Air Fried Avocado Tacos with Cilantro Crema

Over the summer, I was in San Diego for work and was enjoying as many different types of tacos as possible. One really unique taco that I wanted to recreate was the Fried Avocado Street Taco. Crunchy on the outside, creamy in the middle, delicious all the way around. There was something very unique about deep fried avocados. However, I’m not big into deep frying. That is, until I received a Cosori Air Fryer (read my review about it here), and then I quickly went to work creating an air fryer avocado taco recipe.

What’s fun is how this can be a really filling meal all on its own. I’ve heard from friends that are doing The Longevity Diet that this has become a staple dish for them. Avocados are also great if you’re focusing on high-fat, low calorie approaches like the Fasting Mimicking Diet because of the awesome levels of good fats they contain.

How to Prepare Avocados

Here’s how I go about scooping slices out of an avocado. This is the same whether you use a Haas avocado or the more common green avocado from Florida.

1. Slice off about an 1/8″ from the top near the base of the stem
2. With the avocado on its size, slice horizontally around the avocado rotating your knife around the pit
3. Hold each side of the avocado and twist to separate
4. The pit will remain in one side.  With your Chef Knife in one hand, make a quick, shallow ax strike with the blade into the pit
5. Rotate the knife and the avocado half to remove the pit
6. Pinch the top of the knife blade above the pit and gently squeeze the pit into the trash

How to Air Fry Avocados

You can follow the whole recipe for avocado tacos, or just the first part of this recipe for avocado fries. Basic deep fried food principles apply: egg wash, dredge in a seasoned coating, cook until crispy.

Most fried food recipes will use a 3-step process of rolling in flour, applying the egg wash and then finishing with the dredge. Since we aren’t dealing with a wet food like fish or chicken, there is no need for the flour. Beat two eggs in one bowl and pour bread crumbs in the next.

For the breadcrumbs, I like using unseasoned Japanese panko. Avoid the “italian breadcrumbs”, or basically any pre-seasoned variety, as they will be loaded with salt, strange flavors and other artificial ingredients that you don’t need. Add the seasoning yourself to match the recipe. In this case, I use a little chili powder and granulated garlic. Other fun options would be smoked paprika or even grated Parmesan cheese.

As with all air fryer recipes, there’s very little actual oil involved. Bascially just a spritz of cooking spray on both sides before going in your air fryer.  It only took 10 minutes to go from avocado slices to fried avocado slices.

Making Fried Avocado Tacos

I like to give each of the fried avocado wedges a little smash inside of the tortillas to keep them from sliding out and then adding the toppings

In addition to chopped red onion and fresh cilantro, a little drizzle of cilantro crema on top adds even more richness.  The cilantro crema is as simple as mixing sour cream with lime juice and adding cilantro and garlic.

A full list of toppings to consider for your Taco Bar:

• Chopped Red Onion
• Chopped Cilantro
• Salsa
• Cilantro Crema
• Black Beans
• Shredded Cheese
• Quartered Limes