Avocado Toast (Plus Tips & Variations)
Avocado toast is a delicious and simple breakfast, snack or light meal! Learn how to make the BEST avocado toast with this recipe, plus fun variations.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
We’re going back to basics this summer, so let’s talk about avocado toast! Creamy avocado spread onto well-toasted bread is one of my favorite quick meals. Actually, it’s one of my favorite meals in general. It’s so delicious, I’d call it one of life’s simplest pleasures.
As usual, I have strong opinions on what makes the best avocado toast. So today, I thought I’d share my basic recipe, with my best tips and favorite variations.
If you are a stranger to avocado toast, you’ve been missing out and we must remedy this situation immediately.
If you’re well-familiar with the joy of avocado toast, I hope you find some helpful tips and some fun new ways to change up your toast. Onward!
How to Make the Best Avocado Toast
1) Pick great avocados
You want ripe but not over-ripe Hass avocados. Look for avocados that yield a bit to a gentle squeeze, but avoid using avocados that are mushy or stringy on the inside. If you run into any bruised or brown bits when you cut them open, scoop those out and discard before mashing the rest.
2) Buy good bread and toast it well
I think sturdy, thick-sliced, whole grain bread make the best avocado toast. Golden, well-toasted bread offers a sturdy base and a crisp, shattering contrast against the creamy avocado.
3) Mash your avocado separately
Mashed avocado is more creamy and luxurious than sliced avocado (think guacamole vs. plain avocado). But don’t mash it on the toast! You risk poking holes in your toast or smashing it. Cut your avocados in half, remove the pit, scoop the flesh into a bowl or onto the side of your plate, and mash it up with a fork.
Mashing a lot of avocados at once? Use a potato masher or pastry cutter instead of a measly little fork.
4) Don’t forget the salt
You’ll want to mix in at least a pinch of salt per avocado half. Bonus points? Finish your avocado toast with a light sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Avocado Toast Bonus Tips
Here are a few easy ways to take your avocado toast up a notch. Pick one or a few!
- Add garlic: Lightly rub a peeled raw garlic clove over the top of your toast before adding the avocado, or mix a tiny pinch of garlic powder into the avocado.
- Add fresh leafy herbs or your favorite herbed sauce: Chopped fresh basil, cilantro, dill or parsley are all good with avocado. So is a drizzle of pesto, zhoug sauce (spicy cilantro sauce), or chimichurri.
- Put an egg on it: I love to top my avocado toast with a fried egg for extra protein (example here). You can do a poached egg or scrambled egg if you prefer.
- More extras: Quick-pickled onions or radishes or jalapeños, your favorite hot sauce, or a sprinkle of sliced cherry tomatoes.
Avocado Toast Variations
Here are my official favorite avocado toast variations, shown from top to bottom.
Everything Bagel Avocado Toast
Add a generous sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning to your avocado toast. Make your own with my everything bagel blend recipe, or buy it at Trader Joe’s or Amazon (affiliate link). These seasonings tend to be salty, so be careful not to oversalt your avocado.
Loaded Avocado Toast
Mix chopped fresh radish, green onion, jalapeño (seeds and ribs removed) and toasted sunflower seeds. Sprinkle generously on your toast.
Tomato-Basil Avocado Toast with Balsamic Drizzle
If you have great tomatoes on hand, this is delicious. Top your avocado toast with sliced tomato, add a light drizzle of high-quality thick balsamic vinegar or designated balsamic glaze, and some torn fresh basil leaves.
Cafe Gitane-Style Avocado Toast
This NYC café supposedly started the avocado toast trend. Spread a thick layer of mashed avocado over your toast, spread it so it’s smooth and mounded, then drizzle with 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and a generous sprinkle of red pepper flakes and flaky salt.
How do you like your avocado toast? Let me know in the comments, please! I really want to know. ♥
If you find yourself with extra avocados (lucky you), try my guacamole, avocado dip, avocado salad or any of these recipes.
Watch How to Make Avocado Toast
Avocado Toast
Avocado toast is creamy, crisp and so satisfying. It’s a delicious and simple breakfast, snack or light meal! It’s best consumed immediately, since the avocado browns over time. Recipe as written yields 1 slice of basic avocado toast; multiply as necessary.
Ingredients
- 1 slice of bread (I like thick-sliced whole-grain bread best)
- ½ ripe avocado
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: Any of the extra toppings suggested in this post
Instructions
- Toast your slice of bread until golden and firm.
- Remove the pit from your avocado. Use a big spoon to scoop out the flesh. Put it in a bowl and mash it up with a fork until it’s as smooth as you like it. Mix in a pinch of salt (about ⅛ teaspoon) and add more to taste, if desired.
- Spread avocado on top of your toast. Enjoy as-is or top with any extras offered in this post (I highly recommend a light sprinkle of flaky sea salt, if you have it).
Notes
Make it gluten free: Use gluten-free bread. My assistant Megan recommends Canyon Bakehouse 7-Grain Bread, which she buys at Natural Grocers.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Beautiful toast, avocado is my all-time favourite food. Congrats on the Saveur nomination, from a fellow finalist (in the video category).
possibly my favourite blog post EVER. you have no idea how much i love avocado :)
I absolutely LOVE these!!!
yummm
I love avocado toast! My favorite thing is to add fresh sliced tomatoes in summer, but for the rest of year, I like sliced turkey. It’s soooooo delicious! I will have to try it with radishes, though.
I adore these! Also really yummy with a drizzle of EVOO.
Yummers! What a classic. Takes me back! (Cookie is just the cutest dog ever!)
