. We suggest Alton Brown’s Guacamole, Tyler Florence’s Guacamole,  Emeril’s Guacamole, Jamie Deen’s Guacamole, Nigella Lawson’s Guacamole and Bobby Flay’s Spicy Guacamole.
More 25 Ways:

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