Food and Recipes Recipes Spicy Avocado Dressing Be the first to rate & review! A creamy, vegan salad dressing you can make in one easy step. By Southern Living Test Kitchen Southern Living Test Kitchen The Southern Living Test Kitchen has been publishing recipes since 1970, four years after the first issue of Southern Living Magazine appeared on newsstands. The Southern Living Test Kitchen team includes a team of professionals with deep expertise in recipe development, from pastry chefs and grilling experts to nutritionists and dietitians. Together, the team tests and retests, produces, styles, and photographs thousands of recipes each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on March 8, 2022 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Active Time: 10 mins Total Time: 10 mins Yield: 2 cups Jump to recipe When it comes to creamy, dreamy salad dressings, we often think about bottles of ranch, loaded with dairy. But what if we told you that you could achieve that creamy texture without any dairy? Yes, it's possible! Allow us to introduce you to our Spicy Avocado Dressing. This dressing takes the ingenious trick of using avocado as its base, offering thickness and creaminess—no dairy required. The Mexican-inspired dressing gets a boost of flavor from fresh cilantro and jalapeño, both of which are blended into the dressing. We call for seeded jalapeños, but feel free to leave the seeds in for an extra kick. These few ingredients deliver big flavor to this spicy salad dressing, accented with salt, pepper, and garlic. Adding a bit of oil helps the dressing emulsify, and water thickens it out to help the dressing properly coat the lettuce leaves. Pair this spicy avocado dressing with romaine, grilled chicken, Cotija cheese, packaged crispy tortilla strips, and radishes for a Southwestern-inspired salad that truly satisfies. Ingredients 2 cups packed fresh cilantro leaves 1 large avocado, chopped ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. water ⅓ cup olive oil 2 small chopped, seeded jalapeño chiles 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 limes) ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 grated garlic clove Directions Process fresh cilantro leaves, chopped avocado; water; olive oil; chopped and seeded jalapeño chiles; fresh lime juice; kosher salt; and grated garlic clove in a food processor until smooth, 1 minute. Tips Pair with: romaine, grilled chicken, Cotija cheese, packaged crispy tortilla strips, and radishes Rate it Print