5 Ways to change up your Avocado Toast
Ah, the classic Millennial breakfast item: avocado toast. Every café in San Francisco has its own variation of it, and yes, they will charge you an unreasonable price for it. So why not beat the system and make it yourself in the comfort of your own home? There's really no rocket science to avocado toast, so there's no reason why you shouldn't make it yourself for a fraction of the price. All you need is bread, avocados, and maybe, if you're feeling fancy, an egg. Another great advantage to making avocado toast yourself is you can put whatever you want on top of it. Avocado Toast is a great canvas for showcasing your favorite ingredients—so get creative, and pile up your favorite veggies, proteins, and spices.
Variation 1: Diced, with smoked salmon and ramen egg on toast
Ingredients: Avocados, smoked salmon, bread, eggs, salt & pepper.
For this first variation, dice up the avocado into small cubes and mix with salt and pepper. Put a slice of bread (preferably thick) into the toaster and toast until golden. Spoon the avocado cubes onto the toast and layer a few small slices of smoked salmon. Top it off with half of a soft-boiled egg. Sprinkle on salt and freshly ground pepper to finish.
For the soft-boiled (ramen) egg
Soft boiled eggs have gotten incredibly popular these days after people got accustomed to them in their broth at Ramen restaurants. Although I've always hated boiling eggs due to the difficulty of the peeling process, I find that these soft boiled eggs are actually really great to make in bulk, and make for an easy cleanup after cooking. All you have to do is bring a pot of water to a boil, put your eggs in for around 6 minutes, and then transfer them immediately into a ice water bath (to stop the cooking process). I also suggest watching this very satisfying video for a more detailed demo.
Variation 2: Deconstructed Japanese style -
With furikake and Tamagoyaki
Ingredients: Avocados, Furikake seasoning, Eggs, Salt & Pepper
Deconstruct your avocado toast and transform it into a Japanese breakfast item by simply slicing it and sprinkling some furikake flakes on top of it. Serve it with some sushi rice and tamagoyaki on the side. It's difficult to explain how tamagoyaki achieves its shape in words, so I'll link you to this video which taught me how to make it. You don't necessarily need to a square pan to make it, but it definitely helps to have one.
Interested in what a Japanese breakfast consists of and how to make it? Hop on over to this post to learn all about it.
Variation 3: Sliced avocado on top multi-grain toast with everything but bagel seasoning and a poached egg
Ingredients: Avocados, Bread, Eggs, Everything But Bagel Seasoning (or any seasoning you like)
This is the classic variation of avocado toast, and probably one of easiest to make. Grab a piece of multi-grain toast and pop it into the toaster. Slice up an avocado and fan it across the toast, sprinkling a generous portion of Everything But Bagel Seasoning on top. Poach an egg, leaving the it runny and place it on top of the avocados. Finish up with freshly-ground black pepper on top.
If you're feeling a bit adventurous, why not dress up your classic avocado toast with some sriracha on top?
Variation 4: Protein-Style
On top of a salad
Ingredients: Avocados, Eggs, Lettuce, Grilled Chicken, Tangerines
We're all familiar with "protein-style" burgers—this term basically describes a burger without the bun. You can also apply this concept to avocado toast, and put what you would normally put on top of a piece of toast on top of a bed of greens instead. For my salad, I tossed together green and purple lettuce together with some grilled chicken and tangerine slices. I layered a few avocado slices above the salad and finished up with a sunny-side up egg on top. And voilà, the perfect post-workout meal!
Variation 5: Smashed with sesame oil and sesame seeds
Ingredients: Avocados, Eggs, Bread, Sesame Seeds, Sesame oil
Dice up the avocado into small pieces and place them into a bowl. Smash together the avocado until you reach the consistency of guacamole, and then drizzle in sesame oil to taste. Continue smashing the avocado until the sesame oil is well combined. Spread this mixture on top of a toasted slice of multi-grain bread and finish up with a poached egg. Sprinkle some black and white sesame seeds on top for garnish and texture.
Before I end the post, I also want to give a shoutout to some of my favorite cafés in San Francisco that offer some great versions of avocado toast.
mazarine coffee's avocado toast with poached eggs and sprouts
The main reason why I love Mazarine's avocado toast so much is the lovely brick toast that everything sits on top of. Mazarine gives you 2 perfectly poached eggs, a hearty scoop of avocado, chives, and sprouts on top of their pain de mie, which is toasted to perfection and tastes a bit sweeter than most breads. In addition to their avocado toast, they offer a variety of other toasts, such as toasts topped with fig jam & ricotta and salmon with cream cheese and cucumber.
720 Market St
San Francisco, CA 94102b/t Ofarrell St & Kearny St
Union Square, Financial District
Blue Bottle Coffee's avocado toast with red radishes and sesame seeds
I do have to admit that $9 is an awful lot to pay for a slice of bread with some avocados and veggies on top, but when it comes in a heart shape, how can you say no? Blue Bottle Coffee has multiple locations across San Francisco, but my favorite has to be the location in Mint Plaza because of the yummy breakfast items they serve. This avocado toast comes with red radishes and a generous sprinkle of black and white sesame seeds. You also receive 2 perfectly poached eggs on the side.
66 Mint St
San Francisco, CA 94103b/t Jessie St & Mission St
SoMa, Union Square
I hope you felt inspired by this post to head on over to the grocery store to pick up some avocados to incorporate into your own breakfast. Not only are they super delicious, but they're also full of health benefits. They're loaded with fiber, heart-healthy fatty acids, and Vitamin C (hello beautiful skin!). Not to mention, they have more potassium than bananas. They're also super versatile, and can contribute to so many different dishes of different cuisines, and work for all meals of the day—breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Let me know how you end up using your avocados in the comments below!
♥ Cindy