Avocados – To Freeze or Not to Freeze?

You may have heard that you can freeze whole avocados. Can you really? Most say no. Because water expands when frozen, the freezing process changes the texture of the avocado, and the avocado becomes mushy and even slimy when thawed. (I’m about to do an experiment to see how it goes. I’ll let you know what I find out – in about a month!)

But if you want to use your avocados in a mashed form later on, you certainly can freeze them – just be sure to mash them up first. The best method is to puree the avocado before freezing. Here’s how:

• remove the skin and pit
• using a food processor, puree the avocado with about 1T of lemon or lime juice (or something else acidic, like vinegar) to prevent browning; it is ideal to use a food processor to evenly distribute the acid, but you can also use a fork
• freeze in an airtight bag, ensuring that all air has been removed

When ready to use, simply defrost in the fridge or in a bowl of cold water. Thawed avocado is best used in a dressing, guacamole, spread, or smoothie as it will lose its firmness when frozen. But freezing and enjoying these nutritious and delicious fruits sure beats tossing them! So, freeze away!