Can you freeze avocados? I set out to answer that question a few weeks ago and here are my results!
Y’all know I love me some clearance buys at Kroger. I mean, really, those yellow WOOHOO stickers make my heart skip a little beat.
{I might have issues. Okay, let’s face it. I do have issues. But hey, this weirdness has saved us a LOT of money over the years and it has certainly helped to keep life interesting! ;)}
Our Kroger has a section for marked down produce and they have these red mesh bags that they fill with produce. Each bag is just $0.99. Sometimes, it will be a pretty sorry deal — like 3 half-rotten apples for $0.99 or 5 potatoes for $0.99. But oftentimes, there are some really amazing deals in these red mesh bags.
Case in point, a few weeks ago, I went to the store and saw an incredible deal on avocados. And by incredible, I really mean incredible.
They had bags of 6-7 avocados that were ripe (but not overripe) for just $0.99 per bag! I love avocados and I eat a LOT of them on the eating plan I’m on.
Right now, avocados are usually priced around $0.88 per avocado (I’ve seen them for as low as $0.25 to $0.30 each at ALDI, but that’s very rare) and I usually eat one avocado almost every single day.
So this was a BIG score for me! The only problem? I knew I couldn’t eat them all up before they went bad.
I remembered something I’d read somewhere online about freezing avocados, so I literally whipped out my phone in the middle of the store and googled, “Can you freeze avocados?”
{What did we do before the days when we could stand in the grocery store and have all of the internet at our finger tips??}
From what I found, it looked like it was worth the risk to attempt freezing them. There were six bags and I decided to play it safe and only buy 3 bags, just in case my experiment was a flop.
To freeze them, I pitted them, scooped out the insides, and then mashed those up and added some salsa and lime juice. I then stuck them in freezer bags, pressed them flat and put them in the freezer.
A week later, I thawed one out and it tasted great! I stored it in the fridge for a few days and ate some every day to see how it fared. I’d say that it’s best to use it the day you thaw it, though it was still fine a few days later — it was just a darker brown color and didn’t look too appetizing!
I opted to freeze my avocados with salsa and lime juice for flavoring because I usually eat my avocados with salsa. You could also add other seasonings, herbs, or flavorings to it — such as salt, cilantro, tomatoes, onions, or cayenne pepper. Onions and tomatoes can be a little on the iffy side to freeze, though, so you could also add those in fresh after you thaw the avocados.
You can also freeze avocados halved if you want to use them in smoothies.
Want more details? Watch my quick YouTube video to see how I made this! (Psst! Are you subscribed to my YouTube channel? If not, what are you waiting for? Go subscribe here so you never miss any of my new weekly videos!)
You can store ripe avocados whole in the fridge for a week or two, which is what I do. As they ripen I put them in a drawer in the fridge, making sure to put the newest in the back and eat the ones in front first. It makes it nice to always have a good ripe avocado ready to go. Thanks for the tip about Kroger, I will keep an eye out when my stock runs low.
That’s an excellent tip! My Great Aunt taught me that and it works like a charm! -Jordan, MSM Team
Great! I didn’t know that I can freeze avocados. I always waste all avocados when they too ripe. Thanks to your article, I learn more a new food preservation.
I recently learned that you can freeze avocados as well! Here’s a few tips I learned in my experience.
1. If you leave the pit in with the avocados it doesn’t turn brown as fast. You can always remove the pit once you are ready to serve.
2. If you add a little more lime or lemon juice you may not have issues with the browning after a couple days.
3. I froze mine in a glass dish, making sure to fill to the tippy-top to have less air get to it. But you could also cover the top of the container with saran before the lid.
Oh, and bonus tip, as I was freezing leftovers from taco night, I also learned that refried beans can also be frozen. The trick is to top with a thin layer of oil or fat so that they stay moist when reheating!
Thanks so much for sharing!!
I actually did this last year and saved myself a lot of money. I left the smashed avocados with lime in the freezer for 3 months to see how they were. Omg my guacamole was still amazing and it tasted fresh. I will be doing this for the rest of my life specially during winter months when avocadoes are super expensive
I love avocados and had no idea you could do that! Thanks for the idea!
I freeze avocados all the time to through in smoothies!
I like to make some guacamole or avocado mayo and freeze it in ice cube trays. Once it is frozen, pop it out of the trays and store in a freezer bag. Then, you can pull out as many “cubes” as you need at a time. I use the same method with homemade baby food.
I also eat half an avocado a day. I put them on my sandwiches, salads and cheese crisps or just add lemon pepper to them. Thanks for this post now I won’t feel bad when I buy too many.
If you store the guac with a pit, it keep the guac from going brown! 🙂
I hit enter too quickly! (An avocado pit)
Oh! Thanks for that great tip!
Using the avocado pit does work! thanks for the reminder.
I’m wondering how you eat them once frozen. Crystal, you mentioned eating them with salsa…do you just eat spoonfuls of guacamole or do you eat it on something? Why eat it EVERYday?
I eat it on veggies or on wasa crackers. 🙂
I learned the way to keep guac from turning brown (maybe would work with plain avocado) is to smooth it out in an airtight bowl and then add a thin layer of water on top. Works like a charm!
http://www.thekitchn.com/the-best-way-to-keep-guacamole-green-tips-from-the-kitchn-193462
Thanks so much for sharing!!
If you peel & pit you can slice them & flash freeze on a cookie sheet. Take them out & put in a freezer bag. You can take out as much as you want. They thaw quickly. I lived on this method when my baby was eating soft foods. This way I could feed him healthy food, but not waste most of an avacado.
Thanks so much for sharing this!
I do something very similar…Peeled, pitted, then cut into eighths and flash frozen on a cookie sheet. I mostly use them for smoothies, but they work fine if you want a piece or two with a meal. They thaw quickly, and mine don’t brown!
How do you flash freeze things?
I freeze a lot of things but I’ve never thought of this! I hate it when avocados go bad because they’re so expensive and it’s such a waste. I’ll try it!!
Why don’t you put 1 avocado mashed up / salsa and lime in a sandwich baggie? That way you can eat the whole thing and have it fresh each day….
This is awesome, my grocery store puts avocados on the rewrap section sometimes too. When I put avocados in the fridge (i.e. as guac), I put plastic wrap (like Saran) on the top, making it as airtight as possible. This cuts down on the icky browning.
I’ve frozen some plain, just pitted, scooped out of the shell, & mashed. Mine turned brown when I thawed them. I might try lemon or lime juice mixed in to see if that prevents them from browning once thawed.
This was uncanny timing. Less than an hour ago, I was looking at my packaged guacamole from Trader Joes and noticed it says, “use or freeze by…” And thought, really? You can freeze avocados?!?
And then ran across your post! Glad to know it worked for you, and for such a good price!
Too funny!!
I’ve thrown out so many avocados lately because we didn’t eat them quick enough. Freezing them is going to save me some serious money!1
Yay! I’m so glad!!