Today we’re answering the question, “Can you freeze avocados?” Yes, that’s right–we’re talking about freezing avocados.
But first, let me tell you. My family has a problem.
An avocado problem.
And it’s real. I mean real.
If there was an Avocados Anonymous we’d all be full-fledged members. And we might even be the heads of our local chapter. In fact, I’m sure that we would be.
You can see evidence of our avocado problem here:
WE. Love. Avocados.
But I have another problem.
My name is Adrienne and I’m a Frugalaholic.
When something is on sale, I feel the need to get as much of it as I can.
I’ve done this for a long time. My husband and I were the types who loaded all of the loss leaders into our cart and got funny stares from people in the checkout line.
Well, when you buy in bulk and make a lot of homemade healthy food, you need to figure out how to store bulk purchases so that they don’t spoil (or invade your living space). I’ve shared some of my storage tips in these posts:
How to Store Nuts and Seeds
How to Freeze and Store Berries
The Easiest Way to Store Tomatoes
How to Store Prepared Beans
The Best Way to Preserve Herbs
How to Store Leafy Greens
But today, the question today is–can you freeze avocados.
And the answer is–yes. Freezing avocados is a thing. A real thing.
How I Learned about Freezing Avocados
You see, whenever there is a serious sale on avocados, I just can’t help myself. I mean, WE just can’t help ourselves. I feel the need to buy A LOT. And I don’t mean 10 or 15 avocados. I mean a LOT of avocados.
‘Cause there have been some serious sales around here, like 3 for $1. That’s serious. I haven’t seen it in awhile, but hoping it comes back real soon.
When I saw this sale, I went to work wondering how I could store avocados to keep them long term, so we could feed our avocado habit on the cheap.
I mean, avocados are great, but they have a problem and it’s a big one. You buy them and they’re rock hard one day.
Then you go to get one out about 5 minutes later, and they are MUSH! (Well, maybe not 5 minutes, but you get my point.)
I wondered, “Can you freeze avocados?” and then went to work searching the internet.
What I found is that yes, freezing avocados is something that seriously works.
So I went to the store.
And bought them. A LOT of them.
And we ate a lot of them. I mean, we ate them plain, with salt, we dipped carrots into them (with a little salt on top), we made this Zingy Avocado Dressing, these Chocolate Avocado Truffles (serious yum), these Chocolate Mint Grasshopper Bars, and this AIP Guacamole.
But you can’t eat LOADS of avocados fast enough to keep them from spoiling once they all start turning.
So we followed the tips about how to freeze avocados and froze the rest.
Problem is, I did it the wrong way. A blogger out there said that you could freeze them plain, and well, you can, but the result is kind of icky. Brown Guacamole icky.
Let’s just say that my kids weren’t that happy with the results.
So you can now benefit from my Freezing Avocado Fail.
I went back to figure out what went wrong, and am now here I am to tell you some great methods for freezing avocados so you won’t have your family grimacing at you about the weird color of your guacamole :).
And to make things even more handy dandy for you, I’ve rounded up not only information about freezing avocados, but 4 different ways to freeze avocados, depending on the time you have and how you are going to use them. So now you can have them at the ready for however you would like to use them.
Please note, that frozen avocados will not lend themselves well to eating on their own or sliced on a sandwich. The texture will be more suitable to things like dressings, dips, etc. (or Chocolate Truffles!).
Freezing Avocados – the How To’s
In Halves
This is the easiest way to go about freezing avocados. Simply cut your avocados in half lengthwise, peel them (either before or after cutting), put them on a plate or tray, spritz each half with some lemon (or lime) juice. You don’t need to douse the avocados, but you do want to make sure that you are pretty much coating them.
A good rule of thumb would be about 2 tsp lemon or lime juice per each large avocado, or 1 tsp for each small one. You can of course use fresh squeezed lemon juice, but I LOVE this Organic Lemon Juice. I get mine in a HUGE double pack at Costco (see, I told you that I’m all about bulk everything!)
