Easy Avocado Tartine

Looking for a deliciously simple, endlessly adaptable meal that can serve as breakfast, brunch, lunch, or even a light dinner? You should check out my easy Avocado Tartine. Made with just 5 basic ingredients, then gussied up with whatever your heart desires, this avocado toast recipe is a copycat version of what we used to serve at Marche Artisan Foods in Nashville.

While I love avocados all year round, prime buying season runs from about October until the Super Bowl. Right now I can buy them for just $0.65 apiece at our local Aldi! If you’re interested in making the most of the cheap season, this tartine avocado toast is just the thing. 

Simply mash up the avocado with some garlic, lemon, salt, and pepper, slather it on a crusty piece of toast, then top with eggs, bacon, smoked salmon, greens, deli meat, or anything else that strikes your fancy. This fried egg avocado toast breakfast is simultaneously light yet filling, rich and creamy but also bright. And it takes just 5 minutes to fix one up. You can’t beat that! 

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Avocado Tartine Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• How to Make an Avocado Tartine
• Optional Variations & Dietary Adaptations
• Expert Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More French Tartine & Toast Recipes
• Avocado Tartine Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Why You’ll Love This Avocado Tartine Recipe

This yummy breakfast avocado toast recipe has lots to love. Aside from being deliciously satisfying, it’s also:

• Familiar - While we used to call these “avocado tartines” at my old restaurant, that’s just the fancy French way of saying “avocado toasts” or “open-faced avocado breakfast sandwiches.” Admit it: you like saying tartine, too. 😉 
• Quick & Easy - No joke, I can whip this fried egg avocado toast up in the time it takes for my egg to cook. With so few ingredients and steps, it’s the perfect low-lift high-satisfaction meal.
• Customizable - There’s just a handful of essential elements to make this avocado and eggs tartine, then you can riff as much as you like. I’ve got lots of inspiration for you below.
• Perfect for Any Meal - If you put an egg on it, you can call this easy avocado toast breakfast or brunch. It also happens to be one of my favorite speedy WFH lunches, and Joe and I have it for a light dinner alongside a salad at least twice a month. It’s filling without weighing you down, and since there are so many options for toppings, it’s impossible to get sick of it.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This healthy breakfast with avocado and eggs requires just a handful of ingredients. Here’s what to grab:

• Eggs - Technically optional, but recommended if you like eggs. Cook them to your preference (e.g. sunnyside, over easy, hard-boiled, etc). You can also feel free to use my turmeric pickled eggs for a tangy, colorful twist.
• Avocados - These green beauties can be a bit unpredictable. Aside from giving them the squeeze test (an avocado should yield with gentle pressure from your thumb), I like using what I call the “flick test.” Locate the little “button” at the top of the fruit, where it was attached to the tree. It should release from the avocado easily, and the bit of flesh that is exposed after removing it should be bright green. If it’s brown, put it down. 
• Garlic - To get the most potent garlic flavor from as few cloves as possible, mince them finely or use a garlic press. If you can’t eat garlic, try swapping in a pinch or two of asafoetida instead.
• Lemon or Lime - Fresh is always best when it comes to lemon and lime juice. In a pinch, Nellie’s Famous Key West Lime Juice is a pretty good substitute (and is perfect for my Coconut Ginger Key Lime Bars). You can also swap in ~1 tablespoon rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar instead.
• Crusty Bread - Any artisan-style loaf (e.g. sourdough, Italian, or ciabatta) with a thick, crackly crust and stretchy interior is perfect.
• Kosher Salt & Black Pepper - For seasoning, to taste. Use freshly cracked black pepper for the best flavor. Feel free to add an extra sprinkling of finishing salt (e.g. Maldon or fleur de sel) on the finished toast for texture.

Optional Add-Ons 

While I like my avocado toast with fried eggs or pickled eggs for a quick, inexpensive hit of protein, there are tons of other options. Here are just a few to get you started:

• Fresh Herbs - Try dill, parsley, or cilantro.
• Microgreens or Arugula - Lightly dressed with lemon & oil, or the vinaigrette of your choosing.
• Thinly Sliced Fresh Veggies - Like cucumbers, radishes, grated carrots, or tomatoes.
• Prosciutto or Bacon - If you don’t have bacon in the budget, bacon bits are typically pretty inexpensive and bring the smoky saltiness you crave.
• Smoked Salmon or Lox - For making tartine avocado e salmone.
• Pickled Red Onions or Caramelized Onions - One is tangy, the other is sweet. 
• Cheese - Some of my favorites are feta, queso fresco, or goat cheese crumbles.
• Roasted Veggies - Like sweet potatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, or zucchini.
• Pickled or Marinated Veggies - Like escabeche, giardinere, red onion pickles, artichoke hearts, or pickled green beans.
• Nuts or Seeds - Pistachios and toasted sesame seeds are favorites in our house. A drizzle of tahini (sesame butter) or some toasted sesame oil is also welcome.
• Pomegranate Arils - These brightly colored gems add texture and tartness.
• Hot Stuff - Sriracha and Cholula are what I use most often, though green Tabasco is a close contender. My creamy green jalapeño sauce is also baller.

