Admittedly I have a love-hate relationship with avocados. They just don’t seem to ripen when I pay attention to them. I swear those little buggers just go into supernatural ripening speed and turn into leaking compost material once I leave the room. Logically, at some point, I nearly abandoned the idea of using them regularly. I also tried not to store more than two until I started experimenting with freezing them. I’ve tried all kinds of ways to store avocados but I landed on this method of doing it – so here’s my guide on how to freeze avocados.
The first few attempts involved freezing the whole fruit, scooping the pulp out or cutting them in half. All those attempts had rather disastrous results. The fruit was either impossible to separate from the peel without waiting for ages or simply turned horribly brown – not to mention the taste. I stopped counting how many avocados I have sadly dropped straight into the compost. After an emotionally estimated amount of 3 tonnes of avocados, I finally found a way that provided easy portioning, didn’t turn brown and kept the taste fresh. Now I have a constant supply of avocados without the fuss, and when I see them on offer, I sweep them all up – only to live up to my name.
Here’s how to freeze avocados.
Ingredients: metric ( imperial )
- avocados
- lemons
Instructions
I didn’t state amounts on purpose since it depends highly on how many avocados you have. A general rule of thumb is using 2 tsp of lemon juice per large avocado or 1 tsp for small ones. If you never bought an avocado, you might wonder how to open or cut them. It is straightforward. Before you get to that, you should make sure the avocado is ripe. There is an effortless way of checking it. Look at the colour. If it is bright green, it isn’t quite ready yet. The moment it starts getting dark patches it has begun to ripen, and once it is completely dark, it is perfectly ripe and ready. If that doesn’t give you enough reassurance, then you could, also, remove the stem and check the avocado’s colour underneath. That is the most reliable way. If it is dark brown you waited too long, if it is white, it is too early, and if it is yellow, it is just right.
Cut along the length of it. There is a big seed in the centre of it that you will feel and simply use it as a guide. Hold your knife against it and cut around the seed in one circular motion. Now twist the halves apart, and you will be left with one-half with seed and one without. To get the seed out of the other half simply hit it with the knife and lift it out. That is what I do. If you are new to this, you could also take a spoon to lift it out. Safety first!
Scoop the flesh out with a spoon and transfer it to a food processor. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice per small avocado and 2 tsp per large one. Mix until everything is well combined. This will ensure the avocado won’t turn brown.
Scoop the avocado cream into ice-cube trays and freeze. Once it is frozen, you can pop them out of their container and place them in freezer bags. There you go. Perfectly portioned avocado for whenever you need it. I hope you enjoyed my little guide on how to freeze avocados – it is a kitchen hack that has saved me a lot of money throughout my life.
Why I eat avocados on a nearly daily basis.
There is a reason why I tried to find a way of preserving small portions of avocado for easy use. I love adding avocado cubes to smoothies or any recipe that requires avocado or a source of fat. There are countless ways to use avocados, be it frozen or fresh and you definitely should add them to your diet. They come packed with vital nutrients and have an incredible amount of health benefits. I could go on and create a giant post about their nutritional value, but my dear friend Helen from Well Being Secrets already went through all that trouble. She wrote a beautiful, well-researched article that provides you with 19 reasons why you should eat them.
That is right, 19 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Avocados ranging from lowering cholesterol levels to promoting radiant skin.
For recipe inspiration, you can click any of the pictures below.
Hahaha! You are hilarious and this is a brilliant idea. I always end up wasting at last half an avocado.
This is a great idea. Apparently the avocados with the grainy skin are better for that too, rather than the ones with smooth skin. I was born and raised in a town where the local produce is avocado and I learnt to appreciate them when I moved to London. I miss them so much that my mums freezes them whole for when i come visiting out of season. I will share this new way! Thanks!
Thanks you for the input. I feel you, I miss those very large haas avocados as well, they are rather hard to find in England. If you see them anywhere let me know! =)
How many ice cubes of them equals out to one avocado ?
It highly depends on the size of the avocados and the cube size of your tray. In my cause a handful is about one avocado. If you want to know exact measurements for yourself then I would recommend mashing one avocado up and fill your ice cube tray with it. That way you will know the exact amount. – Love, G.
I never thought of freezing them. I usually eat half and throw the rest away a week later because I forget it in the fridge.
If you leave the stone in half you don’t eat it will stop it going brown and keep it fresh longer
This is genius. I throw so much of it away because I never eat a whole avocado!
Purewow.com just shared this! Your blog is fantastic where have you been hiding from me?! I just recently went vegetarian and have so much to learn. Can you tell me how to handle my meat cravings? Pepperoni is my biggest issue….
