How To Turn Leftover Guacamole Into A Creamy Salad Dressing

The flavors in many popular make-ahead dips, like French onion and buffalo chicken, get better with time, which means you can safely leave the leftovers in the fridge to enjoy on another day. A leftover pot of guacamole, on the other hand, discolors and turns a brownish-grey as it sits, which leaves it looking so unappetizing that you might just toss it in the trash. However, instead of discarding your guac, consider breathing new life into it before it has the time to lose its inviting verdant hue, by transforming it into a creamy salad dressing. 

The acidic lime coating the chunks of avocado in a guacamole reduces its exposure to oxygen, which hampers it from browning too quickly. All you need to do to turn it into a dressing is blitz it up in a blender with olive oil and a touch more acid, such as lemon, orange juice, or even buttermilk, to loosen its consistency and create a pourable emulsion. Doubling up on these common acids — that are already key components in a salad dressing — will stall the natural browning process that occurs within the avocado, giving your leftovers a second wind. As the guac features flavorful herbs, tomatoes, and aromatic onion, there's little else you need to add to make it sing, apart from tasting it for seasonings and balance. However, you might like to toss in a clove of garlic, some chili flakes, or a couple of anchovies to amp up its attitude.

Feel free to incorporate more herbs, like parsley and basil, as well as a dollop of mayo into your guac to make a gussied-up version of a classic green goddess dressing. In fact, many vegan recipes for this fragrant dressing switch the mayo for creamy avocado anyway because it has a silky texture when perfectly ripe, which mimics the rich consistency of mayo. You could also stir your blended guac into a batch of buttermilk ranch dressing to suffuse it with a brightening but complex lift. Better yet, instead of blitzing your guacamole into a smooth sauce, simply stir it through your dressing of choice as is. The chunky tomatoes, onions, and diced jalapeno will lend it an interesting texture, imbuing your finished salad with a satisfying texture.

Use your guacamole salad dressing immediately by tossing it through a bowl of mixed leaves or shredded cabbage to make a mean green slaw. Another good option is to use it as an alternative to mayo in a tasty potato salad. Alternatively, pour a touch of oil, or more lime juice, over it as it sits in your salad dressing container to reduce its exposure to the air, and refrigerate it to pour over a side salad later; while the acid will slow it down from browning, it will eventually discolor so try to use it up early. A vibrantly green dressed salad would look particularly good against the natural tone of a wooden salad bowl, like this lightweight Lexa food-safe bamboo bowl.