What do YOU like to put on your avocado tartines? Let me know in the comments below!

How to Make an Avocado Tartine

This recipe for avocado toast is about as straightforward as putting an egg and avocado on toast. Here’s how it’s done:

Prep. Gather your avocado toast ingredients.

Step 1: Prepare Eggs to your liking, if using. I like using the Dash Egg Maker with the water about ¼-inch under the "hard" line (which results in saffron-colored jammy yolks), but feel free to fry or scramble them instead.

Step 2: Mash avocado, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a small mixing bowl. I like to mash it pretty fine, but feel free to leave some chunkiness if you prefer.

Step 3: Toast bread till just barely golden..

Step 4: Assemble. Spread avocado mixture on toast. Halve the eggs (if boiled), spreading 3 halves across each slice (assuming the toast pieces are large). Sprinkle the eggs with a pinch of salt and a fresh crack of pepper.

Step 5: Serve immediately!

Optional Variations & Dietary Adaptations

This avocado egg breakfast is as customizable as you need it to be. Here are just a few of my favorite variations:

• Gluten-Free - Swap in your favorite GF bread. This recipe is a winner. 
• Vegan - Omit the egg and stick to plant-based toppings like microgreens, fresh herbs, thinly sliced cucumbers, grated carrot salad, roasted peppers, or caramelized onions. For an added hit of protein, make your avocado mash with an equal amount of lightly steamed green peas. They add a lovely creaminess!
• Tartine Salmone e Avocado - This pescatarian breakfast tartine is one of my favorite iterations. I typically use salty cold smoked salmon topped with lightly dressed arugula, but this is also an excellent place to use up any leftover date night salmon.
• Prosciutto Avocado Toast - Similar to smoked salmon, prosciutto brings a hefty dose of salty richness. Make sure you serve this version with a steak knife — prosciutto can be a little difficult to cut with a regular butter knife.
• Tuna Avocado Toast - Rather than making plain avocado mash, whip up a batch of my spicy avocado tuna salad.
• Extra Rich - Feel free to take a page from my beans and greens recipe and turn your regular toast into a giant format crouton (a.k.a. fried toast). It’s true what they say — butter really does make everything better. 🤷🏼‍♀️
• Mix & Match Add-Ons - Y’all, there are no rules here. Put whatever the heck you want on your avocado egg tartine. There are no wrong moves!

Expert Tips

• To get the most out of your lemons and limes, use the proper order of operations. First, firmly roll them on the countertop for about 10-15 seconds to help release the juice. Next, wash and dry the fruit so you can zest it. (You can preserve the zest in sugar or salt, or can freeze it for up to 3 months.) Slice open the fruit and juice it, then use the spent rinds to make no-waste infused water, deodorize your garbage disposal, or freshen your wooden cutting boards. 
• If you love houseplants, consider sprouting your avocado pit. 
• Invest in smart equipment. My buddy Andrew recently asked me what my favorite inexpensive kitchen tool was, and without hesitation I blurted out: My Dash Egg Cooker! While the price has gone up a few bucks since I bought mine in 2021 (honestly, what hasn’t? 🤦🏼‍♀️), at under $20 a pop, it’s totally worth the investment. You can perfectly steam up to 6 eggs at a time (or 12 if you get the larger version) for flawless soft, medium, or hard-boiled eggs. It also has the ability to steam poached eggs or single-serve omelets. It’s also pretty dainty, so you don’t need a ton of counter space to use it. Put it on your wish list — you won’t be sorry. 
• If you’re boiling or steaming your eggs rather than frying them, make sure to submerge them in an ice water bath or place them under cool running water to stop the cooking process.
• Toast the bread *just* enough to give the chewy exposed interior a little bit of grippy texture without letting it get too crispy or brown.
• Extra speedy hack. I love frozen Dorot cubes as a time saver. (Pssst. You don’t have to buy them! Add minced or pressed cloves into a mini silicone ice cube tray for a cheaper DIY version. You can do that with fresh herbs topped with olive oil, too!)

Frequently Asked Questions

More French Tartine & Toast Recipes

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