The Creamy Ingredient That Makes Salad Taste Like $15 Cafe Greens

The hallmark of a balanced salad includes an array of contrasting but complementary tastes and textures that keep each bite interesting and refreshing. There are a variety of additions to elevate your salad, and one stands out among the bunch for its wholesome nutritional value and crave-worthy texture. A healthy fat rich in fiber and many other vitamins and nutrients, avocado is the perfect fruit to suit your next salad.

Often spread onto toast, sliced into tacos, or transformed into guacamole, avocado is both a versatile and vital ingredient. In fact, new research urges that you should be eating avocados every day to promote heart health. Most tossed green salads are rife with crisp lettuce and other leafy greens, giving an ideal base in which to mix in an ingredient with such a naturally creamy consistency.

There are plenty of simple ways to use avocado in your salads. Whether diced or sliced and tossed on top or blended into a vinaigrette or dressing, avocado is easy and effective in a great number of recipes. It's important to keep in mind that these fruits are prone to turning brown from oxidization, but this can be remedied with the clever use of citrus and other ingredients.

Whether you want to use this creamy fruit as a salad topping, in your dressing, or both, it's always good to start with ripe avocados for optimal texture. When including the ingredient in your salad, it's helpful to add it right before serving to keep the color especially vibrant. You can also dress it with a squirt of lemon or lime juice on top to help the avocados stay green. Try it in a citrusy arugula salad recipe.

Even if a salad doesn't call for avocado in the recipe, you can still liven it up with the fresh ingredient. For example, mix the fruit into a creamy and luscious dressing to use as a topping or toss with a spinach salad with roasted fennel and grapefruit. If you want a salad with fewer leafy greens, shift the ratios by using diced avocado as your base and add crisp ingredients such as chopped radicchio, celery, or radishes.

When pressed for time to prepare a homemade salad dressing, you can always give store-bought vinaigrette a delicious creamy twist with the addition of avocado. It's also an ideal ingredient in a number of creamy vegan salad dressing recipes in lieu of mayonnaise or yogurt. No matter how you slice or smash it, avocado deserves a spot in your salad bowl.