Five Minute Avocado Sauce

This avocado sauce is packed with flavor from tons of fresh herbs and garlic, creaminess from avocado and olive oil, and a pesto-like crunch from pumpkin seeds. It comes together in five minutes in your food processor, with no pre-chopping required.

You can use this sauce for almost ANYTHING.

Top grilled chicken, steak, fish, or shrimp with it. Add it to tacos or fajitas. Use it as the sauce in a pasta salad. Spread it on a sandwich. Add it to a grain bowl.

The possibilities are endless.

Of course, if you’re like me, you’ll have a hard time saving it to use with anything since you’ll be diving into the food processor directly with a spoon eating almost the whole batch!

Seriously, taking photos of this avocado sauce and just sitting there NOT eating it was one of my biggest challenges I’ve ever faced.

But I persevered.

And then I feasted.

I mixed this sauce into a pasta salad with rotini, chopped tomatoes, and grilled chicken. It was a simple, fast, healthy dinner that had the taste of warm weather and sunshine, even during these cold and cloudy February days.

But even with these cold and cloudy February days, I have the good fortune of having a thriving herb harden, since I live in Texas and our winter has been very mild this year.

My parsley and cilantro are out of control- I have way more than I know what to do with. After giving away what I thought was a lot to my neighbors, I realized it barely made a dent!

So that’s how this recipe came about- a need to use as much fresh cilantro and parsley as possible.

I remembered seeing an herb-packed green sauce on Pinch of Yum, so I headed there for inspiration. This recipe is adapted from Lindsay’s 5 Minute Magic Green Sauce.

How do you make avocado sauce?

To make this avocado sauce recipe, all you do is throw some ingredients into a food processor and press on. Don’t you just LOVE recipes like this?

I threw a bunch of cilantro and parsley- stems and all- into the food processor. I smashed, but didn’t bother chopping, a whole garlic clove. The jalapeño I did choose to seed, but if you’re a big spicy fan, you can just throw the whole thing in there (minus the stem).

Add an avocado, some pumpkin seeds, lime juice, salt, pepper, and some water, and press on!

Then, as the sauce is blending, drizzle in a little bit of olive oil. I almost didn’t add it, because I thought it would be fatty enough from the avocados, but in the end the sauce needed that rich silkiness that makes olive oil so wonderful.

You can leave out the olive oil, if you don’t want any added fats.

How can I prevent avocado sauce from turning brown?

Avocados by nature do turn brown, as will this sauce. But don’t worry, it will still taste amazing. And there are some steps you can take to prevent it!

First, if you’re a fan of lime, use a little extra lime juice. The more you have, the less brown it will get. You can also use lemon juice.

Second, store the sauce in a bowl with a squeeze of lime juice on top and plastic wrap pressed down directly on the surface. When avocados (or apples, or bananas…) turn brown, it’s because of oxidation. Cut off the oxygen to the food and viola! No brown.

Can I freeze this avocado sauce?

You betcha! When avocados are pureed or mashed, they freeze well. Slices or large chunks don’t freeze well, and the texture will be off.

But since this sauce is pureed to a silky-smooth consistency, it will freeze beautifully. Just put it in an airtight container (or portion it out in multiple containers) and freeze for up to 6 months, defrosting completely before using.

So there you have it! The most versatile avocado sauce, PACKED with fresh herbs, for you to use the next time you grill chicken or make tacos.

In fact, this sauce would be awesome served on these Spinach and White Bean Patties, these Smoky Chicken and Avocado Tacos, or on top of this Blackened Tilapia. Or use it as a dip for homemade potato chips.

I’ve also enjoyed it as a topping for one-pot black beans and quinoa.

Love homemade sauces? Try this Five-Minute Lemon Arugula Pesto and this Homemade Chipotle Enchilada Sauce.

Here’s the recipe!

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Five Minute Avocado Sauce

Fresh herbs and garlic pack a ton of flavor into this creamy, vegan avocado sauce, with a pesto-like crunch from pumpkin seeds! Put it on chicken, fish, tacos, fajitas, pasta salad… it’s super versatile!

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Sauce

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 119kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

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Equipment

• Food Processor

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and stems
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves and stems (or more cilantro)
• 1 large avocado
• 1 jalapeño pepper seeds and ribs removed
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds  pepitas
• 1 small clove garlic smashed
• juice of one lime  about 2 tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

• Add all ingredients except olive oil to food processor, starting with only 1/4 cup water (1/2 cup cilantro leaves and stems, 1/2 cup parsley leaves and stems, 1 large avocado, 1 jalapeño pepper, 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds , 1 small clove garlic, juice of one lime , 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 to 1/2 cup water).
• Turn food processor on and process for about one minute, until very smooth.
• If sauce is too thick, add more water.
• While the food processor is on, drizzle the 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in gradually.
• Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve as a dip with veggies, spread on sandwiches or burgers, on top of grilled chicken, fish, shrimp, or steak, as a dressing on salad or pasta… or eat plain with a spoon! :-)

Notes

• If you like things extra spicy, leave the seeds in the jalapeño.
• You can freeze this avocado sauce in an airtight container (or portioned out into a few containers) for up to 6 months. Defrost completely before using.
• To avoid the sauce turning brown, store it in a bowl with a squeeze of lime or lemon juice on top and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly on to the surface of the sauce, minimizing as much air exposure as possible.
• You can substitute other seeds or nuts for the pumpkins seeds- sunflower seeds, sliced or slivered almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, or pistachios all work great.
• This recipe was adapted from Lindsay at Pinch of Yum’s 5 Minute Magic Green Sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 4tablespoons | Calories: 119kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 396mg | Potassium: 233mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 580IU | Vitamin C: 13.9mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.8mg

Nutrition Information Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:

Very Well Fit Nutrition Information Calculator

My Fitness Pal Recipe Nutrition Calculator

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