How to Cut an Avocado

Learn how to cut an avocado quickly — and safely! — using this guide. You’ll also learn how to store cut avocado, how to peel an avocado, and the many ways to use avocados! 

Why Learn How to Cut an Avocado? 

Cutting an avocado feels intuitive — and it is! — but if you don’t know the best way to cut an avocado you could actually wind up injuring yourself. 

Yes, “Avocado Hand” is real and can end in a trip to the ER!

The key thing to remember when cutting an avocado and removing the pit is to NEVER hold an avocado in your hand when cutting it. Likewise, it’s best to remove an avocado pit with a spoon rather than with a sharp chef’s knife. 

Don’t be scared of cutting an avocado in half, though. It’s an easy process that I’ll walk you through in this guide. 

I’ll explain in detail how to cut an avocado, as well as how to tell when an avocado is ready to be cut. Plus, I’ll share tips on storing an avocado once cut. 

When Are Avocados In Season? 

There are many varieties of avocados, and they all have slightly different growing seasons. 

However, Hass avocados account for 95% of the avocado sales in US grocery stores so for the purpose of this guide that’s the avocado variety I’ll be discussing. 

Hass avocados are the classic avocado you see in most grocery stores. They have high-fat, creamy flesh and bumpy, dark green skin. 

Hass avocados are in season from spring through early fall, although they’re available year-round in most stores. 

How to Tell If an Avocado Is Ripe 

Again, each avocado variety ripens differently, but here’s how to tell if a Hass avocado is ripe and ready to be cut: 

• Hass avocados have pebbly skin that darkens the more ripe they are. 
• Flesh should have a slight give when you press your thumb gently near the top of the avocado. 
• Skin should be dark green; if too bright green, it’s not ripe yet.
• Remove the stem from the top of the avocado – the flesh there should be green and the stem should be easy to remove. If the stem is tough to remove, it’s not ripe enough. If the skin underneath is brown, it’s likely overripe so you should cut it open and salvage what you can! 

How to Ripen Avocados Quickly

Avocados ripen quite well after being picked from the tree. It’s best to let them sit on your counter undisturbed until fully ripened, but I know you can’t always wait that long! 

If you don’t have the time or patience to wait for avocados to ripen naturally on your countertop, place them in a bag (or simply in the same fruit bowl) with an apple or banana. 

Ethylene gas is produced by both avocados and bananas / apples. The bag traps in that gas and subsequently speeds up the ripening process. 

The bag trick ripens avocados in 2 to 4 days, depending on how ripe they were to begin with. 

Tip: Only put fully ripened avocados into the fridge. Unripe avocados won’t ripen properly if chilled. 

Tools Needed to Cut an Avocado 

Cutting an avocado is a simple process that requires the most basic of kitchen tools. Here’s what you’ll need to slice an avocado: 

• Cutting board — If the cutting board slides around on your countertop, place a clean kitchen towel underneath it to hold it steady. 
• Chef’s knife – Make sure it’s sharpened properly before cutting and slicing the avocado. 
• Spoon – For scooping out the flesh. 
• Airtight container – For storing leftover cut avocado. You want the container to be airtight (or even better, be vacuum sealed!) to prevent the avocado from turning brown.  

How to Cut an Avocado 

This tutorial will teach you how to cut an avocado in half, how to slice (or cube!) an avocado, and how to peel an avocado. If you only need to prepare an avocado to a certain stage of the process, just stop where needed! 

Here’s the best way to cut an avocado: 

1. Place the avocado on a cutting board. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise. You’ll need to carefully rotate the knife around the avocado pit to slice through the entirety of the flesh. 
2. Place the knife on the counter. Then, pick up the avocado and gently twist the two halves apart. The seed will remain on one side. 
3. To remove an avocado pit: You can remove the pit with a spoon, working the tip of the spoon as close to the pit as possible to avoid removing any flesh. OR you can place the avocado half on the cutting board and carefully tap the back of the chef’s knife into the pit. The knife should stick in the pit, allowing you to gently twist the knife and remove the pit. 
4. To slice or cube an avocado: Gently score the avocado with the tip of the knife to either slice or cube it. You want to cut all the way through the creamy flesh without cutting the skin. 
5. To peel an avocado: Scoop the scored flesh out with a spoon and use as desired. 

Tip: Alternatively, after the pit has been removed, you can place each avocado half cut-side down on the cutting board and peel off the skin by hand. I only do this when I want to create really beautiful avocado slices. 

How to Store Avocados Once Cut

Once cut, avocados will brown over time. This happens because the flesh is exposed to the air; the browning process is called oxidation. 

Cut avocados that have turned brown are still safe to eat, but admittedly they look unappealing.

As such, avocados are one of those foods that’s best eaten soon after they’re cut, so buy them with an idea of how you plan on eating them. 

However, if you wind up with leftover cut avocado, you want to prevent the flesh from coming in contact with the air – I’ve outlined my favorite methods for preventing cut avocados from turning brown below. 

Just note that no storage method is perfect; an avocado will brown over time, it’s just science! 

How to Keep Avocados Fresh Once Cut 

To keep a cut avocado green, I recommend storing it in an airtight container (remove as much air as possible!) WITH the pit.

Even if you removed the pit to make guacamole or avocado slices, reserve the pit. This keeps the flesh green for about 24 hours. 

Otherwise, you can submerge the prepared avocado in water and then drain it off before using. 

Some people recommend brushing the surface of a cut avocado with olive oil to prevent it being exposed to the air. You can also squeeze a little lemon or lime juice over the surface. 

Or, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the avocado to prevent it from browning. (I don’t love this storage method because it results in plastic waste.) 

No matter which method you choose for storing cut avocados, it mostly comes down to preventing the flesh from being exposed to the air and oxidizing.

If you have vacuum seal storage containers, now is the time to break them out! 

How Long Do Avocados Last Once Cut? 

Halved, cubed, or sliced avocado will last 3 to 4 days in the fridge if stored using one of the methods mentioned above. 

Can Avocados Be Frozen? 

Absolutely! Frozen avocado can be used in smoothies, sauces, and dressings, or thawed to make guacamole. 

Follow this tutorial on how to freeze avocado for all of my tips and tricks. 

More Knife Tutorials: 

Learn how to supreme an orange with this simple tutorial! In this post, I’m sharing the best way to segment an orange, and how to remove the white pith and skin! 

Don’t waste any part of that fresh pineapple! This post shares how to cut a pineapple six different ways, as well as ideas for using the pineapple top and tough skin. 

Chocolate curls are easy to make, and they add a touch of elegance to any cake, cupcake, trifle, or cheesecake! In this post, I’ve provided step-by-step instructions on how to make chocolate curls, plus I’m sharing the best types of chocolate to use for chocolate curls, how to store the curls, and more! 

Learn how to cut a mango quickly — and safely! — using this guide. You’ll also learn how to store cut mango, how to peel a mango, and the many ways to use mangoes!  

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