How to Know When an Avocado Has Gone Bad

The internet is full of memes joking about the rare moment an avocado hits its perfect ripeness. But beyond the humor of squashed avocados with Xs for eyes, determining if an avocado has gone bad is a bit more nuanced.

When an avocado goes bad, you’ll notice changes in its appearance (especially inside), taste, and texture. And though it might be subtle at first, its smell will also start to shift.

Avocados don’t start ripening until they’re picked from the tree, but once they do, the process is fast. When ripe, they spoil even quicker—sometimes within just a few days, or so it seems. Don’t give up too soon! There are ways to extend their shelf life or even salvage parts of a nearly ruined avocado. It would be a shame to throw one away prematurely.

Signs Your Avocado Has Gone Bad

To tell if an avocado is past its prime, rely on four key senses: touch, sight, smell, and taste.

Feel

To assess an avocado, hold it in your palm and gently squeeze. If it feels as firm as a softball with no give, it’s underripe. If it yields just a little, it’s ready to eat. If it squishes in places, it’s overripe and should be avoided, but don’t give up yet. Cut it open to see how bad the damage is.

If the avocado leaves an indentation when squeezed and the inside is still usable, it’s best for mashing into guacamole rather than slicing. If the indentation is deep or the flesh is completely mushy, it’s time to toss it.

Appearance

If you find an avocado with a sunken or deflated appearance, there’s no need for further inspection—it's beyond saving. Other subtle signs to look for include color changes. Some avocados, particularly Hass, which make up 80% of the world's consumption, change color as they ripen. When underripe, their skin is bumpy and bright green, but as they mature, it turns dark green or brown. Once it turns dark brown or black, it's likely overripe.

The inside of the avocado is the easiest place to spot spoilage, but unfortunately, this can only be done once you’ve brought it home. (Cutting open fruit in the store isn’t exactly encouraged.) You want to see smooth, bright green flesh. Brown or black spots are signs of rot, but if they’re isolated, you can cut them away and salvage the rest, as long as there are no other signs of decay.

More extensive rotting can show up as dark streaks running through the flesh, resembling thin threads, strings, or even worms, which can’t be cut away. However, some avocados—especially from younger trees—can have these dark streaks even when they’re perfectly fine.

Detecting these streaks or strings is up to personal judgment, but if the taste is good, continue eating. Keep an eye out for more obvious signs like mold or a whitish-grey hue, which indicate that the fruit is far past ripe—and unsafe to eat.

Smell

I don't typically notice much of a scent from avocados, but when there is one, it's usually fresh and slightly sweet. While I don't rely on smell to detect spoilage with avocados, if it starts to smell overly pungent or astringent, it's a clear sign it’s no longer good to eat.

Taste

The charm of an avocado lies in its mildly sweet and nutty flavor. As it spoils, this flavor will be overtaken by a sour or chemical taste, signaling that it has gone rancid. Although a rancid avocado won’t typically make you sick, it certainly isn’t enjoyable to eat.

Avocados Against Time

There are a few tricks to extend the life of your avocado. I usually buy them underripe and place them in the fridge as soon as I get home. Then, a day or two before I need one for a recipe (depending on how underripe it was), I take it out and let it ripen on the counter.

If the only avocados available are already ripe, you can extend their life by placing them in the fridge (as long as they’re not overripe). This will effectively ‘pause’ the ripening process for about five days. To speed up ripening, simply place them in a brown paper bag on the counter, and they’ll ripen much faster.