Knife, Spoon or Egg Slicer? The Best Avocado Tool Alternative

An avocado tool cuts, pits and slices in one gadget, and it does make guacamole night a little tidier. But you can do every one of those jobs without it. The California Avocado Commission’s own cutting guide uses nothing more than a chef’s knife, a spoon and a cutting board, and a few other drawer tools handle the jobs a 3-in-1 slicer cannot, such as fine dice, avocado balls and paper-thin ribbons.

This guide covers the avocado tool alternatives that actually do the job, how to use each one safely, and where each falls short. If you would rather buy the gadget, our best avocado tool guide reviews eight of them.

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Why cooks skip the avocado tool

• Avocados now and then. Our own avocado tool guide says it plainly: if you buy avocados only occasionally, a knife and a spoon do the job.
• One more gadget in the drawer. An all-in-one slicer does three small jobs that tools you already own can do.
• It slices one way. A slicer gives you one cut. A knife gives you halves, quarters, slices or dice, and an egg slicer, melon baller or peeler gives you shapes a slicer cannot.
• Plastic blades and firm fruit. Many avocado tools use a plastic blade, which suits ripe fruit but struggles with firm fruit.

Quick verdict: the best avocado tool alternative

Five ways to do the job, side by side

Our five standout picks, one per job, with the details each maker or listing states. All six alternatives are reviewed in full below.

Cutting and pitting an avocado without an avocado tool

The California Avocado Commission, the growers’ marketing body, publishes a step-by-step cutting guide built around a knife, a spoon and a cutting board. America’s Test Kitchen and Tasting Table describe the same basic steps, with one important difference about the pit. Here is the method, with the safety points that matter.

Wash, then keep it on the board

The commission says to wash the avocado and dry it with a towel first. Our avocado tool guide cites FDA guidance for the same reason: washing keeps dirt on the skin from being carried into the flesh by the blade. Then put the avocado on a cutting board and leave it there. The commission’s first safety rule is not to hold the avocado in your hand while you cut it.

Halve it with a medium knife

Cut down until the blade meets the seed, hold the knife level, and turn the avocado against the blade until you have cut all the way around. Twist the halves apart. The commission recommends a medium chef’s knife or a santoku with scalloped edges, and says a steak knife will do if you have neither. It advises against a paring knife, because a short blade may not reach the seed on a large avocado. It also notes that a ripe avocado does not need a very sharp knife, since you only have to get through the skin.

Take out the pit with a spoon, not the knife

This is where the sources part ways. America’s Test Kitchen’s dicing guide tells you to strike the pit sharply with a chef’s knife, twist and pull it off with a towel. The California Avocado Commission tells you not to strike the seed with a knife, or poke at it with the tip, while you hold the avocado, and to remove the seed with a spoon instead. Tasting Table’s Claire Redden makes the same point in a piece on the safest ways to pit an avocado: slide the edge of a spoon under the narrow end of the pit and lift it out, and leave the knife out of this step. The piece notes that “avocado hand”, a cut to the hand, usually happens when the knife slips or misses the pit while someone is trying to remove it. We follow the commission and Tasting Table: use a spoon.

Tasting Table also describes a no-tool trick: cut the avocado into quarters, put two fingers either side of the pit and push it out with your thumb from behind. The commission says the same for quartered fruit: lift the seed out with your fingers.

Peel, scoop, slice or dice

The commission prefers peeling the skin off quarters, though it notes scooping is faster. For slices or dice, lay the halves or quarters cut side down on the board and cut there. Do not slice or dice inside the shell while you hold it in your palm, the commission says. America’s Test Kitchen’s crosshatch method, scoring the flesh in the shell and scooping out the cubes with a spoon, is fine if the half is resting on a towel or board, which is how ATK shows it.

Other shapes

Tasting Table’s Fred Decker suggests a wire egg slicer for even slices or a fine dice of soft avocado. He also mentions pushing avocado through a cooling rack for large batches, though he finds the egg slicer gives a finer dice and is easier to clean. In a melon salad recipe from Giusti, the Modena balsamic vinegar maker, avocado is shaved into very thin slices with a peeler and scooped into small balls with a melon baller.

Our picks for the best avocado tool alternative

Every pick was in stock with a new lead offer when we checked, and none appears as the same listing on our other pages. None of them is an avocado tool; each one also earns its keep for other jobs.

Which alternative fits which dish

What we left out

We left out avocado slicers and 3-in-1 tools of every kind, since our best avocado tool guide covers them. We left out paring knives: they are often suggested, but the California Avocado Commission advises against them because a short blade may not reach the seed of a large avocado. We left out bean and potato mashers, because mashing is a separate job from cutting and pitting; for guacamole, see our best molcajete guide. And we left out cooling racks: Tasting Table mentions pressing avocado through one, but any clean rack you own will do, and the egg slicer gives a finer dice.

Avocado tool alternative questions, answered

What can I use instead of an avocado tool?

A medium chef’s knife or a scalloped santoku to halve the avocado, and a spoon to take out the pit and scoop the flesh. That is the California Avocado Commission’s own method. An egg slicer, melon baller or peeler adds slices, balls or ribbons.

How do you get the pit out without a knife?

Slide the edge of a spoon under the narrow end of the pit and lift it out, as the commission and Tasting Table describe. If you have quartered the avocado, push the pit out with your fingers and thumb.

Is it safe to whack the pit with a knife?

The California Avocado Commission says not to strike the seed with a knife, or poke it with the tip, while you hold the avocado, and Tasting Table links knife slips at the pit to “avocado hand” injuries. Some cooking guides, including America’s Test Kitchen, still show the knife method. We recommend the spoon.

What knife is best for cutting avocados?

The commission recommends a medium chef’s knife or a santoku with scalloped edges, and says a steak knife will do if you have neither. It advises against a paring knife, which may not reach the seed of a large avocado.

Can you slice an avocado with an egg slicer?

Yes, if it is ripe. Tasting Table’s Fred Decker says small avocados often fit whole once halved and scooped, and larger ones fit once quartered crosswise. Turn the slices and press again for a fine dice.

Our last word on cutting avocados without the gadget

You don’t need an avocado tool. A medium chef’s knife and a spoon, with the avocado flat on a board, do everything a 3-in-1 slicer does, and that is how the people who grow avocados cut them. Add an egg slicer for even slices, a melon baller for garnish or a peeler for ribbons if you plate food often. If you go through avocados every day and want one gadget for the lot, our best avocado tool guide is the place to start, our best cutting board guide covers the board to cut on, and our best guacamole bowl guide picks something to serve it in.

And when you would rather someone else made the guacamole, see the menu or call to order.