If you love guacamole then you’ll want it all year round. This means that sometimes, you might make too much and end up having to freeze it.
But can you freeze guacamole ? And if you can, how do you do it ?
This is what this article is going to help you with, and even give you a tip or two about how to freeze guacamole and still have it taste good when thawed.
Can you freeze guacamole ?
Yes, you can freeze guacamole and it can be used as regular guacamole after thawing. This way you can have guacamole whenever you need it, the quality will be a bit affected but if you freeze it the right way it is good enough.
There will be a difference in texture, so it’s important to skip some ingredients before freezing for a better experience.
You can do this with home-made and store-bought guacamole, as long as you’re alright with the possibility of a mushy texture afterwards.
Of course, you can always give it a bit of a mix or puree it further in a blender to get a creamy consistency, if you don’t necessarily need it chunky.
How long does frozen guacamole last?
Frozen guacamole can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. We recommend not keeping it for such a long time, as it’s simply not going to be as good a a fresh guacamole.
Still, if the product isn’t thawed and frozen back again it should be fine whenever you decide to serve it.
Make sure you use freezer-safe containers and you really take out all the air from that guacamole. We’ll get to that part in this article a bit later.
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Be careful when thawing it
When you do thaw your guacamole, be very careful where you keep it. It’s best to thaw it in the fridge, so that if you forget about it for a few more hours than intended, it won’t go bad.
As you know, guacamole really doesn’t keep long and forgetting it on the counter at room temp is a bad move.
Now let’s talk about how to actually freeze your guac.
How to freeze guacamole (short guide)
Keeping guacamole in the freezer might seem like a good idea, and it kind of is. It comes out tasting pretty much the same but the texture will be off for many folks who like it even a little bit chunky.
It’s important to skip a few ingredients if you’re going to freeze it, and we’ll get to that in a bit.
If you’re using store bought guacamole you should check that it’s only been refrigerated, and not frozen and then thawed. Re-freezing a thawed product is never going to go well.
What you’ll need to freeze guacamole is:
- the guacamole itself, no veggies added (important !)
- a freezer-safe container that is airtight
- that’s it !
Whichever container you use, make sure to fill it with guac up to a certain point, and then remove all the air you can.
So for example if using a freezer bag, make sure there’s no air left in it when packed.
Or, if using something like a small, wide mason jar you can pour a little bit of olive oil on top to create a sort of seal. You can use that olive oil as the oil you’d add to the guacamole anyway.
Using water as a seal can work too, as it will simply thaw and you can pour it out but you’ll have to scrape off some precious guacamole as well.
Alright, once your containers or bags are full, sealed and there is no way for air to directly touch the guacamole, you cam put them in the freezer.
Whatever you use, keep in mind the thawing process. It’s easier to thaw a thin slab of something, rather than a chunk or ball.
So if you’re using bags, try and lay them as flat as possible, so they look more like thin(ish) sheets. You can stack them in the freezer and when you need to thaw them the process will be smooth.
What happens to the avocado in the freezer ?
The guacamole itself will be fine in the freezer, as long as you make sure there’s no air touching it directly.
The fibers and bits of protein in avocado will break down during the freezing process, but the fats (which are most of the avocado anyway) will be fine and the whole thing will still be edible.
Does the texture or color of guacamole change when frozen?
If you’ve sealed your guacamole well there should be no browning, neither when freezing nor when thawing. Remember to thaw it in the fridge overnight. If you need it right this minute you can do it on the counter but make sure to keep an eye on it.
Please never microwave it, even if it’s on a low setting. Some parts will get a little bit cooked and mess with the whole guacamole.
So the guacamole won’t turn brown, you can rest easy. But it will be mushy, there’s no going around that. Granted, this thing was mushy to begin with what with being mushed and smeared all over the place to mix it.
But if you like it chunky, you’ll notice a difference. If you like it smooth, you won’t really notice anything.
The trouble comes with the veggies.
Add watery ingredients after thawing
Vegetables are mostly water, aside from fiber. You’ll find guacamole with all kind of combinations, but often you’ll see shallots or onions, tomatoes, bell pepper or jalapeno all chopped up nice and added to the mix.
Those veggies are going to get real mushy and release a whole lot of water when they thaw. It won’t really be a nice guac if you’re looking for texture and don’t want to mix it in a blender.
So, if you want your guac frozen and your veggies fresh, just don’t add them before freezing. We know this means a bit more effort when thawing the guacamole, but it’s totally worth it.
Adding fresh vegetables to a frozen guacamole will make it taste fresh all over again.
You can add the olive oil and lime and cilantro and spices before freezing, no worries.
If you’re in the position where you need to freeze store-bought guacamole and it’s got the veggies already in, don’t panic. Freeze it as normal, and either make peace with the texture or blend it to a creamy consistency after thawing.
You can also add a little extra lime or lemon juice to bring it back to life.
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Always use an airtight container
We know we’ve mentioned this before but it really need to be mentioned again. Keeping your guacamole completely airtight is going to keep it safe, and tasting good.
Make sure air does not touch the guacamole directly, and make sure that whatever bag you’re using is a freezer-safe one. This plastic bags will only burst or break in the freezer and create a mess.
Another reason to make sure your container is airtight is to not get that freezer flavor in your food. If you leave food in the freezer too long you know it can develop a sort of aroma, and it mostly comes from freezer burn.
But some of it comes from the food being exposed to air, even if it’s freezer air. It’ll change the flavor and it won’t really be that good.
We hope this article managed to guide you through how to freeze guacamole and make sure it stays good. Avocados are a bit of a tricky thing and sometimes you can’t eat all of them before they spoil, especially if you buy the bags of 4-6 avocados and they all ripen at the same time.
For those cases freezing some mashed avocado or the beginning of a guacamole might just be your saving grace.
