Healthy Eating 101 Healthy Cooking How-Tos The Best Way to Cut an Avocado Learn how to cut, slice and dice an avocado safely with our step-by-step guide. By Casey Barber Casey Barber Instagram Website Casey Barber is a food writer, illustrator and photographer; author of the cookbooks "Pierogi Love: New Takes on an Old-World Comfort Food" and "Classic Snacks Made from Scratch: 70 Homemade Versions of Your Favorite Brand-Name Treats"; and editor of the website Good. Food. Stories. When she's not road-tripping across the U.S., Casey lives in New Jersey with her husband, two hungry cats, and a freezer full of sour cherries. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 10, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Casey Barber Once it'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 for a boost of healthy fats, fiber, potassium and more vitamins and minerals. Learn how to cut an avocado for salads, toast, guacamole and 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 is a cutting board and 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 avocado will start 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 Run the knife lengthwise around the avocado. Twist the two halves of the avocado to separate and open the avocado. Casey Barber 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. Casey Barber 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. Casey Barber 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. Casey Barber 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 this Avocado & Kale Omelet. Casey Barber How to Dice an Avocado Start by slicing the avocado as described above, then make horizontal slices to create cubes. Casey Barber 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. Casey Barber 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. Learn how to store cut avocados properly. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit