If you love avocado so much that you’ve started including it in various dishes, then you should definitely try avocado butter. Have you always wondered how to make avocado butter, but you’ve never dared to try? Don’t worry, it’s actually quite simple! We hope that this article will help you fall in love with a condiment so versatile that you will start combining it with almost anything!
While recipes vary, the basic ingredients that you will need are an avocado, butter, salt, and juice to keep the butter a nice shade of green – usually lemon or lime juice. You can season it with different spices and herbs to taste. Mash the peeled avocado and mix it with the other ingredients in a food processor, with a hand blender or with a fork. You can spread avocado butter on toast, put it in sandwiches, use it as a dip, combine it with pasta, put in on mashed potatoes or grilled meat, add it to your favorite sauce… The possibilities are (nearly) endless!
If you want to explore some recipes for this delicacy or pick up some tips and tricks, read on!
Table of Contents
What is Avocado Butter?
Usually, avocado butter is a compound butter. Compound butter is butter which has been enhanced with additional ingredients like spices, vegetables, etc. By adding avocado to butter, you will end up with a far more nutritious result, jam-packed with healthy fats, potassium, and vitamins K, C, E, B5, and B6.
However, some recipes don’t include butter at all! In that case, the result will be a creamy, smooth avocado spread (which is also known as avocado butter). It’s up to you to decide what you’d rather indulge yourself in!
How To Recognize Ripe Avocados
Most avocado butter recipes call for ripe avocados (do you know when an avocado is ripe? Check here). In case you don’t plan to make avocado butter the same day you buy avocados, it would be wise to choose the unripe ones, and let them ripen until you decide to use them.
The signs of ripeness in avocados vary between different varieties of avocado. Squeeze an avocado (gently!) to test its ripeness. An unripe avocado will be firm and hard, and an overripe one will be mushy. So, the ideally ripe avocado should be soft, but not mushy. You should also check the color and the skin of the fruit – don’t buy avocados with deep cuts, indentations or blemishes.
How To Make Avocado Butter
Even though making avocado butter is easy, it is handy to know more than just the basics. That is why we have provided several recipes for you that are sure to spark your imagination! Keep in mind that there’s no exact rulebook on how to make avocado butter; you can modify it as much as you wish to get the flavor you’re craving for. But enough talk; grab your apron and let’s get down to making avocado butter!
Bare But Beautiful Avocado Butter
Sometimes, we need to return to the basics and appreciate the dish in its originally brilliant form! For this recipe, you will need one medium ripe avocado, ¼ cup of butter, juice of half a lime and kosher salt.
Simply process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, and voila! You can serve it immediately, or refrigerate it. Refrigerating the butter will also make it sliceable.
Garlic-Avocado Butter
Did you know that garlic and avocado make a great couple? For this recipe, you will need two ripe avocados, a tablespoon of lime or lemon juice, ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil, and a dash of salt, garlic powder, ground red pepper, and ground black pepper.
First, scoop the pulp of the avocados in a blender or a food processor. Add lime juice, salt, garlic powder, red pepper, and black pepper, and turn on the food processor. Add the olive oil gradually through the food chute with processor running until the butter is smooth. Chill your butter for 1 hour, and it’s done!
Avocado Butter With Cumin
Cumin is a great ingredient to add to avocado butter. It promotes digestion, contains antioxidants and is a rich source of iron. You can never pile up too many benefits from eating your homemade avocado butter! For this recipe, you will need one ripe avocado, half a cup of unsalted butter (softened), one and a half teaspoon of lemon or lime juice, half a teaspoon of ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
Mix the avocado pulp with softened butter using a hand blender, a food processor, or a fork. Gradually add the salt, lemon juice, and cumin, and season to taste with pepper. Done!
Avocado Butter With Miso And Yeast
This unique spread is bursting with nutrition! For it, you will need half a cup of mashed avocado, one tablespoon of lime juice, two teaspoons of white miso, one teaspoon of nutritional yeast, half a cup of coconut oil, half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of xantham gum. Xantham gum is a thickening agent which will help keep all of the ingredients from separating.
Just put all the ingredients in a food processor and process it until it’s smooth. Scoop the mixture from the sides if necessary, and once done, make sure to refrigerate it if you won’t eat it right away.
Conclusion
Avocado butter is a condiment that goes well with nearly anything. You can season it to taste by adding garlic, cumin, pepper, olive oil, yeast, miso, or whatever your heart desires. You should always add lemon or lime juice to it in order to preserve it and its beautiful green color, because if you don’t, it will start to turn brown about 3 hours after it’s been made.
Using a food processor is recommended, but you can make it using a hand blender too or manually with a fork. Finally, dare to experiment and add different ingredients – you never know! What was once a possible combination idea in your head might end up being your favorite recipe for avocado butter.