Help keep One Green Planet free and independent! Together we can ensure our platform remains a hub for empowering ideas committed to fighting for a sustainable, healthy, and compassionate world. Please support us in keeping our mission strong.

Pay $49.99/Year + Go Ad-Free!

It won’t take much convincing to get folks out and buy avocados. The merits of guacamole are not really up for debate: delicious, dippy, and delightful. The “good fat” tag is widely associated with the curious fruit, and this quality can be utilized in a myriad of dishes, from salad dressings to pasta sauces to “ice cream.” Avocados are so diverse that they are even featured in beauty products. One author (i.e. yours truly….) enjoys avos to such an extent that he currently lives on an avocado farm and couldn’t make it through this paragraph without grabbing one for a bit of mid-article snacking. That’s just how it goes when it comes to avocados.

Another thing that happens far too often is that we slice into the fresh fruit, knife the seed out, and toss it. It’s habitual. It feels right. We want to get down to that delicious flesh, green and cool and creamy, perfect on sandwiches or atop salads, or in the deeps of a smoothie. Even so, the avocado seed is the most nutrient-dense part of the fruit, and it’s completely edible. We’ve been flippantly tossing away healthy goodness!

That’s right. Pick up your jaws, buckle in, and let’s take a look at the virtuousness that is an avocado seed and how we might take advantage of it.

What’s In An Avocado Seed?

Avocados are well-known health promoters that are packed with vitamins and antioxidants that do wonders for our skin, blood, tissue, and organs. But the seed is actually where most of the fruit’s nutritional potential resides. The avocado seed holds 70 percent of the avocado’s antioxidants, including the well-respected polyphenols associated with green tea.

But … that’s not it! Avocado seeds have more soluble fiber than even top-tier fiber providers. It has antioxidants that help regulate intestinal function and have even been shown to prevent tumor growth. Additionally, the oil within ups the amount of collagen in our skin, keeping it young and wrinkle-free, as well as shining up the hair so that we remain good-looking, too.

Why would we throw all of that amazingness in the trash?

Planting a Seed in Your Belly

Avocado Pumpkin Panini With Caramelized Onions [Vegan, Gluten-Free]
Avocado Pumpkin Panini With Caramelized Onions by Amy Height

Source: Avocado Pumpkin Panini With Caramelized Onions

Most of us have, at some point in life, attempted to grow an avocado tree using the seed from our homemade guacamole, but we never thought of how else we might make use of the seed. Upon hearing it’s edible, it’s easy to assume that getting the seed fit for eating might be an ordeal, but dealing with avocado seeds, as an edible, isn’t all that complicated.

Simply take the seed from the avocado like normal and then knife it into quarters. This is much easier than it would seem. After that, the bits of seed can be thrown into a food processor, grinder, or powerful blender to make powder. (Be sure the machine is up to the task). The resulting powder will be bitter and full of tannins, so it’s best used with other strong flavors, say in a green smoothie or juice, that’ll mask it a bit. About half a seed is enough for one solid serving, and the other half can be saved for next time.

For a powder with a longer shelf life, the seeds can be dried before grinding. This can be done in a dehydrator or by setting the seeds on a sunny windowsill for a few days.

Some Good Recipes for Seed Experimentation

Coconut Chocolate Chip Smoothie
Coconut Chocolate Chip Smoothie by Pauline Hanuise

Source: Coconut Chocolate Chip Smoothie

Since avocado seeds are exceptionally bitter, it’s best to pair them with strong flavors that’ll overtake the seed’s tannins. Luckily, One Green Planet has plenty of great recipes in which avocado seeds can blend in seamlessly for an even healthier concoction. Check out these choices: Coconut Chocolate Chip Smoothie, Raw Avocado and Cacao Smoothie Shake, Basic Beginner Green Smoothie, Green Juice Detox, or any of these.

We also highly recommend downloading our Food Monster App, which is available for iPhone and can also be found on Instagram and Facebook. The app has more than 15,000 plant-based, allergy-friendly recipes, and subscribers gain access to new recipes every day. Check it out!

Being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content.Click here to Support Us

Related Content:

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

  • Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
  • Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
  • Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
  • Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
  • Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and essential stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
  • Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!