How To Ripen Avocados

There are many different methods on how to ripen avocados. These healthy fruits are creamy and perfect in so many recipes, and you can allow them to ripen naturally or speed up the process with these tips.

You can eat ripe avocados sprinkled with a bit of salt, spread over toast, made into guacamole, and added to smoothies or brownies.

They are part of a healthy diet and tasty addition to your weekly meal plans.

But how can you ripen avocados quickly if you’re in a hurry? There are multiple ways to do this to have you eating avocados in no time.

A ripe avocado cut in half on a light wooden board.

How to tell if an avocado is ripe

How can you tell if the avocado in your hand is ripe when you’re at the grocery store?

There are a couple of ways to do this without guessing.

Stem: If the stem of the avocado comes off easily, that is a good indication that it’s ripe.

Now, check the color under the stem. This will tell you whether it’s perfectly ripe or too ripe to eat. If the color under the stem is green, it’s perfect, and if it’s brown, it’s too ripe.

Color: Unripe avocados are picked off trees when they are bright green. You can tell when they are ready to eat right after they lose any green speckles and are entirely brown and slightly soft under your fingertips.

If they are black or you notice any really soft spots, they are overripe and will likely have black spots on the inside. This is an excellent way to know if an avocado is bad.

How to ripen an avocado quickly

On the counter

The easiest way to ripen avocados is to leave them on the counter at room temperature which will take 4-5 days depending on how green they still are.

To speed up the process, you can place the avocados in a brown paper bag with an apple, banana, or kiwi and close the top.

These fruits let off ethylene gas which helps ripen avocados more quickly. Make sure that the avocado is ripe before you cut an avocado.

how to ripen avocados In the microwave

To soften unripe avocados quickly, you can use the microwave. Cut them in half, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and then microwave the halves until they’re soft.

This should be the last resort since it doesn’t actually ripen the avocados but rather softens them.

The difference is that they will still taste unripe and slightly flavorless. You’ll need to use them in other dishes with supporting ingredients since they won’t be suitable to eat on their own.

how to ripen avocados In the oven

Another option to soften avocados is to heat them up in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes.

This will make them soft but won’t actually ripen them. This works in a pinch if you want to use avocados in another dish, but not if you’re going to eat them on their own.

how to ripen avocados In the sunlight

You can slightly quicken the ripening process by placing avocados in a sunny spot in your kitchen, and this will help them ripen slightly more quickly than if they are in a shady spot.

This is how they ripen on trees and will work in your home too. Depending on how much they still need to ripen, it can cut the process down by a couple of days.

What to do with an avocado that’s ripe now

If your avocado is ripe and ready to eat right now, but you’re not prepared to eat it, you can save it for later. This works for storing eggplant as well.

Place uncut avocados in the fridge for 1-3 days. This will keep them from becoming over-ripe in the next couple of days.

Uncut avocadoes don’t need to be wrapped in plastic wrap; you can just place them right on the shelf.

How to store cut avocados

The best way to store cut and peeled avocados is to wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge. This will slow the ripening process and help prevent them from turning black.

You can also extend their freshness by freezing avocados. Learn the steps to freezing avocados in my comprehensive guide!

If your avocado turns black, it means that it was exposed to air. It’s still fine to eat, but you may want to scrape it off first if it looks unsightly. To find out how to store avocados in all stages whether they arent rip right or they are cut, check out my post.

FAQ

The quickest way to soften avocados is by putting them in the oven or microwave. This will make them soft; however, it won’t make them taste any riper.

Technically, they ripen in the fridge; however, it’s very slow since it slows down the ripening process.

This is a great trick to keep your avocados fresh without ripening further. Place cut avocado halves without the peel in fresh, cold water in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

The best place to store unripe avocados is at room temperature on the counter. There’s no need to keep them in the fridge unless you don’t want them to ripen faster.

Conclusion

So how do you ripen avocados? There are a few different ways to get your avocados ready to eat in 10 minutes to just a couple of days.

You can allow them to ripen on the counter in the shade or in the sunlight, in a brown paper bag with an apple, in the microwave, or in the oven.

Choose one of these options to get your avocados to soften quickly, depending on what you’re making and how much time you have.