Can You Put Avocados and Apples Together?

November 30, 2025 •

4 min read

According to nutrition experts, avocados and apples are not only safe but can be a delicious and healthy combination in meals like salads or smoothies. While they are perfectly fine to eat together, the question of whether you can put avocados and apples together requires a deeper understanding of food pairing, nutrient benefits, and, most importantly, proper storage to prevent premature ripening.

Quick Summary

The pairing of avocados and apples is safe and offers a nutritional boost from healthy fats and fiber. They can be combined in various recipes like salads or smoothies. However, special care is needed for storage, as apples release ethylene gas that can cause avocados to ripen much faster.

Key Points

Culinary Compatibility: Avocados and apples are safe and healthy to eat together in salads, smoothies, and other recipes.
Nutritional Benefits: Combining the two offers a mix of healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins that support heart and digestive health.
Storage Incompatibility: Apples produce ethylene gas, which causes avocados to ripen much faster, so they should not be stored together.
Ripening Technique: You can use an apple in a paper bag with an unripe avocado to accelerate the ripening process intentionally.
Recipe Variety: Experiment with fresh salads, creamy smoothies, or even unique desserts to enjoy the contrasting flavors and textures.

Yes, Combining Avocados and Apples is a Nutritious Choice

Far from a strange pairing, avocados and apples can be successfully and healthily combined in various culinary applications. The creamy, rich texture of avocado provides a pleasing contrast to the crisp, sweet, or tart flavor of an apple. Both fruits offer a powerhouse of nutrients, making them a beneficial addition to your diet when combined correctly.

Culinary Applications of Avocado and Apple

When it comes to eating avocados and apples together, creativity is the only limit. Their contrasting textures and complementary flavors work well in both sweet and savory dishes.

Salads: Dice both fruits and toss with a light vinaigrette, fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro, and toasted nuts for a crunchy texture. The avocado's healthy fats help absorb the fat-soluble vitamins from other ingredients in the salad.
Smoothies: For a creamy, nutrient-dense breakfast or snack, blend avocado and apple with a liquid base like milk or yogurt. The avocado adds a smooth, velvety texture without overpowering the apple's flavor, and it keeps you feeling full longer.
Baby Food: Many parents combine stewed apples with mashed avocado for a nutritious first-food mash for infants.
Desserts: While less common, the pairing can work in unique desserts. An avocado and apple crumble, with the avocado adding richness to the topping, could be a surprising treat.

Nutritional Synergy of the Avocado-Apple Duo

Both fruits are excellent for your health individually, but their combination offers synergistic benefits.

Heart Health: Avocados are known for their high content of monounsaturated fats, which help lower bad cholesterol. The fiber in apples further supports cardiovascular health.
Digestive Health: Both fruits are rich in dietary fiber. This promotes regular bowel movements and feeds beneficial gut bacteria, contributing to overall digestive wellness.
Blood Sugar Regulation: The combination of healthy fats from avocado and fiber from apples helps regulate blood sugar levels, preventing spikes and crashes.

The Critical Factor: Storing Avocados and Apples

While a perfect culinary match, avocados and apples are at odds when it comes to storage due to a natural gas produced by apples.

The Ethylene Factor

Apples are a high emitter of ethylene gas, a natural plant hormone that accelerates the ripening process of many other fruits and vegetables. Avocados, in turn, are highly sensitive to this gas. This means that storing apples and avocados together can dramatically shorten the avocado's shelf life, causing it to overripen and spoil quickly.

To Speed Ripening: If you have a rock-hard, unripe avocado and need it ready in a day or two, placing it in a paper bag with an apple is an effective, natural trick to speed up the process.
To Slow Ripening: To preserve a ripe avocado's freshness, you must store it away from high ethylene producers like apples, bananas, and tomatoes.

Comparison Table: Culinary Pairing vs. Storage


Feature	Culinary Pairing (Eating Together)	Storage (Keeping Together)
Compatibility	High	Low
Effect on Taste	Enhances flavor complexity	No effect on flavor of unripe fruit
Effect on Texture	Creates a complementary contrast	Can cause avocado to become mushy and overripe
Nutritional Impact	Synergistic health benefits	No impact on nutritional value
Ripening Speed	N/A	Accelerates avocado ripening
Best Practice	Combine in fresh recipes	Store separately unless intentionally ripening

Practical Tips for Success

To successfully incorporate avocados and apples into your diet, follow these simple guidelines.

Ingredient Selection: Choose ripe avocados for immediate use in recipes. For longer-term storage, select firmer, unripe avocados.
Recipe Flexibility: While recipes like salads are popular, don't be afraid to experiment with other uses, such as in spreads, dips, or even unique baked goods.
Storage Strategy: Always store your apples and avocados in separate locations unless you are intentionally trying to ripen the avocado quickly. Keep apples in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator, and let avocados ripen on the counter away from other fruits until ready.
Preventing Browning: Once an avocado is cut, its flesh will begin to oxidize and turn brown. Adding a splash of lemon or lime juice to your apple and avocado salad can help prevent this discoloration.

Conclusion

In summary, the culinary answer to the question, "Can you put avocados and apples together?" is a resounding yes, yielding delicious and highly nutritious results. Whether in a fresh salad, a creamy smoothie, or even homemade baby food, the combination is a healthy and safe choice. However, the storage answer is a firm no, as the ethylene gas from apples will cause avocados to ripen and spoil much faster than desired. By understanding both the culinary compatibility and the storage incompatibility, you can enjoy this dynamic food pairing without any surprises.

How to Store Avocados Properly

For more information on proper avocado storage to maintain freshness, including how to slow or accelerate ripening, refer to the expert guidance from the California Avocado Commission's website. How to Store Avocados

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, combining avocados and apples is very healthy. Avocados provide heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and fiber, while apples offer fiber and antioxidants. Together, they create a nutrient-dense and satisfying meal.

A popular way is to combine them in a fresh salad with a light dressing, nuts, and fresh herbs. They can also be blended into smoothies for a creamy, nutritious boost, or mashed together for baby food.

Apples release ethylene gas, a natural plant hormone that speeds up the ripening of other fruits, including avocados. Storing them together will cause your avocados to overripen and spoil prematurely.

Yes, placing an unripe avocado in a paper bag with an apple is an effective and common method to accelerate the ripening process. The trapped ethylene gas from the apple helps speed things up.

To prevent browning (oxidation), add an acid like lemon or lime juice to the dish. Tossing the avocado in the juice before combining with the apple will help maintain its fresh color.

No, an avocado's thick outer peel prevents it from absorbing the flavor of an apple. The issue with storing them together is accelerated ripening, not flavor transfer.

Store apples separately from ethylene-sensitive produce. Keep them in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator's crisper drawer. Using a sealed container or bag can further contain the ethylene gas.