Copycat Jimmy John’s Avocado Sandwich Spread

Sometimes you just need a little reminder to step outside of your box of usual sandwich spreads and use something you might not think of. This copycat of the avocado sandwich spread from Jimmy John’s is essentially guacamole with a few twists thrown in. It’s fantastic on a sandwich and for that matter, equally as great as a dip for tortilla chips. That’s why I doubled the recipe. Sandwiches and chips. Lunch is done.

Copycat Jimmy John's Avocado Sandwich Spread

Every sandwich needs a little spiciness in my opinion. Which is why I was happy that this copycat Jimmy John’s avocado sandwich spread includes a jalapeno. Now, granted, it’s a small jalapeno so you’re not going to get overwhelming heat. But you don’t want that kick to be front-and-center. Just there, in the back. Noticed but not overwhelming. This spread is excellent on my copycat of Jason’s Deli California Club sandwich.

Use your food processor (or blender) to get the spread to the consistency you want. You aren’t making chunky guacamole, so I would say keep going until it’s creamy smooth. It’s up to you. You do want it to be spreadable. Once it’s creamy you can’t go back and un-creamy it, so stop every few seconds or so and test it.

Copycat Jimmy John's Avocado Sandwich Spread
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3.75 from 4 votes

Copycat Jimmy John’s Avocado Sandwich Spread

This copycat of the avocado sandwich spread from Jimmy John’s is essentially guacamole with a few twists thrown in. 
Course Sauce
Cuisine American
Keyword avocado, sandwich, sauce
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 178kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 small jalapeno pepper seeded, chopped
  • 1 medium white onion chopped
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • 1 Roma tomato chopped
  • 2 medium avocados peeled, pitted, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • teaspoon dry mustard

Instructions

  • Place the jalapeno, onion, garlic and tomato into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
  • Place avocado into a large bowl. Drizzle with the lime juice and smash with the back of a fork. Transfer to the blender.
  • Add the salt and mustard to the blender and pulse until the mixture reaches the desired thickness.
  • Slather on bread for sandwiches. If you do have any extra spread it makes for a great chip dip!

Nutrition

Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 445mg | Potassium: 581mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 316IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Avocado Ranch Dressing

I love when avocados are in season here. They’re perfect on a salad, be it sliced, chopped or in the dressing itself. This avocado Ranch dressing is quite easy to make. It packs a nice subtle avocado flavor, with the wonderful creamy herb flavor of Ranch. It has a very mild spiciness to it too. You can make it spicier if you like, or leave out the hot sauce entirely. I like my dressing pretty thick, so that’s how I made it. But if you prefer yours a little thinner, just add some more milk.

Avocado Ranch Dressing


Avocado Ranch dressing isn’t just for salads either. It’s perfect as a dip, or use it as a substitute for sour cream on tacos or nachos. It’s also great as a sandwich spread. Just make it a little thicker then spread on bread. Add your favorite sandwich meat and boom, excellent!

Feel free to use different kinds of hot sauce besides the ‘usual’. Go smoky, or super hot, or lime-infused… whatever works for you!

For a little more kick, try my jalapeno ranch dressing.

Avocado Ranch Dressing
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5 from 1 vote

Avocado Ranch Dressing

This avocado Ranch dressing is quite easy to make. It packs a nice subtle avocado flavor, with the wonderful creamy herb flavor of Ranch.
Course Salad Dressing
Cuisine American
Keyword homemade salad dressing
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 cups
Calories 531kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Scoop out the avocado and place into a blender or food processor.
  • Add remaining ingredients except salt and process until smooth.
  • Taste, add salt as needed, and pulse a few more times to mix.
  • Refrigerate for one hour before serving.
  • Note: If the dressing gets too thick, stir in a bit more milk before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 531kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 753mg | Potassium: 632mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 410IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Grilled Avocados

I cannot stop making these grilled avocados. I’ve fired up the grill a few times lately for dinner, making sure that I also throw a few avocados on. I brushed them with this absolutely insanely great vinaigrette. The flavors are perfect. I had no idea just how fantastic balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard would be on a simple lightly-charred avocado.

Grilled Avocados

I like to make crosshatch cuts into the avocado after I grill it. It lets a little of the vinaigrette get down inside the fruit, making sure you’ll have lots of flavor in each and every bite. You do it before also but I found they get a little soft and a little bit harder to handle.

Don’t use wimpy tools on your grill. Specially when it comes to these avocados. You don’t want to reach in there and grab one hot off the grill only to have it fall onto the ground. You want tongs with some teeth that grip, and grip tight. But not so tight that you ended up making guacamole. Weber’s tools might be more expensive than a lot of the ones on the market, but I can attest to their quality.

I love making side dishes on my grill, like Brussels sprouts.