Place the avocado halves in a plastic storage bag and press as much of the air as possible. If you really want to get all of the air out, you can use a food saver system. I’ve had my eye on these and would love to know if you all find them to be a great addition to a frugal kitchen, or just one more gadget that doesn’t get used much.
Diced
If you’d rather go an extra step to protect your avocados from browning due to air exposure, you can dice your avocados and toss them with lemon juice. Then place the dices in a Ziploc Bag or use a food saver system to get as much of the air out as possible.
You can then use the dices in any recipes calling for avocados.
I recommend bagging up 2-4 diced avocados at a time and noting how many avocados are in each bag by writing something on a label on the bag, so that you can easily grab some from the freezer and use them in recipes.
Puree
Since you’re likely going to be mashing up your frozen avocados, this is another great way to freeze them. If you freeze halves or dices, your final recipe will be chunkier than if you puree them, but pureeing works great for making dressings, sauces, guacamole, truffles :), or putting avocado into smoothies.
Simply toss your avocado into a food processor or blender, squeeze in some lemon juice, and process to desired texture. Then scoop the puree into a plastic storage bag, remove as much air as possible, and freeze.
Alternatively, you can store the pureed avocados in ice cube trays. Fill each cavity with some of your lovely and smooth avocado puree, and freeze. I would recommend buying separate ice cube trays for this as they might get a bit discolored.
Place the trays in the freezer until the puree is frozen. Then simply pop the cubes out and place in a plastic storage bag.
Guacamole
If you would like to have guac on the fly (and on the cheap), this is a great way to go.
You can of course use your favorite guacamole recipe, but we LOVE this AIP (autoimmune paleo) Guacamole. It has no nightshades so those who either are on the Autoimmune Paleo Diet (this is a great book about the AIP diet, by the way) or those who are avoiding nightshades can enjoy guacamole without side effects.
Any guacamole recipe will work. I will say, however, that the texture of your guacamole will be better after freezing if you avoid the tomatoes. Even though my Easiest Way to Store Tomatoes is a great option, the results aren’t optimal and I think you might not be happy with less than optimal results guac.
You can either freeze the guacamole in a plastic storage bag, or try the ice cube tray method again. This would be particularly handy if you are making Taco Salads (or any kind of salad or meal) in a Jar ahead of time. These jars would be perfect for this!
Oh, and if you’re going to make a Taco Salad in a Jar, you will for sure want to use this Easy Delish Homemade Taco Seasoning for it!
Simply toss a cube or two of your frozen guacamole onto the salad the night before. It will be thawed and ready to eat by lunch the next day.
Alternative Storage Options for Freezing Avocados
- Zipper Freezer Bags
Some frugal folk have recommend this alternative to the Food Saver System….putting a straw into a Ziploc bag, then sucking the last bit of air out of the bag before sealing…..I haven’t tried it yet so I’d love to hear thoughts on this as well! - Store in Jars
If you would prefer to not freeze in bags due to concerns about plastic, storing in these jars is a good alternative. - Water instead of Lemon Juice
A fan on my Facebook page shared that she heard that water works just as well for keeping avocados from browning. I haven’t tried this when freezing avocados yet, and am skeptical, but it might work.
How Long Can You Store Avocados In the Freezer?
Avocados should keep for 3-6 months in the freezer. They will still be safe to eat after that time, but their flavor might be diminished.
Of course their shelf life in the freezer will be dependent on the method used to freeze, as well as the quality and temperature of your freezer.
How to Defrost Frozen Avocados
To thaw frozen avocado, place either the halves or bags of dices or avocados in a bowl of cold water or in the fridge. Halves could be thawed on a plate for about 30 minutes and some say that they taste better when eaten a bit on the frozen side.
So–if avocados were on sale 3/$1 where you live, how many would YOU buy?
