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Photo: Casey Barber

scooping sliced avocado with a spoon

Onceit’s ripe, an avocado is one of the greatest foods in existence, and so versatile that you can add it to many of your favorite dishes fora boost of healthy fats, fiber, potassium and more vitamins and minerals. Learn how to cut an avocado forsalads,toast,guacamoleand more. Plus, learn how to peel an avocado.

What You Need to Open an Avocado

You don’t need any special avocado tools to open an avocado. Though they seem effective, any single-tasking avocado tool won’t work any better than what you already have in your kitchen. All you need isa cutting boardand a sharp knife, preferably ceramic or even plastic. Why? A metal knife can react with the avocado to initiate the oxidation process, which turns the avocado flesh brown. Unlike metal, ceramic and plastic are nonreactive, so the oxidation process doesn’t start as quickly—though the avocadowillstart to brown eventually.

How to Cut Open an Avocado

Carefully slice into the avocado with a knife until the blade hits the pit in the center.

Casey Barber

two hands slicing an avocado with red knife over a wooden cutting board

Run the knife lengthwise around the avocado. Twist the two halves of the avocado to separate and open the avocado.

two hands holding avocado halves over a wooden cutting board with red knife

How to Remove an Avocado Pit

To remove with a knife, firmly smack the thick end of the knife blade into the pit until it sticks. Rotate the avocado so that the pit separates from the flesh and remains on the knife.

pitting an avocado with a red knife

To remove the slippery avocado pit from the knife, smack the side of the pit against a cutting board or countertop to loosen it. Or if you would rather not use a knife, you can simply run the tip of a spoon around the pit and scoop it out.

scooping out an avocado pit with a spoon

How to Slice an Avocado

With the pit removed and the avocado still in the peel, make vertical slices with the tip of the knife.

slicing avocado with a red knife

Run a spoon around the edge of the avocado to separate the peel and the flesh, then scoop out the slices. Try sliced avocado in thisAvocado & Kale Omelet.

How to Dice an Avocado

dicing avocado with a red knife

Run a spoon around the edge of the avocado to separate the peel and the flesh, then scoop out the diced avocado. Use diced avocado in salads or as part of a fresh salsa.

scooping diced avocado with a spoon

How to Peel an Avocado

Whether you’re dicing or slicing, it’s easy to peel an avocado. Simply run a spoon around the edge of the avocado and it will release the flesh. However, if you don’t plan to eat the entire avocado at once, be sure to leave the remaining flesh in the peel for storage purposes. Learnhow to store cut avocados properly.

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