This is the tale of the salad dressing that transformed into a dip. It sounds like the start of a fairy tale don’t you think? Except turning from a salad dressing into a dip doesn’t sound like a great transformation, (kind of like a prince turning into a frog) but it is, so it’s a story with a happy ending.
It all began one afternoon when I was looking for a new salad dressing to massage into my kale. I wanted to see if I could find another pantry staple dressing that I loved as much as my lacinato kale salad and my ricotta salata dressings. I made up this dressing and tried it with the kale, but it was just too thick for my liking and I didn’t like the consistency of it as a salad dressing. I did however like the taste of the dressing on its own. I was deciding what to do with it when in came John from the den with a tortilla chip in hand, he took his chip and dipped it in the dressing and exclaimed, “Wow, this dip rocks.” Seriously folks, it really happened this way. I then tried the dip and loved it as well. I wanted another opinion though, so I called in Zoe and had her try it and she loved it. It reminded us all of one of our favorite humus dips from Cafe del Sol. I think it was the combination of the tahini and the cumin that gave it that kick. This is now one of our favorite go-to dips and I love that it stays green and fresh for days. This is a great make ahead dip for a party as it tastes just as great day one as it does day 2, and it doesn’t brown in color like most dips made with avocado, that to me is reason enough to try this dip.
I’ve also taken this dip, mixed it with some quinoa and created this quinoa wrap! Let me just tell you that it’s AMAZING!
This dip has become our favorite pre-dinner appetizer, we just pour the dip into a bowl, set out some tortilla chips or pita chips and snack away. It’s truly the new guacamole in our house!
avocado-tahini dip:
makes approximately 1 1/2 cups
- 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and diced
- 1/3 cup well stirred tahini – make sure this is a level cup, as too much tahini will overpower the dip
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (approx. 1 lemon)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/4 cup filtered water
Let’s begin by prepping all of the ingredients. Peel and dice your avocado, measure out the 1/3 cup tahini, squeeze up your 3 tablespoons lemon juice and wash and mince your cilantro leaves.
Combine the avocado, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, cilantro and sea salt in a mini prep or food processor and puree until smooth.
Make sure to scrape down the sides one or two times so that everything gets mixed in. The mixture will be pretty thick and chunky at this point.
Add in the 1/4 cup water and puree again until blended and smooth. See how much smoother the dip is? The water helps to get the dip to a creamier consistency. Feel free to add a bit more water to get the dip to a consistency that you like. I found that using 1/4 cup or splash more was perfect.
Ok, your dip is ready. See I told you this dip was easy to make.
Scoop the dip into a bowl, get out your favorite chips and enjoy! We love pairing this dip with some Have’a Corn chips.
A minty limeaid takes this snack to a whole new level. Perfect for those hot summer afternoons.
The dip can be stored in a well sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
This dip isn’t just for snacking! I’ve mixed it in with some cooked quinoa to create this quinoa wrap. I’m seriously so addicted to this wrap!
Like avocados? Then you have to try my go-to guacamole! It’s kid tested and approved and requires only 5 simple whole-food ingredients!
- 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and diced
- ⅓ cup well stirred tahini - make sure this is a level cup, as too much tahini will overpower the dip
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (approx. 1 lemon)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ¼ cup filtered water
- Let's begin by prepping all of the ingredients. Peel and dice your avocado, measure out the ⅓ cup tahini, squeeze up your 3 tablespoons lemon juice and wash and mince your cilantro leaves.
- Combine the avocado, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, cilantro and sea salt in a mini prep or food processor and puree until smooth.
- Make sure to scrape down the sides one or two times so that everything gets mixed in. The mixture will be pretty thick and chunky at this point.
- Add in the ¼ cup water and puree again until blended and smooth. The water helps to get the dip to a creamier consistency. Feel free to add a bit more water to get the dip to a consistency that you like. I found that using ¼ cup or splash more was perfect.
- Ok, your dip is ready. See I told you this dip was easy to make.
- Scoop the dip into a bowl, get out your favorite chips and enjoy! We love pairing this dip with some Have'a Corn chips.
- The dip can be stored in a well sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
This is wonderful . I love it 🙂
Yaay! I’m so happy you love the dip Maggie! It’s one of my favorites as well 🙂
That looks very good!
