Should You Refrigerate Avocados?

A perfectly ripe avocado is a beautiful thing—but how do you get to that point? The avocados you buy at the store might be as hard as footballs or meltingly soft. In either case, should they be stored in the refrigerator? It depends. If you've been refrigerating every avocado you bring home, it's time to think again. Learn when avocados should be refrigerated—and when they shouldn't, according to food professionals.

Should Avocados Be Refrigerated?

When you buy an avocado at the supermarket, it might be already ripe, almost ripe, or hard and not ripe at all. Whether you should refrigerate that avocado depends on how ripe it is.

Hard or Partially Ripe Avocado

If it needs to ripen, you should let the avocado sit on your counter so it can ripen at room temperature and you should not store it in the refrigerator.

Ripe Avocados

If you have an already ripe avocado, you have a choice: Cut into it and enjoy it, or pop it in the fridge to help keep it at peak ripeness for a few more days.

Kevin Takarada, founder of MakiMaki Sushi in New York, says that putting an avocado in the refrigerator will slow down further ripening. He says that you can hold a ripe avocado in the fridge for up to five days.

Ann Ziata, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education, agrees but also recommends checking on your avocado a few days after putting it in the fridge. "The riper the avocado, the less time it will last in the fridge," she says. "If it was only slightly ripe when you put it in, it may last three to four days or even longer."

How to Refrigerate a Whole Avocado

When your avocado is ripe, you should store it in the refrigerator in the crisper drawer. If the crisper drawer is full, the upper shelves of your fridge are also a good place to store avocados. Ripe avocados will remain the freshest within two to three days, but can possibly be stored in the fridge for up to five days. When it comes to avocados, the sooner you eat them once they are ripe, the better.

How to Refrigerate Cut Avocado

Cut avocado needs to be promptly refrigerated to stay fresh. Here's how to refrigerate ripe and underripe halves, as well as avocado slices.

Avocado Halves

If you're only planning on eating half an avocado, Takarada recommends keeping the pit inside the other half and wrapping the exposed surface with plastic wrap. Alternatively, use a reusable avocado wrapper such as a Food Hugger.

Underripe Halves

If you cut into an avocado only to realize it isn't ripe yet, don't fret. Ziata recommends coating the avocado with a squeeze of lemon juice and olive oil, covering it in plastic wrap, and keeping it in the refrigerator until it softens.

Ripe Avocado Slices

For avocado slices, Ziata recommends topping them with lemon juice and olive oil, then covering them with an airtight lid or a layer of plastic wrap that's flush against the slices before refrigerating.