Avocado Crema With Jalapenos

Why It's Yummy

• Loaded with fresh flavors and textures and each bite tastes heavenly.
• The universal perfect topping for almost any savory dish.
• Easy to make, fast and another batch can be whipped up in literally minutes. 
• Fully customizable. The recipe ingredients and amounts are more or less my guidelines for you. I highly recommend customizing this recipe further to your liking. Things like lime juice, salt, pepper, and jalapeno or garlic can be swapped out or used less to better match your cooking. 

Avocado Crema Details

Its texture: smooth, silky (or make it chunky, I won't judge), creamy and thick.

And flavor: cool, bright, tangy, and fresh thanks to lime and cilantro, mildly spicy (a little jalapeno goes a long way), salty, with a hint of garlic.

• Avocado - I used two avocados, very ripe ones as they are the easiest to prep and mash. I don't refrigerate the crema but I do use chilled ingredients right from the fridge.
• Seasonings - use a generous amount of salt and black pepper, it is much needed here.
• Lime juice - fresh is always best, but you can also use lemon juice instead. My 1 tablespoon of lime juice in the recipe is more or less a guideline for you. Add the lime juice to your liking, more or less to your taste.
• Jalapenos - adds that needed zing if you like the spicy and a little smoky flavor to it. Other smoky hot peppers will work too, substitute the jalapeno with green chiles, habanero, or serrano pepper. Or just a splash of hot sauce could work wonders too.
• Fresh herbs - cilantro is my go-to herb in southwestern dishes, but things like basil or parsley will add a different vibe and feel, especially if you are not in the cilantro fan club.

How To Choose A Ripe Avocado

The star ingredient for this avocado crema - is choosing a perfectly ripe avocado.

• Avocado Stem - When shopping for avocados, always go for those with stems on. If there's no stem, your avocado may have brown spots inside.
• Next, do a so-called press test. Gently press your thumb into the skin around the avocado. If the avocado yields to firm, gentle pressure, it's ripe, and you're good to go. 
• The color is also a great indicator of ripeness. The darkest green turning purple is the best. However, this depends on your location and type of avocados, too. For example, in Asia, I always find super green-colored and huge avocados. But they pass my "press test" and are perfectly ripe inside. You can make a ton of crema and guacamole with just a few!

Benefits of Avocado

What are the benefits of eating avocado?

Avocados are super nutrient-rich foods! They are delicious and a great source of monounsaturated fat, which can reduce your risk of heart disease. 

I eat at least one avocado per day. I add it to my toast, eggs, salads, main courses, you name it!

This is because avocados are:

Tips

• Avocados need lots of salt, especially when mixed into sauce or crema. Yogurt makes things creamy but takes away the flavor that we bring back with the right amount of seasonings.
• The dipping sauce will get brown on top once stored. So just keep this in mind and scoop out the top layer where you'll find bright green avocado crema underneath. I don't recommend storing this for more than 24-48 hours tops, as the flavor will change and more browning will occur.
• You can also make this a creamy avocado sauce to drizzle over salads or barbecues. For a thinner consistency, simply add a little water or plant-based milk to thin it out. Then transfer into sauce or squeeze bottle and refrigerate until ready to use. You may need to adjust the rest of the ingredient quantities.
• If you love jalapenos, be sure to check out these melt-in-your-mouth delicious Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins. These freeze very well too!

Serving Suggestions

Okay, along with chunky guacamole this avocado crema it's the ultimate sauce for anything Tex-Mex-related. It pairs beautifully with a variety of foods.

• You can top your fajitas, tacos, and burritos with it. Use in chicken wraps, sandwiches, crunchwraps, rice bowls, taquitos, and quesadillas. Or dip veggies and tortilla chips in this silky smooth perfection.
• Tuna Tacos - fish tacos with avocado crema taste amazing, with or without the Mango Salsa.
• Sweet potato fritters
• Drizzle over sheet pan fajitas, so good!
• Cauliflower Tacos - oven-baked cauliflower bites combined with this creamy sauce just melt in your mouth.
• I love adding leftover crema .. well, essentially everywhere. Serve this dip with Pork Chops or Tuna steak. You'll not regret this.
• Also, grilled chicken goes very well with this avocado lime crema recipe.

Freezing And Storing Instructions

• Store. Transfer avocado crema into an airtight container or zip lock bag and refrigerate for up to 48 hours (is best but can be up to 2-3 days tops).
• If stored in an airtight container, you can add a piece of plastic wrap on top or pour a bit of cold water on top and close the lid (this is the same when storing guacamole). This will delay the browning effect just a bit. If you add water, don't store the crema for longer than a day, just my experience as the flavor will change and texture too. Some browning will still occur, and this is normal. It is safe to eat but I recommend removing the top layer before consumption.
• Freeze. I don't recommend it but it can be done the same way by packing the crema into zip lock bags or using a vacuum sealer machine if you have one. Freeze for up to 1-2 months.
• Meal prep. The process of making avocado crema is fairly easy and quick. I don't recommend making it upfront or cutting avocados earlier as they will brown quickly especially ripe avocados. 

Recommended Equipment

• Food Processor - makes your crema ultra creamy and smooth.
• Handheld Blender - another alternative that is super easy to use and less clean-up.
• Squeeze Bottles - add some water to your crema and it becomes a sauce. Use squeeze bottles to drizzle the sauce over salads, grilled meats, and more.
• Airtight Containers, Zip Lock Bags, Vacuum Sealer Machine - for easy hassle free storage!