NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Freezing avocado

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Ryan and I are guacamole freaks. It’s a serious addiction. We eat it regularly (especially with our favorite black beans and rice). But if you every buy avocado, you know that it can be fairly expensive to purchase.

So, when I saw that avocados were on sale at Aldi for .49/piece on Super Bowl Sunday, I was so excited that I hopped right in the car and bought a few.

Okay. I bought 20 avocados.

While I’m not much of a coupon-er or sale-shopper, this was just too good a deal to pass up.

I thought I’d try my hand at freezing said avocados for when future guacamole cravings hit. And, I’m here to report that it TOTALLY WORKS. With just a little prep, I had plenty of avocado to last us a while. And we agree the flavor is just as good.

After a bunch of Googling, I received varying reports. Here’s how I found success with freezing avocado for guacamole. (Because the avocado is pureed, it will really only work for dips.)

First, peel and slice your fresh avocado. Don’t try to do this too soon, wait until the avocado is ripe (slightly soft). Ryan was a master avocado peeler, so I let him do this part.

Put the avocado slices in the food processor with lime juice. (I found the consistency was best with 1 lime for every two avocados, but this is up to your taste. You don’t want it too runny, so don’t go overboard with the lime.)

As side note – if you don’t have a food processor, buy one. I put off this purchase for such a long time, but I use it all the time and find it’s totally worth the money to get a good one.

Pulse and puree until the desired consistency. It’s okay if there are still some small chunks, I think that actually improves the texture. You don’t want it too soupy but you want it pretty smooth.

You can freeze this as is in an airtight container. But, if you don’t want to have to defrost everything as one and don’t have a use for 20 avocados at once, you can use the same process some parents use to make homemade baby food. Spoon into cheap ice cube trays for individual “servings.”

Simply put these trays into your freezer for a few hours or overnight, until frozen. Then, pop into gallon ziplock freezer baggies for longer-term storage. (Run water on the bottom if the cubes don’t pop out easily.)

My estimate is that 7-8 cubes equate to two avocados. When I wanted to make guacamole for dinner, I simply pulled out five of them in the morning to defrost. That night, I made guacamole as usual (omitting any additional lime juice, since there’s plenty in the avocado puree already).

The texture was different than normal – because I normally just use a fork to mash the avocado. I would actually say the consistency is smoother – like guacamole you get at a restaurant. But the flavor and color was perfect. No brown guacamole for you!

And I think the cost savings made this worth my time.
20 avocados on sale (Aldi) – $.49/apiece = $9.80
20 avocados regular price (Aldi) – .99/apiece = $19.80 (this is what I normally pay for avocados)
20 avocados regular price (Hy-Vee) – $2.50/apiece = $50.00 (this is what I pay when I want a ripe avocado, since Aldi avocados usually need a few days to ripen)

Even when you factor in the $4 I spent on (reusable) ice cube trays, I think it’s more than worth it. And it was actually more convenient to have the avocado already peeled, pitted and smashed for guacamole on a weeknight.

(As another aside – if you are also looking for a way to freeze cilantro – I highly recommend this preservation method from Thy Hand Hath Provided. It is the best way I’ve found to keep that cilantro from going to waste. It works great as a garnish and also make delicious cilantro lime rice. I would also imagine you could use it for guacamole, although it may get pretty lime-y.)

Are you guacamole addicts? 


Would you try freezing avocado to save a few bucks?

Comments

  1. Hi. Never been here before. Absolutely had to comment on this post. I don’t want to sound like a b*tch, but it’s not supposed to be smooth! Chunkier is better for guacamole. Use your potato masher instead of a food processor.

  2. Thanks for the awesome idea! I always want to buy a zillion when they’re on sale (since they’re one of my staples), but never really believed they could freeze:)I’ll try this next time!

  3. Must do this. Everytime they go on 10/$10 at Kroger, Stephen brings them home for me. He thinks they are gross, but I would probably eat 1-2 avocados/day if the option were available to me. Especially when pregnant. So, next time they go on sale, I’m hitting up the freezer. Thanks for sharing Kim!

  5. Interesting! Thanks for doing the hard research for us. I don’t really like guacamole but there are a few other dips I used mash avocado in, so I might try this. It would be great for when we only eat a half and won’t finish the other half before goes bad. I mostly eat avocados whole on salads and things. I think there was pin about freezing them like that. I’ll report back 🙂

  6. mmmm! great idea!
    my hubby makes his own chicken stock and then pours it in to ice cube trays…perfect for when you need a little chicken broth for this or that!

  7. I LOVE this idea. Rob doesn’t like avocado, so convincing him to remember to pick it up on his grocery trips is always a challenge. This would solve much marital/avocado stress. 😉

  8. What a great tip! I’ll totally do this, cause I love me some avocado dip… By the way, I was completely clueless that you have Aldi in the US! Since they’re German I thought we only have them here 😀

  9. Thanks for the tip! We’re big guacamole people so this is definitely something that we’ll be trying. I’ll have to stock up the next time they’re on sale!

  11. i’m with everyone else wondering how and where on earth i can find .49 avocados!!! I get really excited when there is a 2/$4 sale :(. I spend so much on avocados. But, it is very good to know that should a deal like this come along…freezing is possible!

  12. I would love to try this! But my cheap little free processor broke a while ago, so no processing anything for me 🙁

  15. You are a lifesaver. Guacamole freaks here and I have heard about the freezing process but never knew which worked. Thank you for sharing! We are always perfecting our Guac recipe and just recently discovered how amazing putting sundried tomatos into it is.

  16. Oooh- this is a great idea! Totally pinning 🙂 I love avocados. I wonder…could you freeze halved avocados the same way, with some lime juice? Maybe half the avocado and skin/pit it…pour some lime juice in the middle and freeze? Prob not, but that’d be awesome if it did work that way!

    Question for you- do you like Aldi? We just got one very close to us, and I’d like to give them a try 🙂

  17. This is amazing…I had seen this idea on Pinterest but I’m glad to hear that it actually works.

  19. This is a great thing to know. I love avocados, but don’t always love how expensive they can be. And, our little one likes avocados, too. I can’t wait to try this for her. Thanks!!

  21. Mmmmmmmmm, even just looking at the pictures of avocado has me drooling! We’re a little obsessed with it at our house, too–I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for some sales! Thanks for the tips!

  22. How funny this is exactly what I’ve been doing to process avocado for my 8 month old! 🙂 You’re all set for making your own baby food with those ice cube trays. They’re so handy!

  24. I didn’t know about freezing avocados. I love fresh, homemade guac. I have heard about spraying an avocado half w/ nonstick cooking spray and then wrapping in plastic wrap (with seed intact) to keep for a day or 2.) If you like avocados, you will like the dressing I am going to post on Friday. Yummy!

  29. What a great tip! We love guacamole over here as well and I always want to stock up when avocados are 3 for $1, but it seems like such a waste. Not anymore though. Thanks.