Avocados … who doesn’t love ’em!? While they’re a staple in many healthy recipes, they’re well-loved by many people everywhere. You hardly ever meet a person who will turn down some guacamole, and if you served this up some raw cacao mousse that sneaks in this fatty fruit, you can bet they wouldn’t turn you down. Avocados are a food that provides an incredible balance of nutrition, flavor, and satisfaction—something not all foods, healthy or not, can do in such small serving. While you do have to wait on them to ripen before you use them, this is a small price to pay for such a healthy food.

To inspire you to eat more avocados, and to share with you some reasons why you should if you’re not already, let’s take a look at five easy ways to use avocados and why you should!

1. Use Them to Make a Breakfast Bowl

Why: Avocados provide healthy fats to stabilize your blood sugar first thing in the morning when cortisol levels spike and cause low blood sugar. The body needs ample amounts of fiber, a little protein, and some healthy fats first thing in the day. You’ll be more energized, less hungry, and your brain receives the nutrients it needs to stay fueled and focused. Avocados’ healthy fats are mostly mono-unsaturated fats, some of the best fats to eat for brain, heart, metabolic, and blood health.

How: Enjoy them in this delicious breakfast bowl that is made by creaming avocados up with natural fruits and a few superfoods. It’s nutrient-dense and the best part? It only takes 2-3 minutes!

2. Make a Quick Soup for Lunch!

Why: Soup is a healthy lunch idea but it doesn’t have to come from a can. In fact, it’s really simple to make at home with nothing more than vegetables and whole food sources of fat (olives, avocado, coconut, or even nuts and seeds). All you need to do is blend up some avocado with vegetables and some spices or herbs for a flavor-packed meal in minutes. Avocados will enhance the satiety of the soup and improve the texture, provide vitamin E for your heart and skin health, magnesium to reduce afternoon stress, and B vitamins for energy and a healthy nervous system.

How: Raw Carrot Avocado Soup is a perfect option and is a terrific source of low glycemic, fiber-rich carbohydrates, healthy fats, and even has a little protein in there too!

3. Lunch or Dinner: Make Them Into Burgers

Why: Burgers need some sort of binder, which is normally made with either meat, or some meat-free versions contain eggs. Thick foods such as avocados, however, can also be used as a much healthier binder instead. This will add  a hearty, fatty flavor plus tons of texture and satiety. It’s also more beneficial to use avocados as a fat source in place of meat for heart health, cancer prevention, and higher levels of energy thanks to optimal digestion.

How: Blend up some seeds, beans, whole grains and/or avocado to make your own burgers in a jiffy. Try these Red Lentil and Amaranth Burgers which are packed with amino acids, calcium, magnesium, iron, and have a nice, spicy flavor. You can also top them with some guacamole to make them even more filling and delicious! You can also try these Mexican Bean Burgers With Avocado Fries, which is the perfect alternative to those fast food hamburger and fry meals we’re all accustomed to .

4. Lunch or a Snack: Use Them as a Mayo Alternative in a Sandwich

Why: A sandwich can be the perfect in-between-meal snack, or it can be a meal on its own depending on how hungry you are and what’s in the sandwich. Give avocado a try in place of mayo in your next sandwich. This will not only eliminate the unhealthy cholesterol, but it’s also better since you’re consuming a whole food source of fat, versus oil-laden mayo. Plus, since there’s no eggs, your arteries will also thank you and your heart will be well on its way to getting healthier with each bite.

How: You can either chop avocado up to use on a sandwich, cut it into slivers, or mash it up or put it in a food processor to make it extra smooth first. Try this Vegan Humdinger Sandwich that features avocado, crunchy carrots, and other plant-based goodies for a satisfying meal or snack in minutes! Or, try this protein-packed Baked Tofu Caesar Sandwich that also uses avocados in place of mayo. Not feeling a sandwich? Go for vegan tacos and use avocados in place of sour cream for a healthy lunch, dinner, or hearty snack!

5. Dessert: Make Them Into a Pudding, Brownies, Cake, Ice Cream, Smoothies, and More!

Why: Avocados can easily replace the dairy cream in a recipe … just like that! They’re a delicious way to satisfy your hunger and are mild enough to be flavored by other ingredients. Using plant-based fats in recipes will not only improve your heart health, but they also stabilize your blood sugar better and don’t cause the same type of insulin response that animal-based fats can. Plus, they’re super easy to use. Just be sure they’re ripe first so they’re nice and soft.

How: You can blend up avocados with cacao and some sweetener for a chocolate pudding treat, add them to a vegan shake for thickness and richness, use them in place of eggs and oil when baking brownies, make them into a mousse, or use them in place of yogurt in a smoothie, or even add them to a cake! See more ways to replace dairy with avocados here for additional recipe suggestions.

Be sure you check out all of our avocado recipes here for tons of ideas for any kind of meal and snack you crave. And remember, don’t fear the healthy fats in avocados, they’re some of the most nutritious fruits out there, the most satisfying, and the easiest to find (and use) all year round. While you needn’t eat them all day long, a little here and there will do the body some good.

What’s your favorite way to use avocados? Got a favorite recipe? Let’s hear it!

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