Grilled Avocados
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5 from 1 vote

Grilled Avocados

I cannot stop making these grilled avocados. I’ve fired up the grill a few times lately for dinner, making sure that I also throw a few avocados on. I brushed them with this absolutely insanely great vinaigrette. The flavors are perfect. 
Course Side
Cuisine American
Keyword avocado, grilled
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 359kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Fire up your grill for direct cooking.
  • Slice avocados in half and remove the seeds.
  • Brush avocado insides with the oil and season with salt and pepper.
  • Grill avocados for 4 minutes then remove.
  • In a blender combine the balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, Dijon, 1/4 cup parsley, garlic and 3/4 cup olive oil. Process until smooth.
  • Brush vinaigrette over grilled avocados and serve, garnish with parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 310mg | Potassium: 1012mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 576IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Spicy Avocado Salad Dressing

I grilled up a great batch of cedar-planked spicy shrimp the other day. They were perfect in a big Cobb salad. I didn’t want a wimpy dressing to tone down the kick from the shrimp. Since avocados were in season and on sale, I grabbed a few ripe ones and made this incredibly easy spicy avocado salad dressing.

Spicy Avocado Salad Dressing

This spicy avocado salad dressing is reminiscent of guacamole. In fact, it’s thick enough that you can also use it as a spread on sandwiches or wraps, or even as a dip for chips or vegetables. You can leave out the jalapeno if you like and still have a great dressing that won’t scare your non-heat-loving friends off.

These little sauce dipping cups are great for serving salad dressings. They keep me from over-dressing my salads, which is something I’m prone to do since I’m a dressing-aholic. They’re easy to clean up, too. And they’re also great for dipping nuggets, tenders or even chicken wings.

I love making and eating Cobb salads, specially in the summer when there are so many great ingredients to choose from. Check out my smoked chicken Cobb and my southwestern Cobb salads. They are all great!

Spicy Avocado Salad Dressing
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4 from 1 vote

Spicy Avocado Salad Dressing

Since avocados were in season and on sale, I grabbed a few ripe ones and made this incredibly easy spicy avocado salad dressing.
Course Salad Dressing
Cuisine American
Keyword avocado, homemade salad dressing, spicy
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 cups
Calories 437kcal
Author Mike

Ingredients

  • 2 avocados chopped
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
  • 1 jalapeno peppers seeded, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Place all but the salt and pepper into a blender and pulse until smooth.
  • Season with salt and pepper and pulse a few more times.
  • If you have any leftover dressing place it in a container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly over it, contacting the dressing without any gaps. Refrigerate for up to two days.

Nutrition

Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 1092mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 866IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Avocado with Crab-Mango Salad

This avocado with crab-mango salad is a great dish as an appetizer or a side salad. It’s light and refreshing and darned tasty to boot! This is the perfect salad for a warm summer brunch, combining crunchy and creamy textures into each and every bite. And of course there’s decadent crab throughout.

Avocado with Crab-Mango Salad

Use a good quality lump crab. I made these by using a cookie cutter to form them. You can also just use an avocado half, with the pit removed of course, to serve them in like little salad bowls!

Also try my avocado wraps with spicy mayonnaise and my ham salad filled avocados.

Avocado with Crab-Mango Salad
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5 from 1 vote

Avocado with Crab-Mango Salad

This avocado with crab-mango salad is a great dish as an appetizer or a side salad. It’s light and refreshing and darned tasty to boot! 
Course Side Dish or Appetizer
Cuisine American
Keyword avocado, crab, salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 325kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 lime zested and halved
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
  • ½ mango peeled and diced
  • cup red bell pepper diced
  • cup red onion diced
  • ½ jalapeno diced
  • ½ pound crabmeat jumbo lump
  • 3 avocados cut into 1/4″ bites

Instructions

  • Squeeze half a lime into a bowl. Add the oil and cilantro and mix well.
  • Add the lime zest, mango, bell pepper, onion and jalapeno and mix well.
  • Add the crab and mix gently.
  • Drizzle the remaining lime juice over the avocado.
  • Place 1/4th of the avocado in the bottom of a large round cookie cutter or metal ring. Tamp down slightly with the bottom of a spoon.
  • Add in 1/4th of the crab salad and tamp down. Slowly remove the cookie cutter. I put a spoon on top of the salad mixture to hold it down while removing the cookie cutter.
  • Repeat with remaining avocado and crab salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 549mg | Potassium: 960mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 959IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Smoked Turkey Avocado Wraps

The avocado mix I used on these smoked turkey avocado wraps really kicks up an ordinary wrap. The key a good wrap, for me, is a quality cheese and some sort of spicy sandwich spread. Hot mayonnaise or this avocado cilantro mixture work just fine. And fresh, crisp lettuce.

