You could never have enough salad dressings, could you? Vinaigrettes are my go to dressing, but I do love a creamy dressing to dress up my plate of greens sometimes. A creamy, tangy dressing when paired with the right salad, can completely elevate that dish. Another thing about a lot of store-bought dressings is that they are often loaded with preservatives and artificial flavours which is kind of counter-intuitive when used on a salad. So a simple, home-made, healthy dressing with a deliciously fruity summer twist like this Creamy Kiwifruit and Avocado Dressing can be a wonderful thing to have in your pantry or fridge. Plus it’s Gluten-Free, Vegan AND has no added oil!
This is a fantastic (and healthier) alternative to other creamy salad dressings like Mayonnaise or ranch. That lovely creaminess comes mainly from the avocado (Hello creamy vanilla avocado drink!), which is complemented well by the tangy, sweet, sour notes of kiwifruit.
Kiwifruit is grown abundantly in New Zealand (where the origin of the name can also be traced back to) and as a Kiwi, I used to eat it a lot and I love it. But did you know that the fruit actually does not come from the kiwi bird? :p It only resembles it with that brown, fuzzy skin. 🙂
Kiwifruit is a rich source of vitamins and it’s one of my favourites in smoothies, fruit salads, leafy salads, and so many other lovely treats too (like this kiwifruit blackberry vanilla cake and kiwi margarita!).
So how does the kiwifruit taste in this particular salad dressing? Perfect! The tangy flavour is quite prominent, but it complements the smooth, creamy flavour of avocado really well! The parsley and green onions add even more flavour and freshness to the dressing, making it good enough to eat just on its own! It’s a thick, creamy, flavour-packed salad dressing that you could even use as a dip for a platter of veggies too (in fact I was dipping these salad leaves in it and eating them while I was taking these photos).
Looking for more recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
Ingredients:
- 3 oz / 85g peeled cut up kiwifruit (roughly 1 small kiwifruit)
- 2 oz / 55g avocado
- 0.5 oz / 14g spring onions green onions
- 2 tbsp / 5g chopped flat leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup plant based milk coconut milk / almond milk or soy milk
- Salt to taste
Instructions:
- Put all the ingredients, and half of the milk in a small food processor and process until you get a smooth liquid.
- Add salt to taste and add the rest of the milk if you prefer like a thinner dressing. Process to mix well (If you want to thin out the dressing even more, add extra milk or lemon juice and mix well).
- Store in a jar in the fridge, until ready to use.
- Keeps in the fridge for a few days (it never lasts longer than 3 days in our house!).
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
We had this dressing with a chicken and melon salad and it made for an incredibly flavourful, healthy meal. I know you will love this dressing too!
And it tasted even better inside soft, buttery, homemade croissants! 🙂
The next day, I made poached chicken and then tossed it in this salad dressing generously and ate it with a side of a beautiful, leafy green salad. It would taste fantastic in a coleslaw or an iceberg wedge salad or even inside a sandwich too!
If you liked this recipe don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes and updates by entering your email address below (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing.
You can find me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and GOOGLE-PLUS too. I share pictures of recipes to come on the blog plus other awesome recipes I find out there that I want to try. So I hope you do stop by and say hi! 🙂
Christine says
I should have known that such an exotic, but exquisite-sounding flavor combo would be yours! I love bright dressings – like I should serve this over a spinach strawberry salad or something just for the extra pop of color!:P
CakeSpy says
I’m so into this dressing. I am into anything avocado, really. <3
Dini says
Me too! Absolutely love Avocados! <3
Sandhya says
Avocado and kiwi…what a great combination of flavors and texture! Loved the kiwi bird sketch too:)
zita subasinghe says
Thanks Dini, for this great idea which is so easy to prepare as well and so healthy. A winner in every way!
Zita
arlene@arl's world says
Love the thought of homemade salad dressing …maybe I will try it! Looks delish! 🙂
Quinn Caudill says
Hi Dini. What a great combination of flavors. Never would have thought of adding kiwi. I can see how it would make a great chicken salad. Thanks for sharing with Fiesta Friday#72 and thanks for the shout out. Have a great weekend. Happy FF! :)) Quinn
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
I know I am going to love this! I can’t wait to try it, Dini! Kiwi in a dressing sounds wonderful!
Kennedy Cole@KCole's Creative Corner says
I can’t wait to try this! I love adding fruits to salad dressing. It’s a great replacement for all that fatty mayo in a typical dressing. And I’ve never actually heard of a kiwi bird before, believe it or not. 😉
I recently made a cooking and baking blog, too.
http://kcolescreativecorner.com
I would greatly appreciate it if you would check it out!
Thanks so much!
Chris Scheuer says
This looks amazing, the color alone is enough for me to run to the kitchen!
Nagi@RecipeTinEats says
This is the most interesting dressing I’ve ever seen. Kiwi? And yet….I can imagine it. I’ve tried strawberry. So why not kiwi? And I love the vibrant colour too!! That’s what really gets me! 🙂
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
This looks delicious, great combination! Anything with avocado is a winner!
Dini says
Thank you Florian 🙂 And I agree with you 100%!
Mila Furman says
OMG what an awesome idea!!! Healthy and tart!!! YUMM!!! And I think we knew that kiwi’s dont come from kiwi birds 🙂 Although thanks for clarifying!
Dini says
It was delicious as a dressing, but I have to admit I ate it as a dip too! 😀 When I was really small I think at some point I did think there was some kind of connection between kiwifruit and kiwi birds (until I saw one!) hahaha! Although I do love that kiwifruit-kiwi image…
Katie @ Recipe for Perfection says
I love avocados! I really haven’t made salad dressings as much as I should. Ok, I’ve never made salad dressing! Time to get started! 🙂
Dini says
Me too Katie!! 😀 Ooh I hope you try homemade dressing… I promise, once you do – you will NEVER buy store bought ever again! 🙂