How to freeze avocados (2024)

FAQs

How to freeze avocados? ›

The Best Way to Freeze Avocados: Mashing the Avocado

Just like a banana, peel the skin away from the fruit halves. You can also use a small spoon to scoop out the flesh. Slice into quarters (or leave them halved). Place into a resealable bag (removing as much air as possible) and freeze for up to one month.

Because water expands when the avocado freezes, its texture will change. This means frozen and thawed avocados will not be as fresh, flavorful, or buttery as a fresh avocado. That's why we do not recommend freezing avocados — good thing fresh, ripe Avocados From Mexico are always in season!

Freezing avocado may help you reduce food waste and keep this fruit on hand throughout the year. While most nutrients are preserved during freezing, the flesh tends to become mushy and may brown during storage or thawing. Therefore, frozen avocados are best mixed into dishes like guacamole, dips, and smoothies.

While the bag has instructions for how to microwave, we found the best way was to let them thaw on the counter. Microwaving the avocado chunks just risks them getting too warm and ruining the texture. They only need to thaw at room temperature for about an hour (we found even less time works too sometimes).

The main goal is to prevent oxygen from touching the avocado's flesh. Plastic wrap is a practical, albeit not foolproof way to slow down the natural course of fruit aging. The trick is to make sure the plastic wrap is sealed flush with the flesh.

Yes, you can freeze avocados! But it's important to make sure they're at peak ripeness before you do. Unripe avocados will probably never ripen if they're frozen. You don't need to jump through any hoops if you're freezing a whole avocado—just put the fruit in the freezer and call it a day.

Freezing Sliced Avocado

Izquierdo explains how to slice and freeze avocado: Cut the avocado in half and remove pit by gently working a spoon underneath it. Peel off skin, cut avocado flesh into slices or cubes as desired. Gently brush slices or cubes with a little lime or lemon juice to help prevent browning.

It's easy—just transfer the frozen avocado to the fridge to thaw overnight or let it sit on your countertop for a few hours.

"Freezing an avocado doesn't change the flavor that much, but the preparation and defrosting process could affect the taste," says Jessica Randhawa, the head chef and recipe creator behind The Forked Spoon.

How long does an avocado last in the fridge? ›

If you refrigerate an unripe avocado, it will ripen eventually, but the texture and taste may be compromised. If your avocado is ripe, place the whole, uncut avocado in an airtight container or in the produce drawer in the refrigerator. It should be good for about two weeks, depending on how ripe it was going in.

However, it's important to note that while you can freeze an avocado whole, you're not going to get the same texture, color or taste when it thaws. Thawed avocados will be mushier, lose their pale green color and the taste will fade.

If freezing whole avocados, simply wrap the avocado tightly with plastic wrap or beeswax paper and then place in the freezer. If freezing avocado halves, slice the avocado into two halves. Brush each cut side with some lemon juice. Then wrap with plastic wrap or beeswax paper and store in the freezer.

Freeze drying avocados allows them to stay green and fresh for years. A freeze-dried avocado keeps its vibrant green color and nearly all of its nutritional benefits, and, they are so easy to rehydrate. Just spritz avocado slices with cold water and let them rehydrate in the fridge.

Consequently, frozen avocados are perfect for the most famous avocado dish of all: guacamole. Not only will mashing avocado with lime juice mask the slightly mushy consistency of thawed frozen avocado, but it will also ingratiate its flavor.