Instead · 1
a soft cheese — ricotta, goat cheese, burrata
one for one by volume
- What it gets you
- The rich, cool, spreadable fat on toast or under a salad.
- What it costs you
- The vegetal grassiness, and the color.
Substitutions · 20 dishes here use it
Out of avocado
Fat with no cooking required — it does what butter or cream would do in a dish that has neither. Acid keeps it green, and pressing on it before you buy it is how you get an unripe one.
Everything below is judged against that job. A swap that covers it is a swap; one that only looks similar is not.
50% of the 20 dishes here that mention avocado already list it as optional. Before you look for a replacement, check whether you are in one of them.
What to reach for
Instead · 2
hummus or a white bean puree with olive oil
one for one by volume
- What it gets you
- A smooth, savory spread with body, and it does not brown while you eat it.
- What it costs you
- The fat, which needs adding back with oil, and the specific silkiness nothing else has.
Instead · 3
frozen avocado chunks
one for one
- What it gets you
- Actual avocado for a smoothie, a dressing or a puree, ready when the fresh ones are not.
- What it costs you
- Every use where it is sliced. They thaw soft.
What none of them do
Guacamole has one ingredient. Everything else in this list makes a good dip and none of them makes that one.
Where you can just leave it out · 10
These dishes list avocado as optional. They were written to work without it, so no ratio is needed and nothing has to be bought.
Where the swap will be tasted · 7
These need it and are short enough that nothing hides: 4 required ingredients or fewer, which makes avocado a quarter of what is in the pan. Make the swap a decision rather than a repair.
Check what else is in the pan
The company avocado keeps in this library, counted off required ingredients. A swap that argues with the top two is the wrong swap, whatever a chart says.