Hi there,
How do you defrost the avocado halves? Pureed, ice cubes and guacamole seem pretty easy to defrost… is there a trick for defrosting halves?
Thanks, Belinda
I just updated the post with a few tips! Thanks for a great question and for reading!
Thanks for the tips on freezing avocados. Nothing more frustrating than buying a bunch and can’t use them fast enough. BTW, the Foodsaver machine is the best single gift I have ever gotten. I use it all the time and have saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in food staying fresh.
You are so welcome! That’s so interesting to hear! What kinds of things do you keep fresh with it? I appreciate the tips!!
This is very handy right now! Gone from frugal to borderline hoarding – when I place a grocery delivery order I want to make it worth everyone’s time 🙂
I agree – we just bought a TON. Kind of embarrassed to say how many! Buying bulk bananas right now!
How long will the Avocados last in the freezer once diced or spuree?
Hi there! I just updated the post for you with that information. Good question!
I have a foidsaver and it is well worth the money. You can vaccuum seal items to freeze, or dry goods for extended term dry storage. The unit has accessories sold separately that allow you to put a vaccuum on a Ball canning jar (not the same as the canning process though, so you’ll need to refrigerate the jars or use it for dry goods storage – great for baking supplies like chocolate chips or marshmallows or Graham cracker crumbs.).
So good to hear. You all are tempting me to purchase one!
YOu were wondering about the vc n seal! I’m on my third one!!! I LOVE it! It sves me more money than any other appliance in mykitchen! Especially meat and cheese!
Wow – so great to hear! Is that mainly b/c you freeze it for later and otherwise it would go bad?
I tried freezing avocados, but they got very stringy when they were defrosted! I will try your process…..
I hope it works. What did you do and how did you try to use them? They aren’t great for eating as is—best for making guac, etc.
Thanks for that. By the way, you can get a food vaccum sealer (works exactly the same as ‘food saver’) on aliexpress for about $18, with 20 bags included.
As a side note, aliexpress and alibaba is where 95% of sellers on amazon get their items from (and then sell it on amazon for about 10-20 the price of what it costs on aliexpress).
So if one wishes to save A LOT of money and avoid paying the unnecessary markup for the middleman then can get most items that appear on amazon directly from aliexpress for 10-20 times less the cost (depending on how much one used to buy on amazon, one can save literally thousands of dollars a year by simply skipping the amazon middleman).
Here’s an example of the cost breakdown of what you are actually paying for when buying a $100 item on amazon:
*Cost on aliexpress/alibaba $10
*Money that the amazon private seller pockets $45
*Fees that amazon charge for publishing the item on its platform $45
Literally 90% of what we are paying on amazon is a markup on the actual cost of the item.
Any wonder Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world? Simply being the middleman and making sure everyone thinks that amazon is the only place to buy those marked up items..
Good point! So the question is–how do you know what you are getting as far as specifications like whether a product really is stainless or if it’s been tested for lead and other heavy metals, etc.
I don’t always ask these things when I should, but I don’t see a way to communicate with sellers on that platform. Am I missing that? Thanks!
There’s definitely a way to contact the seller on aliexpress and ask questions. I did that a few times. To be honest I don’t remember exactly if there is a dedicated button for that or if you have to first go to the seller’s page.
I did it on the desktop site, might be different on the mobile site or the app.
Also need to remember that sellers there are mostly Chinese and their English isn’t always great (though I doubt if the amazon seller could tell you more about the item than they can, since the amazon seller is getting the item from the exact same source).
Hope that helps 🙂
I’ll have to see if I can find that – thanks. I don’t have a problem w/ foreign language issues. I taught ESL for years in Japan and in the US and my husband taught in China. I typically am thinking about an Amazon seller that is a real company based in the US rather than someone buying Chinese goods to sell.
