It’s no secret that I love avocados. Mashed, blended, or whole with a bit of salt– I’ll take them any way I can get ’em. I swear, the universe must have sprouted from an avocado seed. But I’ll admit that I hesitated a bit when my boyfriend, Tony, described an avocado mousse he had at a restaurant once. Sure, the words sweet, creamy, and really f@%^& good were used, but I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.
Boy was I out of the loop. I think I wasted years of my life not trying avocados as a dessert. These paletas (Spanish for popsicles) saved the day. Mexican paletas are absolutely amazing and come in a wide variety of flavors ranging from cookies and cream to tamarind to coconut. Mango is usually one of my favorites, so I decided to team it up with a bit of sweet avocado in an attempt to challenge my palate and have this beloved green fruit in a way I had never enjoyed before– and I am so glad I did.
Take it from a skeptic, these are really really good.
Sweet and slightly sour mango pairs up perfectly with the creamy avocado. There is a lot of lime zest and juice in the avocado layer, so it is more of a sweet, creamy-lime layer, with a subtle avocado flavor. And that citrusy frozen avocado is just lovin’ all over that mango. It’s a thing of beauty. And get a load of those colors! Can you say Spring? Not to mention that Hass avocados are just coming into season. You know what that means– better flavor and better prices. Ahh… music to my ears.
Too little time? Try this hack! Here’s a fun fact; avocados don’t begin to ripen until after they are removed from the tree. That’s right, all avocados are green when picked. So here’s a quick tip to make sure that you never buy an overripe avocado. Buy them green! Stick them in a warm area of your house (on top of the fridge), and check on them after a few days. Most of my avocados are ripe after 3-4 days. This is great because green avocados are usually sold at a lower price. Also, you’re less likely to take an avocado home that has already been bruised after being squeezed to see if it’s ripe. Less trips to the store to try to find ripe avocados = time saved.
Have you had sweet avocado before? What’s your favorite paleta flavor? We’d love to hear the whole story! See you soon!
Avocado-Mango Paletas Recipe
Author: Danielle
Serves: 10 (3-ounce) pops
This Avocado-Mango Paletas recipe is the perfect mix of sweet avocado and fruity mango. Even though they have sophisticated flavors, these pops are quite the crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups fresh or thawed mango in 1-inch chunks
- 1 ½ tablespoons plus ¼ cup sugar, divided
- ¼ cup plus ¾ cup water, divided
- 2 medium ripe avocados, flesh removed
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- ⅓ cup lime juice
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the mango, 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, and ¼ cup water and blend until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Wash the food processor and combine the remaining ¼ cup sugar, remaining ¾ cup water, avocado flesh, lime zest, and juice in the processor. Blend until smooth and transfer to another small bowl.
- Fill your popsicle molds ⅙ full with the mango puree, then top off with the avocado puree until the mold is ¾ of the way full. Top with just enough mango puree to cover the layer of avocado.
- Add a popsicle stick to middle of each paleta and freeze until firm, about 5 hours. Unmold and devour!