A Love Letter To Dunkin’s Avocado Toast

I’m not personally the biggest fan of avocado toast. If you ask me, avocado gets way too much hype considering the fact that it doesn’t really taste like anything at all. Spread it on some bread, and you have a basic breakfast that’s fine to eat when you’re pinched for time. But to actually spend my hard-earned cash on avocado toast at a restaurant—regardless of how fancy it is or how many toppings it boasts—has always seemed like a waste.

That is, until I tried Dunkin’s avocado toast.

No, it’s not covered with thin, delicate layers of gleaming lox. And no, it doesn’t come with crumbled feta or confited cherry tomatoes or thin slices of pickled red onion. It doesn’t even appear to feature freshly sliced avocado. But I am so, so serious when I say that Dunkin’s avocado toast is the best I’ve ever tried from an establishment that’s not my own kitchen.

When I make avocado toast at home, it’s because I want a simple, unfussy meal that tastes simultaneously fresh and indulgent, so all the extra toppings that some restaurants add feel busy and superfluous in the worst way. An egg with a runny yolk, for example, just makes the toast more difficult to eat, negating its status as a simple breakfast. And if I wanted bread stacked high with breakfast foods, I’d just order eggs Benedict or some other similarly indulgent morning meal—not avocado toast.

Dunkin’s avocado toast, then, is so glorious precisely because it doesn’t offer all those extra toppings. This breakfast order is about as simple as it gets: sourdough bread, avocado spread and everything bagel seasoning, with the option to add crispy bacon on top (which I usually decline). 

It seems like they’re actually using good-quality bread—it tastes fresh and has that springy texture you’d expect from sourdough. The spread is perfectly balanced with just the right level of saltiness and acidity. The seasoning on top is deliciously garlicky, with just a touch of crunch from the seeds. And every single time I’ve ordered the avocado toast from Dunkin’, the avocado spread is evenly distributed over the entire slice of toast, which somehow hasn’t been the norm from the higher-end restaurants I’ve ordered avocado toast from.

Basically, every ingredient does its job; no more, no less. This isn’t an avocado toast that’s screaming for your attention over the glistening frosted donuts or hot honey-smothered breakfast sandwiches the chain sells. It’s just there on the menu, quiet, respectful, waiting for the person who’s looking for a quick, easy and relatively healthy breakfast on the go. And it’s sold at a price point that actually makes sense for a dish that’s as simple as it is.

We often remember the special meals: the big nights out, the recipes we spend hours or even days prepping, the street food on that trip we took to another country. But sometimes, it’s the simple, the basic, the pedestrian that brings us the most comforting, consistent types of joy. So, no, Dunkin’s avocado toast is not going to be featured on Chef’s Table. But it deserves to be recognized as the small slice of life that makes me joyful for a normal Tuesday morning.

Samantha Maxwell is a food writer and editor based in Boston. Follow her on Twitter at @samseating.