If you’re craving for pepperoni you are craving for the salt and the fat in it, not the meat. Have you tried sweet potato fries? If you season them with smoked paprika, a generous amount of salt and pepper and brush them lightly with oil you have something that tastes as close as it gets. Other than that I can tell you from experience you learn every day. Keep going and don’t give up! 🙂
LOVE LOVE LOVE this article!! You’re so funny and it’s so informative!! Thanks for the tips and humor
I just can’t get over how awesome this is. I started doing this last month and I haven’t wasted an ounce of avocado ever since!
Glad this could help you. =)
GOLD!
I have to try this!
This is the bomb! I just bought a crate of them and ice cube trays and will stack up cubes for the next weeks. I tend to throw a lot of avocado halves away because one is too much for a smoothie! I LOVE YOU!
Do these cubes thaw well enough that one can make guacamole ?
Hello and so sorry for the late reply! Your comment got filtered out and made it into my spam folder. Good question! Those cubes mostly end up in my smoothies and dressings. I did use them in guacamole a few times when I only had 1 avocado left. The guacamole turned out perfectly fine with a 50% fresh / 50% frozen ratio. Also I spread (thawed) avocado cubes on sandwiches and the texture is creamy so I see no reason why it should not work but I have never made it purely from frozen avocado. I will test it for future reference and add it to the post!
I know this is late, but I make guacamole in my food processor, then freeze it in individual serving size freezer containers. Thaw as needed in fridge. Works great!
It is never late for such tips! =D – Love, G.
We live in Spain 2 Spanish neighbours just gave us 3 kg of avicados and yes they can all turn to mush at the same time so as they ripen we will try your frozen cubes method.That way we wont lose too many.Thanks for this great tip.Carolina M
Im so glad theres strange people like me. Thanks
Thanks, I guess. =D
Let’s all take a moment of silence for my brothers and sisters who died in vain.
Haha! You are hilarious. =D
I love this. Can you freeze them with anything else except lemons? I get a bad tummy from them.
Maybe try limes? Do you have an issue with citrus in general or just lemons? – Gloria.
Perhaps you coud try apple cider vinegar instead of lemons. It’s really good for your health.
That is an interesting idea. Let me know how apple cider vinegar turns out for you – if you decide to give it a go. – Love, G.
Gotta tell you — you don’t have to go to all that trouble. I just freeze peeled avocado halves (or quarters) on a tray. Then, when they’re frozen, transfer them to a plastic bag. No lemon juice. No mashing. No transferring to an ice cube tray. I buy them in big bags at Costco, so they all get ripe at the same time. They’ve never turned brown on me.
Thanks for commenting. They always turn brown for me when I do it that way and the consistency is really bad as well. I tried it numerous times with avocados from different stores and the result was the same each single time. Inedible and brown after 2-3 weeks. Are your avocados locally grown or import? If they are imported can you tell me from where they are? I am really curious now. We might have have different avocados here in England. Lucky you in any case! =D – G
The lemons juice acts like a preservative against oxidation of the health fats.
Indeed it does! That is why I love adding it to any raw fruit puree that I freeze. It is such a lovely, natural preservative. – Love, G.
I buy a big tub of my favorite guacamole from my local Mexican grocery store and then freeze it in cubes just like this. Works great.
I love practical people! Thanks or sharing the info. I always make guacamole fresh from scratch because I always have avocados at home but this actually opens a whole new door. Thanks for giving me new ideas. – Lots of love! G.
This is one of those things that make me smack my own forehead. I am such an idiot for not having done this before.
What a dope idea.
I have green smoothies every day and always add a little bit of fat to them but always stayed clear from avocado. Good to know I can use it this easily.
That’s brilliant!
Where has this been all my life?!? All those wasted avocados!
Why didn’t I think of this. #facepalm
Omg. I tried this and finally they didn’t turn black. I also blend them directly with kale for my green smoothies.
That’s a great idea! I prep my smoothies in advance as well. Makes things so much easier. =D – G
I started doing this and now I also add my soaked almonds straight into it. Saves time!
Can you do this with every fruit? Papaya and Mango are also wasted a lot in my house. We eat a bit and the other half just goes to waste.
You can do this with any fruit just make sure to peel it and/or removed the seeds and pits. =)
Oh my god. I wish I found this earlier. I always have 1/4 of an avocado in my smoothie after gym but I throw the rest out. It always goes brown after a few days in the fridge.
You’re a very frugal! I like it!
I love your website – its so usefull and lovely. We need more vegan blogs!
I swear I could have bought a condo with the money wasted on binned avos… :_(
You’re a saviour!
Found this on Pinterest. Tried it. Works!
My gran wants me to thank you for this article. Printed this out for her.
I laughed so hard at “leaking compost material”. I have tried freezing some a few years back and it was disgusting when thawed. Maybe I will try this.
I tried freezing them in slices so many times. What a waste. This is genius!
Your fridge must be so organised, would love to see it.
