The Best Avocado Slicer

Buying Guide

Avocados are a healthy, delicious way to get potassium and heart-healthy fats into your diet. Whether you enjoy slices on their own or you mash them up to make guacamole, few things are as refreshing as a good avocado.

But if you’ve ever worked with avocados, you know the prepping process isn’t exactly easy. If you need them peeled, you have to go through that, but then you also have to remove the pit before slicing them. Although avocados are certainly not the only fruit that has peels and pits, you may eat them so often you notice the labor involved.

The good news is, there’s a tool that can help. An avocado slicer is made to handle the unique design of an avocado, giving you what you need to remove the peel and the pit, as well as slice the fruit once all that is removed.

Can you slice up an avocado using a standard kitchen knife? Definitely. But doing so involves first removing the peel, which varies in difficulty depending on the ripeness of the avocado itself. Riper avocados peel more easily than those that have some age on them. You’ll then simply need to remove the pit, which also is not always easy to do depending on the age of the fruit.

An avocado slicer typically avoids the exposed sharp edges you get with a standard knife, keeping you safer. Having three tools in one means you’ll have everything you need in one place. Many of them also are dishwasher safe, allowing you to store them on the top shelf of your dishwasher for easy cleanup after each use. Lastly, there’s the design of the handle, which can keep your hand comfortable while you do the intense work of cutting multiple avocados in one session for that party or big bowl of guacamole.

• Avocados have a sensitive flesh, making it all too easy to damage the fruit as you’re cutting. For that reason, you’ll need an extra-sharp blade to make clean cuts. An avocado slicer is designed specifically for that purpose.
• If your slicer doesn’t remove pits, you can run a thin metal spoon in the slim space between the pit and the fruit to slide it out.
• When purchasing an avocado slicer, the handle is important. Look for one with ergonomics that will also reduce slips. If you can’t get a firm grip on the handle, you could find yourself at risk of injury.
• Even if a slicer says it’s safe, slicing avocados is a chore best left to the grown-ups in the household. Children could still injure themselves on these tools.
• When slicing avocados, the thinner the blade, the better. You’ll find you reduce the risk that you mash the avocado while slicing, producing a crisper, cleaner result.
• Cleanup can be tricky. Many avocado slicers can be cleaned in the dishwasher to make it easier. To play it safe, make sure you put the slicer on the top shelf of the dishwasher, which exposes it to less heat.
• Some avocado slicers can tackle other fruits, as well, including kiwis and bananas. If you opt for one that can serve this type of multipurpose use, make sure the slicer won’t transfer juices from one fruit to another.
• For safety purposes, you may want to prioritize a slicer that is made from food-grade plastic, as well as being BPA free.
• Stainless steel is always preferred when dealing with food and liquids. It resists rust and corrosion to ensure longevity.
• Browning is an ongoing issue with avocados, as with many other fruits. For best results, buy avocados while they’re firm. If you want to eat part of the avocado and save the rest for later, leave the pit in place. You’ll still get some browning, but this will at least preserve some of the surface area.