Whenever you see ‘fulfilled by amazon’ you can be sure that the seller bought it from China and had it sent directly to the amazon storage unit in the US and listed on amazon for a premium rate. It is called dropshipping and literally hundreds of thousands of people are doing it since it is so profitable. Most of those doing it also know that people don’t want to just pay a premium for a middleman for goods bought in China so most create a brand name that gives the impression of it being an American company selling American goods, though in reality about 95% of (non-perishable) items on amazon are dropshipped from China.
Yes, this makes sense. So why aren’t we making more in the US? Do you think that Food Saver is really something on Alibaba but has another name on it?
How much does a Commercial packer cost?
What kind do you mean?
food saver is the way to go. i use mine all the time. and now that i can use it to seal “used” potato chips etc, even better.
I’ve heard that works great!
I LOVE MY VP IT HAS SAVED ME SO MUCH MONEY AND YOU CAN ALSO LEAVE IN THE FREEZER FOR OVER A YEAR AND NOT FREEZER BURN
That’s so great!
The straw method of removing excess air from bag? It works, but I’ve found, no more or less than folding bag over and gently pressing air out with about inch of bag unzipped.
Thank for the tips! Bought 10 avocados on sale, only 2 eaten and fear of them going bad on horizon. Will freeze!
Thanks and you are welcome!
Adrienne,
We recently purchased the Food Saver System and it is my BEST investment EVER!!! It’s definitely a lifesaver when it comes to saving my well spent grocery money rather than throwing away spoiled food. And with the new ziplock bags that have the ability to vacuum the air from the bags, it’s even better! Just thought I would share.
Thank you! Glad to hear it! I need to really consider this. I have some other new food preservation ideas as well–hope to get to those soon so hope to see you around again!
We wore the food saver vacuum packer out, real fast! So, we opted for a commercial grade VP. It gets used on a weekly basis, in fact we are on the 2nd one having worn out the first after 5 years of use!
We cook big (like smoked meats) bag, freeze then when using drop the bag in boiling water for 20 minutes. The food is like fresh off the grill etc!
A commercial grade VP? How much did that cost?? I do wonder about cooking in the plastic and what might be leaching into your food, however. Have you thought about that at all?
Thank you so much! I’ve been buying loads of avocados lately. I’ve been working a new diet and most days lunch has a tuna salad sandwich on wheat, but I’ve been using avocado instead of mayonaise (not bad btw). Problem was the ratio is half an avocado to 1 can tuna, and 1 can of tuna makes 2 lunches. It will be nice to stop hitting the grocery store every 2 days. Thanks!
You are so welcome! Hope it works well for you and YES to avocados instead of mayo! I love mayo but am avoiding eggs at the moment. 🙂
I used my Food Saver to package up mine for the freezer. Worked great.
So great!!!!
I’m going to try this using my Food Saved which is well worth the money!
Saver!Not Saved! Another auto correct!
Hope it works well for you!
I live in central FL and we have a Brogdon avocado tree in our yard. These avocados are larger than Haas, and have a smooth dark skin (like an eggplant) when they are ripe. They have a wonderful nutty flavor. They ripen in July & August. This year it looks like we are going to have an abundant crop of them. I love them, and look forward to having them. At the moment, I am buying Haas avocados. This week they are 49 cents each at Aldi, so I have bought a dozen already. I make a mean guacamole! I like it chunky. I cut my avocados in about 1/2” squares, and freeze them in plastic bags. I tried lemon juice once, and they tasted awful. Thanks for your post.
I am soooo jealous! My family would go nuts w/ an avocado tree!!! I hope this works well for you. I’m trying out another more promising method soon–more pricey but probably will work out a lot better. Stay tuned!
My name is Yehudit.
I would like to know (you didn’t mentioned it) how have to be the texture
of the avokado when you freeze it.
Is it O.K. if it is hard or it has to be soft?
How much time I can freeze it?
Yehudit
Hi there–it should be ripe. Thanks for reading!