I Made the Viral TikTok Pickled Avocados and Wanted to Put Them on Everything

My friends have long joked that in the event of a zombie apocalypse, my wall of pickled vegetables could sustain us for a few weeks of good eating. And despite having pickled my fair share of fruits—strawberries and cherry tomatoes being a couple favorites—I hadn’t yet heard of pickled avocados.

Though there are plenty of foods you can pickle, avocados weren’t on my radar until this summer, when videos of people raving about them took over my TikTok. Finally, a way to use up extremely unripe avocados instead of sitting around waiting for them to soften! Although the recipe for the viral TikTok version was simple enough, I stuck to my own tried-and-true pickling brine recipe. The process is quick; it took less than 10 minutes to make two jars of avocado pickles.

How ripe should the avocados be?

Your best chance for success is to use very unripe avocados. Look for fruit with skin that is bright green. When you gently squeeze the avocado, there should be no give at all. I found more success with small to medium avocados, than with larger versions. Three small to medium avocados filled two pint jars (each jar fit one and a half avocados).

How to Pickle Avocados

Ingredients

• 3 unripe avocados
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons peppercorns
• 1 jalapeno, optional

Directions

Step 1: Prep your jars

Prepare two wide-mouth pint-size glass jars with lids. Plastic or metal lids are fine here. Thoroughly clean the jars. A dishwasher is best, but if you’re hand-washing, rinse the containers with a bit of distilled white vinegar after washing, dump the vinegar and then, without rinsing, allow the container to dry.

Step 2: Gather your ingredients

Assemble your ingredients and divide the seasonings—the garlic, seeds and chili pepper—between the two jars.

Editor’s Tip: How much jalapeno you add is a very personal choice, but you should always use less than you think. Even a very small amount of jalapeno is going to make the pickles quite spicy. If you don’t know where to start, cut a sliver of the pepper to place into each container.

Step 3: Boil the brine

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, salt and honey. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir it until the salt and honey dissolve. Turn off the heat.

Step 4: Cut and peel the avocado

Cut each avocado in half around the seed, and separate them. Using your knife, carefully remove the seed of the avocado. Since the fruit is unripe, you may find this harder than usual, but you can carefully lodge the knife in the seed and then carefully twist the knife so the seed pops out.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel each half of the avocado to remove all the skin. You should be left with pale green flesh. Lay each half, cut side down, on a cutting board and slice them the long way into wedges. Each avocado half should yield seven to eight wedges.

Step 5: Place the avocados in the jars

Carefully place each wedge into the container, keeping them upright. Don’t force pieces in; try to make space for them by turning the container on its side and tapping the side. Each container should fit one and a half avocados.

Add half of the lemon juice to each container, pouring it over the avocados.

Step 6: Pour in the brine

Carefully pour the hot brine over the fruit, ensuring that all the fruit is completely submerged. You should have more than enough brine to fill two pint jars, stopping 1/2 inch short of the rim.

Step 7: Refrigerate the pickled avocados

Allow the containers to cool to room temperature on the counter, and then place them in the refrigerator. Wait at least 12 hours before trying your pickles.

How to Serve Pickled Avocado

I mostly found myself eating the pickled avocado out of the jar with a fork. I kept returning to it, surprised by how addictive it was (much like any other pickle). While you probably won’t want to cook with the avocado, it makes a fantastic garnish.

Layering segments on top of grilled fish or chicken was a wonderful way to use these pickles. The vinegar and brightness was a nice complement to the char of the grill. The pickles should have enough firmness to hold together if you chop them into a medium dice, which makes an even prettier garnish or addition to salsa. Since the avocados are preserved, they will retain their color and texture—even in the salsa.

Obviously, these pickles belong in tacos. You could replace your pickled onions with avocado pickles and get the best of both worlds: an acidic break from the taco filling, and the familiar taste and texture of avocado.

They’re still avocados, and you can treat them as such by making a guacamole with them. It’ll pack a different punch than traditional guac, with a satisfying vinegary bite.

How long will pickled avocados last?

These are refrigerator pickles, meaning that they haven’t undergone a real canning process. Refrigerator pickles are best eaten within 7 to 10 days to ensure they stay nice and crisp. After that point, they may still be safe, but the fruit will begin to deteriorate and become soft.

The biggest threat to refrigerator pickles is the introduction of bacteria by using your hands to eat them, or reusing a fork that you eat off of. Only dip clean utensils into the pickle jar. If you see any white fuzz on the pickles, it’s time to toss them.