How To Cut an Avocado Without Smashing It
Creamy, versatile, and ready to make just about any meal better, avocado is a staple worth knowing your way around. Whether you’re topping tacos, building a grain bowl, making avocado toast, or adding a little richness to a salad, learning how to cut an avocado makes prep quick and easy.
All you need is a ripe avocado, a cutting board, a knife, and a spoon. Here’s how to get perfectly sliced avocado in just a few simple steps.
Step-by-step instructions for how to cut an avocado
Step 1: Cut the avocado in half
Place the avocado on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice lengthwise around the avocado, letting the knife follow the pit in the center. Rotate the avocado as you cut until you’ve gone all the way around.
Image: Show the knife cutting lengthwise around the center of the whole avocado.
Step 2: Separate the halves
Hold one half of the avocado in each hand and gently twist in opposite directions. The two sides should easily separate, leaving the pit in one half.
Step 3: Remove the pit
Place the avocado half with the pit on a stable cutting board. Carefully remove the pit. For a safer, knife-free option, you can also work a spoon underneath the pit and gently pop it out.
Step 4: Remove the avocado from the peel
Slide a spoon between the avocado flesh and the peel, following the curve of the avocado. If your avocado is perfectly ripe, the flesh should release easily and come out in one piece.
Step 5: Slice the avocado
Place the peeled avocado half cut-side down on your cutting board. Hold it steady and cut crosswise into thin, even slices. Your avocado is now ready for toast, tacos, bowls, salads, sandwiches, and more.
Image: Show the peeled avocado half being cut into even slices, followed by a shot of the finished sliced avocado.
Other ways to slice avocados
Slices aren’t your only option. How you cut an avocado can depend on what you’re making. Here are a few other easy methods.
Cubed avocado
For cubes, place a peeled avocado half cut-side down and slice it lengthwise into strips. Rotate and cut crosswise to create cubes. You can also score the flesh into a grid while it’s still inside the peel, then scoop the cubes out with a spoon. Cubed avocado is great for grain bowls, salads, salsas, and tacos.
Avocado quarters
After halving the avocado and removing the pit, cut each half lengthwise again to create four quarters. The skin can then be peeled away from each piece. From there, leave the quarters whole or cut them into smaller pieces. Quartering can be especially useful when you want larger pieces of avocado or want to peel the fruit before making your final cuts.
Diced avocado
For a smaller dice, follow the same process as cubing the avocado, but make your cuts closer together. Small diced avocado works particularly well in salsa, taco toppings, or anywhere you want avocado distributed throughout the dish rather than served in larger pieces.
Mashed avocado
Sometimes you don’t need slices at all. Scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash it with a fork until it reaches your preferred consistency. Keep it chunky for guacamole or mash until smooth for avocado toast, spreads, and dressings.
How to store leftover sliced avocado
Once an avocado is cut, exposure to air causes the flesh to oxidize and turn brown. A little citrus and an airtight environment can help slow that process.
For half an avocado, leave the peel intact and, if possible, keep the pit in the unused half. Brush or squeeze a little lemon or lime juice over the exposed flesh, then wrap it tightly or place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
For avocado slices or pieces, lightly coat them with lemon or lime juice before placing them in an airtight container. Try to minimize the amount of air surrounding the avocado and refrigerate promptly.
Some browning may still happen—and that’s okay. If only the very top has browned, you can usually remove that thin layer to reveal greener avocado underneath.
Should you peel an avocado before slicing?
You can, but you don’t have to. One alternative easy method is to halve and pit the avocado first, then scoop each half out of its peel before placing it on your cutting board and slicing. You can also make your slices directly in the avocado half while the peel is still on, then scoop them out with a spoon. If you want especially neat, uniform slices for presentation, removing the avocado half from its peel before slicing can make the process easier.
Our 4 favorite Purple Carrot avocado recipes
Once you know how to cut an avocado, put those skills to work. Avocado can add creaminess and richness to everything from tacos to bowls—and sometimes it can even be the star of the meal.
- Rajas Avocado Tacos — Avocado takes center stage in these tacos. Accompanied by corn, poblano peppers, and red rice make these a super flavorful high-protein, high-fiber plant-based meal.
- Tomatillo Avocado Burgers — This hearty plant-based dinner is complete with 28 grams of protein per serving and filled with healthy fats from the avocado topping. Plus, it comes together in just 25 minutes.
- Golden Goddess Tofu Bowls — Proof that avocado can do a whole lot more than top toast. This dish as a whopping 41 grams of protein and 19 grams of fiber per serving. Avocado paired with farro, kale, and a carrot-ginger dressing makes this a hearty salad you won’t be able to get enough of.
- Spicy California Sushi Bowls — Poke, but make it plant-based. This is the perfect dish to show off your new knife skills. Sliced avocado is the cherry on top for the vibrant, refreshing dish that couldn’t be easier to whip up.
Learning how to cut an avocado is one of those simple kitchen skills that pays off again and again. Cut it in half, remove the pit, scoop out the flesh, and slice it to your liking—it only takes a couple of minutes. From there, the possibilities are wide open. Slice it onto toast, dice it into a salad, cube it for a grain bowl, mash it into guacamole, or make avocado the main event with crispy avocado tacos.
Check out more avocado and hundreds of other plant-based recipes on the menu over at Purple Carrot.