Smoked Turkey Avocado Wraps

A nice variation on these smoked turkey avocado wraps is to substitute chipotle peppers in adobo for the hot sauce. Just chop a pepper and add it along with a little adobo sauce to the avocado mixture. The smoked jalapenos add a nice smoky flavor, plus of course, a little heat.

Also try my avocado wraps with spicy mayonnaise.

Smoked Turkey Avocado Wraps
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5 from 1 vote

Smoked Turkey Avocado Wraps

The avocado and cilantro spread really makes these wraps a star.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword avocado, smoked, turkey, wraps
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 256kcal

Ingredients

  • ½ large tomato chopped
  • ¼ cup cilantro chopped
  • ½ teaspoon hot sauce or more
  • 1 avocado peeled, pitted, diced
  • 4 large tortillas or wraps
  • 8 slices smoked turkey sandwich meat
  • 4 slices provolone cheese
  • 4 leaves lettuce

Instructions

  • Combine the tomato, cilantro, hot sauce and avocado in a small bowl.
  • Top wraps with sandwich meat, cheese, and lettuce.
  • Divide avocado mixture between wraps. Roll up tightly, cut in half, and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 582mg | Potassium: 420mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 539IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 188mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Avocado Wraps with Spicy Mayonnaise

I’ve been on a wrap kick lately. Besides being easy to make they a nice change from having sandwiches for lunch. As an extra bonus, avocados were on sale, so I incorporated them into everything I made for a week, starting with these avocado wraps with spicy mayonnaise. Creamy avocado and crunchy smoky bacon get a nice little kick from a southwestern-inspired sauce. This is one great wrap (inspired by a recipe from Rachael Ray) that isn’t boring by any stretch of the imagination.

Avocado Wraps with Spicy Mayonnaise

Nothing beats a perfectly ripe avocado. That’s what makes these avocado wraps with spicy mayonnaise so wonderful. Also try my avocado with crab-mango salad and my smoked turkey avocado wraps.

I recently discovered Blue Plate mayonnaise, which I think is the best around. If you can’t find it locally you can pick it up online for a fair price.

Avocado Wraps with Spicy Mayonnaise
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4 from 1 vote

Avocado Wraps with Spicy Mayonnaise

Creamy avocado and crunchy smoky bacon get a nice little kick from a southwestern-inspired sauce. This is one great wrap that isn’t boring by any stretch of the imagination.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword avocado, spicy, wraps
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 306kcal

Ingredients

For the spicy mayonnaise

For the sandwich

  • 4 large tortillas
  • 8 slices smoked turkey sandwich meat
  • 4 slices provolone halved
  • 8 lettuce leaves
  • 8 slices bacon
  • 1 large avocado
  • 1 large tomato sliced very thin

Instructions

  • Combine the garlic, salt, chili powder, 2 tablespoons of the lime juice and the mayonnaise in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  • Fry the bacon. Drain.
  • Cut avocado in half and remove the seed. Slice thin and sprinkle with remaining lime juice.
  • Spread a tablespoon (more or less, to taste) of the mayonnaise out on the wraps.
  • Add sandwich meat and cheese. Top with remaining ingredients. Roll up tightly, cut in half, and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 994mg | Potassium: 661mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 4335IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Ham Salad Filled Avocados

These ham salad filled avocados reminded me of a similar dish we used to eat in Lima, Peru. They’re fresh, light, and very tasty. The salad is nice and creamy and smooth and would be great just by itself. The mandarin oranges add a fantastic explosion of citrus flavor. Finally, there’s the perfectly ripe and creamy avocado. These ham salad-filled avocados are a perfect light lunch on a summer day.

Ham Salad-Filled Avocados

Fortunately, avocados were on sale here last week. They’re very versatile and probably my favorite fruit. They’re definitely my favorite when they are filled with salad.

I recently discovered Blue Plate mayonnaise, which I think is the best around. If you can’t find it locally you can pick it up online for a fair price.

Also try my avocado and crab-mango salad.

Ham Salad-Filled Avocados
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5 from 1 vote

Ham Salad-Filled Avocados

These ham salad filled avocados reminded me of a similar dish we used to eat in Lima, Peru. They’re fresh, light, and very tasty. The salad is nice and creamy and smooth and would be great just by itself. 
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword avocado, ham, salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 2
Calories 456kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Cut avocados in half and remove the seeds. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Pre-cut into segments if desired, but don’t cut all the way through the fruit.
  • In a small bowl, gently combine the celery, ham, 3-4 mandarin segments, and mayo and season to taste.
  • Spoon into the avocados and top with a few more mandarin segments and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 392mg | Potassium: 1042mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 2029IU | Vitamin C: 82mg | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.