I could make a post about my freezer and give you a virtual freezer tour. – Love, G. =D
Please do! If you haven’t already!
This is fun! I fill my ice cube trays half with avocado and half with coconut milk. They look fun and the kids love them. Thank you!!!
You are godsent.
This is so simple yet so brilliant.
I have trouble getting them out of my ice tray. Any trick to it?
I use silicon trays.They are flexible and nothing sticks. If you have trouble getting your avocado out of the tray then try running some warm water along the back side of the tray. Also transfer them to a freezer friendly container as soon as they are frozen. – Love, G.
On the awesome side of Pinterest again!
Excellent idea.
=O
I adore this site – its so usefull and helpfull
Thank you! – Love, G.
I started doing this. Fab! I am also freezing my bananas and mangos this way now!
Glad to hear! – Love, G.
I love this!
I added some acai berry powder to mask the green colour. My kids are finally having avocado in their smoothies!
All those wasted avocados. Why didn’t I think of this.
Where has this been all my life?
I had no ice cube trays so I froze them flat in bags. Now I just break a piece off when I need it. Works!
Crafty! =)
Do you think you can freeze bananas this way. I have 1/3 of a banana in my smoothie each day and they turn brown in the freezer.
I tend to freeze mine in the peel but I am positive that you can blend up bananas with lemon juice and freeze them like this. Have not tried it though.
I just popped my first avocado cube straight into my smoothie. I love this!
So genius!
I freeze mine in muffin trays now and pop them out into freezer bags. It’s exactly half an avocado per portion. I love this!
That is an excellent idea! – Love, G.
Thanks for sharing this.
Never thought of this!
Can you make another post on what else you freeze? this is genious
Lifesaver!
Thank you ??
You are welcome! – Love, G.
I like to add avac ado to my meal shakes with vanilla soy milk. Do you think the lemon would curdle/or cause an unpleasant taste in any way? If so, what would you suggest?
The amount of lemon is too small to cause curdling. At least it never curdled to me. I add it to my morning shakes as well which was the primary reason to come up with a way to freeze them. My standard shake is 2 cups almond or cashew milk, one frozen banana, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup leafy green, whatever berries I find in the freezer or counter and about 2-3 avocado cubes which are approximately 1/4 of an avocado. Never curdled for me and I never tasted the lemon. Hope this helps. – Love, G.
Someone in the thread asked about Haas avocado’s in the U.K. – most regularly and reliably they can be sourced in Lidls and Aldi’s. Best price and freshest too. Haas also have a smaller rounder stone -more tasty creamy flesh.a great variety. Ode to Avocado. 😀
Great tips! I am going to implement immediately! Thanks for sharing
I loled so hard at this. Leaking Avocados! =D
This is fantastic.
If I don’t use them in a smoothie, how do they defrost. I like to do avocado toast – but I would want my avocado to be room temp – would it stay green and taste ok if I just left it out to thaw?
Hybrid forms exist between all three aforementioned subtypes of avocado. Read More At https://healthbenefitsofall.com/health-benefits-avocado/
Thank you so much. I want to eat avocados daily for potassium, and was wondering, if I could freeze them. I have silicon trays, that make it easy to pop them out. 1 avocado has about 1000mg of potassium -more than double of the banana and without all the sugar.
To keep half an avocado from browning until you want it the next day, store it in a tightly sealed container with a raw onion that has been cut in half. The sulfur compounds in the onion prevent the avocado from oxidizing and turning brown.
Hello Norma, that’s a great tip for when you just want half an avocado. Does the onion smell affect the avocado taste-wise? – Love, G.
Gloria, Gloria., was it something that he said.? Are the voices in your head calling. Gloria?
Everyone who has ever handled an avocado knows exactly what you are talking about, so you’re not much of a revelation honey.
Haha. =D The voices in my head are calling all the time, mostly for food. – Best, G.
Thank you so much. We have two trees in the garden and I have been freezing them as guacamole. Wich is sad because I like using them in smoothies but guacamole is no good for that. Can I taste the lemon in the avocado? I make chocolate smoothies in the morning.
Hello Garcia, I use them in both vanilla and chocolate smoothies and can not taste any of the lemons. The amount used is too small to be noticeable. – Love, G.
This is about to change my life. Well, at the very least, it’s going to change the way I feel about making my favorite smoothie. Anyone else feel guilty when they have to toss the other half of an avocado because that pesky smoothie recipe just doesn’t call for the whole thing?
Thanks for the brilliant idea and the how-to!
I feel you; I love avocado in and on everything. Especially on toast but hate throwing the other half. You can spread these little cubes on bread as well if you let them thaw a bit. I am so happy this tip helped you. – Love, G.
I love this idea! I would really like to use avocados n my daily smoothies and with this idea, I can. Thanks for sharing!
Hello Kim, You’re welcome! – Love, G.