Thanks Margie 🙂
Hey girl! Cute fairy tale story of how the dip came to be, with a great ending including chips! 🙂 This looks delicious. Your photos always look so enticing! Another one of your recipes to pin and try. xoxo, Sharon
Hey you! I’m glad you actually read my short story on this recipe. I was just feeling in the story telling mood the day I wrote it, I guess 🙂
I love it Jackie! The dip idea is prefect and healthy for my family! You always have great ideas for healthy recipes! Keep them coming girl! xxooAnna and Liz
Thanks girls! You guys are too sweet 🙂
Wonderful Jackie!! Love this – so healthy and DELICIOUS!! bookmarking this and making it tomorrow!
Mary x
Great Mary! I hope you love it! 🙂
The flavors must be so rich and creamy and wonderful! I love dip. I like a few crackers with my bowl of dip 🙂
I was so excited for this recipe so thanks for posting it! This would be a total party hit.. or a party for one! 🙂
Hi Pamela! You’re totally welcome and I’m glad you’re excited to try it! You might even love this as a salad dressing on well on top of all that kale you have from your amazing garden 🙂
I was actually thinking how great this would be with a salad : ) Or to dip veggies in, or chips, or as a spread on a sandwich…it seems like it can be very versatile!
Forgot to mention…I like my salad dressing thick. So this sounds perfect!
Hi Christine! I think that if you love salad dressing on the thicker side then you would love this and I know that you love avocados 🙂
You may want to add a bit more water to the dressing to thin it up a bit though 🙂 I love the sandwich spread idea. xoxo, Jackie
I just made this and it is AWESOME! Thanks so much for this recipe. Avocado and tahini are such a great combo. I did add a little bit more water but still left it on the thicker side. Now I am so looking forward to lunch tomorrow.
The hubby might have some people over for football this weekend and I think I’ll make another batch of this with chips (because the batch I just made will definitely be gone by then!).
Hi Christine! I saw your photo on Instagram this morning and I love what you paired the dip with. I’m so happy that you are loving this dip. When I saw your blog and your love of avocados, I just knew you would love it. Avocado, tahini and cumin go well together and who would have thought, right? I hope your football crowd enjoys the dip as well! Have a great weekend! xoxo, Jackie
Hey Jackie! Lunch was definitely delicious : ) Thanks again for the recipe…I have a feeling I will like a lot of your recipes! I hope you have a great weekend as well!
Sounds so tasty! Fresh and delicious are one thing California’s got (okay, besides weather 😉 that New York doesn’t have. The last few avos we’ve bought have not tasted great, so we’re kind of missing good avocados! This dip sounds fantastic though and I look forward to trying it.
Hi Christy! You know, I have noticed that avocados are not the same everywhere. Out here they are usually perfect and green but when we were recently in MN, the avocados I tried were not great and I was disappointed. I guess you can bookmark this dip for when avocados are in season in NY. 🙂
girl it looks like a winner! Nothing better than dip and chips in my opinion and I love the it is easy and the color just pops! People would think it took you forever to make it! So healthy too! You always have the best ideas!
Awwww, you’re too sweet girl. My favorite part of this dip is the fact that it stays green and fresh for days. I love guacamole, but hate how it turns brown after an hour. 🙂 xoxo, Jackie
Hi Jackie. I had the same issue with guacamole until i discovered tat adding a small clove of garlic keeps guacamole bright green for up to 10 days!
Thanks so much for the advice Stavros! I will give that a shot next time. What a great tip! 🙂 xoxo, Jackie
Looks yummy! And I like those serving pieces, where did they come from?
They came from Crate and Barrel and Sur La Table. I needed some new staging pieces to give me some inspiration. 🙂
This is such a good idea! As you know, I made an avocado tahini sauce recently too…it was similar, but made to go on falafel. Your dip sounds fabulous, I have all the ingredients so I’m going to try this out!
Hi Jaclyn. I would love to see your recipe as well. You can’t have too many great dips right? 🙂
I love the ingredients for this dip! I’m totally going to make this one of these football Sunday’s coming up.
Hi Kelli! Even my football loving hubby and his buds love this dip, so it should go over well with a crowd of boys 🙂