Making the perfect avocado toast is quick and simple. Toast your favorite thick-cut bread, top it with creamy avocado, drizzle it with olive oil and a little lemon juice, and season to your liking! It’s ready in a matter of minutes, and is oh-so delicious.
This recipe is for a simple, no-frills avocado toast. But I share some of my favorite variations so you can jazz up your breakfast to your liking with additions like smoked salmon, a fried egg, bright fresh herbs, and more! For more avocado recipes, try my avocado salad, guacamole, and shrimp ceviche.
Ingredients
Avocado — for two servings, you need 1 ripe avocado. I prefer Haas avocados for their creamy texture and rich flavor.
Bread — toast 2 slices of your favorite thick-cut bread.
Oil — a drizzle of olive oil adds flavor and richness to avocado toast. This is a great time to use a flavorful extra virgin olive oil that you would use as a dipping oil or to finish off a dish.
Lemon — fresh lemon juice adds brightness and keeps the avocado from turning brown.
Seasoning — flaky sea salt and black pepper are simple seasonings but make a delicious finish to the toast.
How To Make Avocado Toast
1. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and carefully remove the pit.
2. Score the avocado flesh into slices that are about ½-inch thick. Don’t cut through the skin. Using a spoon, scoop the flesh from one of the halves.
3. Place the avocado flesh onto 1 toasted thick slice of bread. Repeat with the other half.
4. Mash the avocado with a fork and spread it so it covers the entire slice of toast.
5. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and squeeze the lemon wedges over the top of the mashed avocado.
6. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
How To Tell When An Avocado Is Ripe
The easiest way to tell if an avocado is ripe is to look for a dark peel and gently squeeze it. It should yield slightly, but should not be so soft that it feels mushy. Mushy avocados are too ripe and will not taste good in this recipe. When you cut the avocado, scoop out any brown bits you may see and discard them.
How To Cut An Avocado
Slicing an avocado is easy, but since a sharp knife is involved, caution is necessary. Sometimes the pits can be hollow, so you don’t want to hold the avocado while cutting into it in case the knife slips through the pit. Here’s how to cut an avocado safely:
- Use a sharp knife to halve the avocado lengthwise by cutting around the pit. Twist the halves and pull them apart.
- Place the half containing the pit skin side-down on a cutting board. Firmly tap the knife into the pit. Then hold the avocado half still while twisting the pit with the knife until it releases, and remove it from the avocado.
- Use the tip of a knife to cut ½-inch slices into the avocado flesh without piercing the skin.
- Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh.
Toppings and Variations
- Pico de gallo avocado toast: Top each piece of toasted bread with about ¼ cup of fresh pico de gallo, and sprinkle with more fresh chopped cilantro, if you like.
- Fried egg avocado toast: Top each piece of toast with one sunny-side-up fried egg or a poached egg. Sprinkle with Everything Bagel Seasoning and chopped chives. Finish with a dash of hot sauce, if you like.
- Smoked salmon avocado toast: Top with slices of smoked salmon, red onion, capers, and fresh dill sprigs.
- Simple seasonings: Sprinkle with red pepper flakes or a few dashes of hot sauce for added spice. You can also sprinkle it with any of your favorite seasonings like za’atar, ranch seasoning, granulated garlic, or lemon pepper.
- Add fresh herbs: Mash fresh herbs such as chopped parsley, cilantro, dill, or basil into the avocado mixture or sprinkle them on top of your finished toast. Microgreens are also a nice addition of color and flavor.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- You can leave the avocado slices whole on the toast if you like that texture better than avocado mash.
- For gluten-free avocado toast, just use gluten-free bread! If you use seasonings aside from salt and pepper, double-check the ingredient labels to make sure they are also gluten-free.
- Lemon juice is a must! Aside from adding bright, sharp flavor to the avocado toast, the acidity of lemon juice helps prevent the avocado from browning too quickly. You can swap the lemon for lime juice, if you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
While you can use any bread to make avocado toast, I like to use a thick slice (about ¾ to 1-inch thick) of a sturdy bread, such as sourdough bread, artisan bread, or whole grain bread. Keep in mind that soft, squishy breads like white bread or Italian bread may become soggy more easily and lose their structure with the moisture and weight of the avocado.
Avocado toast is really best eaten immediately, but you can keep it for a few hours if you need to. The bread will lose its crunch as time passes, but it’ll still be delicious! Press a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap onto the surface of the avocado to help keep it from turning brown.
Yes, using the paper bag method, you can ripen avocados faster. Place the avocado in a paper bag with an apple or banana. Seal the bag to trap ethylene gas (which is naturally produced by the fruit to help it ripen). The avocado should ripen in a day or two. See my post on how to ripen bananas for more details!
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this avocado toast recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Avocado Toast Recipe
Equipment
- Toaster
- Paring knife
- Fork
Ingredients
- 1 ripe avocado (215g)
- 2 slices bread toasted (I like thick-cut sourdough or whole wheat bread)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 small lemon wedges
- Flaky sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and remove the pit. With a paring knife, score the avocado flesh into slices, about ½-inch thick. Using a spoon, scoop the flesh from one of the halves onto 1 of the pieces of toast. Repeat with the other half.
- With the tines of a fork, mash and spread the avocado slices so that they cover the toast. Drizzle both pieces with the olive oil and squeeze the lemon wedges over top. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Notes
- You can leave the avocado slices whole on the toast if you like that texture better than avocado mash.
- For gluten-free avocado toast, just use gluten-free bread! If you use seasonings aside from salt and pepper, double-check the ingredient labels to make sure they are also gluten-free.
- Lemon juice is a must! Aside from adding bright, sharp flavor to the avocado toast, the acidity of lemon juice helps prevent the avocado from browning too quickly. You can swap the lemon for lime juice, if you like.
