4 Awesome Ways To Slice Avocado

I think we can all agree: avocado = life! Avocados are magical in any way, shape or form (as long as you enjoy them at the perfect moment of ripeness).

We’ve been in love with these dinosaur-egg-looking fruits for years now. But usually we just chop them up on our food, mash it into guacamole, or spread avo on a slice of toast and call it a day. It’s nature’s butter after all!

Today we have four easy ways to slice an avocado that anyone can do with a little practice! The key is picking a perfectly ripe avocado. Read on for what to look out for that makes an avocado ready to slice, it’s versatility, and why you should eat more avocados in general (hint: they’re chock-full of nutrients!).

Benefits Of Avocado

Raise your hand if you love avocado! I truly love this fruit but, who doesn’t? It’s good for you; it’s creamy and just so delicious! Along with nuts and seeds, it’s one of the healthiest sources of fats out there.

And it’s also so versatile! You can literally put it on everything. Ok, almost everything. But to name a few, you can throw in your smoothie, use as a spread on toast, on a wrap, as a base for healthy chocolate mousse or on top of your favorite chili. It could also take your daily buddha bowl to the next level, especially if you mash it beforehand. Try adding it to dishes you wouldn’t usually add them to! You’ll see how they make (almost) everything better!

How To Pick An Avocado

Now, how do you pick the perfect one? Usually the darker the skin the riper it is but don’t take this as a rule. Since you may be looking at avocados that have not been harvested near you they might have been stored in really cold temperatures, and that can interfere with the ripening process a bit, as can the transport and bumping. So, make sure you also focus on the top (where the stem used to be!) and check the color of the avocado inside. If its pale it might not be ready to eat.

Bottom line: the only way to check if your avocado is perfect for eating is a mix of color and feel. If it’s too soft to the touch then it’s time has passed but too firm and it’s not ready. You’ll have to find that ideal “in between”, that sweet spot! But remember that even if those avocados at your local grocery store are too firm they can be taken home and left to ripen slowly over the counter!

How To Slice An Avocado

Ready for some really fancy ways to slice an avocado so you can step up your game? Here are four ways to slice an avocado plus some recommendations on how to use each style. Ready? Let’s have some fun learning how to slice avocado!

Angel Wing Cut

Ok, this is not the proper technical name for this way of slicing avocado. But why not create some funny names to remember them by? This cut is a lot simpler than it looks. Here’s how:

• Slice your avocado in half. Twist to loosen the pit and pull it apart to separate the two halves.
• Remove the peel on the half without the stone and slice that in half lengthwise. 
• Gently start slicing into thin long evenly-spaced strips (see image below). Once you are done fan out the avocado so that the cuts open a bit. 

Where to use:

This decorative cut is great for veggie platters, hummus boards or vegetable ceviches. Or simply drizzled with some olive oil, lemon juice and sprinkled with some sea salt. Yum!

Simple Cut

This one is very simple and perfect for those “not super ripe” avocados. Let’s see:

• Slice your avocado in half. Pull it apart to separate the two halves.
• Remove the peel on the half without the stone. 
• Slice the half from top to bottom in semi-thick strips (see below) and stagger them. 

Where to use:

This cut is great for vegan cheese plates! You can put a toothpick in each slice so they can be easily picked up used on crackers. 

Peeler Slice

This one is also super simple and, like the one above is great for those slightly firm avocados. How?

• Slice your avocado in half. Pull it apart to separate the two halves.
• Remove the peel on the half without the stone. 
• With your veggie peeler (like this one!) peel the layer like you’re peeling a potato. 
• They will tend to curl up and that’s fine. 

Where to use it:

This cut goes great atop pasta or zucchini noodles! Try it. 

Avocado Rose 

We’ve all seen those gorgeous looking avocado roses on Instagram or our favorite vegan magazines and fantasized about trying it ourselves, right? Let’s learn how! 

• Slice your avocado in half. Pull it apart to separate the two halves.
• Remove the peel on the half without the stone. 
• Slice the avocado thinly, lengthwise. This is key—the slices need to be thin to form the rose. 
• Gently spread out the slices to create a long straight line, keeping the flat edges on the work surface. Then, starting from one end, twirl them into a spiral rose shape. 

The more thinly you slice your avocado and the further you spread the slices apart, the bigger the rose will be!

Where to use it:

This gorgeous avocado rose is a dish in itself, but it would go perfectly in a buddha bowl full of vibrant colors!

Hope this inspires you to have more fun in the kitchen, get creative with ingredients and their presentation, and show even more love to avocados. Slice ’em, dice ’em, mash ’em up into guacamole, present ’em all fancy live we’ve shown above….however you cut it, the avocado is a magical food and definitely worthy of its title: “Nature’s Butter.”

Recipes With Avocados

Obsessed with avocados? Then you’re going to love these recipes!

• Summer Tomato Salad
• Vegan Pozole
• Grilled Potato Skins With Guacamole
• Super-Easy Vegan Burrito
• Sautéed Kale, Bean, and Avocado Salad

Avocado photos by Zhoro Apostolov for World of Vegan. Photographs copyright of World of Vegan™, all rights reserved. Please note that this article contains affiliate links, which means shopping through them helps lights on at World of Vegan!