Yes, you can freeze avocados—and it’s a great way to save money when they’re on sale or prevent them from going bad too quickly. While the texture changes after thawing, frozen avocados work really well in smoothies, dips, and dressings.

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably had a few avocados sit on the counter just a little too long…and suddenly they’re overripe. I’ve definitely been there—especially when I stock up during a good sale.

So I started figuring out how to freeze avocados properly, and it turns out there are a few different ways to do it depending on how you want to use them later.

avocado halves with lemon halves for post on freezing avocados

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.

But I have yet another problem.

My name is Adrienne and I'm a Frugalaholic.

When something is on sale, I feel the need to stock up.

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, and that includes avocados.

Why I Had to Freeze Avocados

Recently there was a 3/$1 sale on avocadoes, and I started wondering how I could store avocados without them spoiling.

I mean, if you buy a lot of avocados, you can eat them plain, with salt, dip carrots into them (with a little salt on top), make this Zingy Avocado Dressing, these Chocolate Avocado Truffles (serious yum), these Chocolate Mint Grasshopper Bars, and this AIP Guacamole.

But there's a limit to how many avos you can eat before they turn to mush.

Problem is, that some of the information out there about freezing avocados is wrong.

I am instead going to share some great methods for freezing avocados.

And to make things even better, I've rounded up 4 different ways to freeze avocados, depending on the time you have and how you're going to use them.

Please note, that frozen avocados will not lend themselves well to eating thawed on their own or sliced on a sandwich. The texture will be more suitable to things like dressings, dips, etc. (or Chocolate Truffles!).

However, diced or cubed frozen avocados work great in smoothies like this delicious Strawberry Avocado Smoothie.

Avocados sliced in cubes, in a bag, and sliced in half

Ways to Store

Zipper Freezer Bags
Some frugal folk have recommended 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 your thoughts on this as well!
Store in Jars
If you'd prefer to not freeze in bags due to concerns about plastic, storing in these jars is a good alternative.
Water instead of Lemon Juice
You can try water instead of lemon or lime juice, but the antioxidants in the citrus juice works better.

Shelf Life in 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 depend on the method used to freeze, as well as the quality and temperature of your freezer.

How to Defrost

To thaw frozen avocado, place either the halves or diced 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.

Other Ways to Preserve Foods

If this post has been a help for you, you might find these to be of help as well:

halved, mashed, and diced avocados for a post about freezing avocados

Ingredients

avocados
lemon juice/lime juice pptional but recommended for best color

Instructions

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 teaspoons lemon or lime juice per each large avocado, or 1 teaspoon for each small one. 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. Silicone ice cube trays work best.
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

Either freeze the guacamole in a plastic freezer bag or in ice cube trays. Silicone ice cube trays work the best for easy removal. Guacamole without tomatoes works best.
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!
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.

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.

If avocados were on sale 3/$1 where you live, how many would YOU buy?

492 Comments

Jo Anne Wesloh says:

Aug 24, 2018 at 1:23 pm

I have a Foodsaver Gamesaver. We don’t use it for wild animals and we don’t butcher. But it’s large and comes in handy for sauces, soups, casseroles etc., anything that may need a larger bag. That is going to come handy when I use it for the avocados. It also enables you to stop the vacuum whenever you want to so it doesn’t smash it too much.
Thank you for your directions. I had no idea it was possible.

1. Adrienne says:
  
  Aug 24, 2018 at 2:38 pm
  
  Sounds great!!!
  
Julia says:

Aug 21, 2018 at 3:17 pm

I’ve used strws , for ears, to take any air out of my plastic bags, used for freezing. I truly works. thanks for all your tips. !!

Anne says:

Aug 10, 2018 at 2:08 pm

Don’t they go brown when you thaw them out or should you only use them in smoothies?

1. Adrienne says:
  
  Dec 22, 2018 at 11:06 pm
  
  They will if you don’t use them quickly if you don’t use lemon juice on top.
  
Sylvia says:

Aug 10, 2018 at 1:50 am

Thanks. It’s exactly my problem. So cheap cos they’re in. season now.

1. Adrienne says:
  
  Dec 22, 2018 at 11:07 pm
  
  Glad this helped!
  
Kristen says:

Aug 5, 2018 at 3:29 pm

I started using a vaccum sealer for peaches to make baby food for my little. He wasnt old enough for food during peach season, but didnt want to have to buy them during the off season. I love it! I will be using it for carrots, cauliflower, squash, potatoes, and green beans from my garden! Plus anything else I can freeze for baby food. I reccomend it!!! I got a nutrichef one. It is very budget friendly and works great! I do buy the food saver brand of rolls because they seem to keep seal the best! I hope this helps!

1. Adrienne says:
  
  Aug 6, 2018 at 11:14 am
  
  Helpful – thanks!! I just don’t like more plastic and wonder how much I will really like it but thank you!
  
  1. Anne says:
    
    Oct 8, 2018 at 11:51 pm
    
    Foodsaver bags are washable and reusable. So you’re recycling!
    
    1. Adrienne says:
      
      Oct 10, 2018 at 11:46 am
      
      Good point!!
      
Linda says:

Jul 31, 2018 at 7:28 pm

So I am assuming the avocados need to ripe? I have 3 large that are hard at the moment.

1. Adrienne says:
  
  Jul 31, 2018 at 7:45 pm
  
  Yes.
  
  1. Linda says:
    
    Jul 31, 2018 at 8:04 pm
    
    Thank you for responding. I seldom get a response to my questions. I will be following you! ??
    
    1. Linda says:
      
      Jul 31, 2018 at 8:05 pm
      
      That was supposed to be two smiley faces not two question marks.
      
      1. Adrienne says:
        
        Jul 31, 2018 at 8:14 pm
        
        So sweet- thank you again! I have a new community on FB — we’d love to have you! https://www.facebook.com/groups/171490083677560/
        
    2. Adrienne says:
      
      Jul 31, 2018 at 8:12 pm
      
      Awww – thanks! Sorry it was so short. I’m under a huge pile here. 🙂
      
Sherry says:

Jul 29, 2018 at 10:44 pm

Just decided to google whether you can freeze avocados after reading a recipe for banana milkshakes made with a whole frozen banana, a cup of almond milk, half of an avocado and a tsp of vanilla and discovered your wonderful article. Thanks for sharing your research. I stuck around and read all the posts about food savers and learned even more – bonus! Thanks to all who contributed. 🙂

1. Adrienne says:
  
  Jul 30, 2018 at 11:58 am
  
  🙂 – so great!!
  
Jane says:

Jul 27, 2018 at 12:54 pm

there’s environmental and health problems from the overconsumption of avocados you and your readers should be aware of: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/why-you-should-stop-eating-avocados-immediately-mexico-environmental-damage-chemicals-a7397001.html

1. Adrienne says:
  
  Jul 27, 2018 at 8:00 pm
  
  Ugh – how terrible. I found a more recent article in Vogue that was not pleasant to read at all. Do you just not eat them? I wish this kind of thing would just stop but I guess as long as there is evil in the world…and that’s not going away anytime soon….
  
ZG says:

Jul 17, 2018 at 12:31 pm

Get the FoodSaver (or another vacuum sealer – Sorbent Systems has some that are less expensive and some that don’t require the channel lock bags). I have had my original FoodSaver for nearly 20 years and still use it all the time. I buy all my meat in quantity on sale and then portion it appropriately for my family and vacuum seal it before freezing. Same with anything that recommends storing in the freezer. Definitely worth the investment over the long run.

ML says:

Jul 16, 2018 at 2:37 pm

I use the straw method and it always works like a charm.

1. bob at the computer says:
  
  Aug 16, 2018 at 11:10 pm
  
  oxygen is what makes avocados go bad
  cut fresh chunks of avocados drop them into liquid nitrogen
  or freeze them with bought carbon dioxide slab
  make sure freezer is set coldest minus 40 deg
  unfreeze in temped lemonade juice at what ever time date in the future