Thanks Tracy! So nice to finally meet you the other day, and I agree, Cookie is the cutest dog ever. :)
Don’t call it Tartini or Crostini – call it Butterbrot!
Can’t wait to try these. Thank you for the great “plus” ideas.
The photo is sooo gorgeous!
Butterbrot! Now I know how to say it in German. Danke!
Never tried it but guess what I have in my fruit bowl right now! Ha and some lovely French Sea Salt in the cabinet. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing something so simple and elegant. Planning to use it at a baby shower too.
Glorious – beautiful! There is almost nothing I love more than avocado toast.
I just love your pictures and can’t wait to make one of these sandwiches.
Avocado on melba toast with a sprinkle of salt and slices of tomato on the side makes me think of my mommy :) I love this simple snack and i am very interested to try some different variations! Thanks Kathryne!
Ten years ago, my husband and I tooled around Portugal on our honeymoon and I can honesty say that one of our best meals was breakfast in this little Madeira guest house. An avocado, just plucked from the garden outside, a crispy roll and us, going “huh?” until the german couple at the next table took pity on us and showed us the sublime combo that is ripe avocado and crusty bread. It’s still an old favorite. When you have great ingredients, why mess with them?
Yes, avocado toast! I need to buy some avocados for ripening at home.
how about avocado with strawberries or raspberries? and a sprinkle or pumpkin, sunflower, or sesame seeds? sounds good to me at least, will have to try it with your wonderful sounding suggestions! >w<
i haven't had avocado toast in so long…
*squee* now i have lots and lots of toast ideas, <3
I’ve tried smashing raspberries over avocado toast and adding a drizzle of honey. Delicious!
Just devoured two slices – yum! Been thinking about this for weeks and realized its the perfect way to use up ripe avocados I didn’t get to make guacamole with.. So simple and easy.
Avocado toast has been my go-to snack for almost a year. You’re right, there’s something absolutely different about it when it’s smashed, rather than sliced. My favorite topping will always be an over-easy egg!
I love to add balsamic vinegar
Your blog is SO beautiful. All of the pictures and recipes look fantastic, and I am learning so much from you. Thank you, thank you, and I can only hope my blog will look like yours some day!! <3
Thank you for your kind words, Carly! I hope you’ll keep on blogging, your recipes look fantastic.
I love avocado toast too! In the summer I like to put red onion and heirloom tomatoes on my avocado toast as well! I ate that for breakfast almost everyday in August and September in Sonoma, California.
Heirloom tomatoes and red onion on avocado toast? Irresistible! You’re making me crave summer produce. :)
Avocado is the best, love these toasts.
One of my favorites! I never thought of toppings like the ones above…must try soon! My favorite is to make a piece of Ezekiel toast, cut in half, top one side with avo mashed with lemon, sea salt, and pepper, the drizzle hot sauce on top. The other half, avo mashed with sea salt, spread on, then drizzle with honey. Take a bite of one (mmm salty, tangy, spicy) then the other (mm sweet and salty). Then repeat :)
Oh, I’ll have to try you spicy/sweet avocado toasts next! yum.
YUM Kate this is such a brilliant simple idea, I can’t believe I never thought of it, being an avocado freak. agreed, smashing avo gently is VITAL for perfection of texture. Sprinkle of salt and olive oil vital. Rubbed garlic on the toast=wondrous. I just tried an avo-lime smash w/a handful of cilantro, and another w/pepitas & chili flakes. Tried walnuts which overwhelmed the avo. Cant wait to try a crumble of goat cheese. Watercress. ad infinitum :)) Thank you!! GORGEOUS photos totally inspired me too. I have looked at a few Saveur-winning blogs w really sub-par photos and realized, beauteous images that sing makes such a huge difference to inspiring people to leap in and try something.
Glad you’re with me on the avocado toast, Catherine! And thank you for the compliments re: photos. I really love photography and have found that food is a great subject. Sometimes it melts, but it never complains. :)
O goodness… avodaco on toast.. stop! It’s one of the best things in life. I am not influenced to do a avo on toast dedication post. YUM.
Hi Kate, I recently stumbled across your blog and I love it! Specifically, this post! I love avocado toast, too. In fact, avocado may be my favourite food (it’s that or potatoes!). Years ago we were on a family trip to Westport on the west coast of Ireland and my mam made us all avocado toast. We had it on buttery white bread with a wee bit of salt and pepper. It was scrumptious! I look forward to making some with your above suggestions for toppings.
Maggie, I’m glad you found my blog! I bet avocado toast would be extra-delicious on the coast of Ireland. :)
Spread toasted Dark Rye Bread with Garlic Butter, pile on Slices of Avocado and top with thinly sliced Red Onion! Love this anytime!
That is… Rye Toast, and don’t forget lots of sea salt and freshly ground Pepper.
That combination sounds stellar!
First of all, I love your blog so much ! All your recipes involve the things I like the most. & I like mine too with radishes (i’ve even wrote a post about it too !)
Thank you, Claudia! I’ve been on a big radish kick lately! So good.
I don’t know if you have ever tried avocado on rye bread?
It’s one of the best things ever! Being from Denmark where we eat rye bread daily I’m a little tired of that kind of bread, but top it with avocado, tomato slices, chives, dried chili & I’m in heaven!
Beautiful blog you have btw! I think my dog have to drop by at my blog soon too :-)
No, I don’t think I have tried avocado on rye bread! I love rye bread, though. Your toast sounds crazy delicious.
I love baking homemade bread! It just makes the whole house smell like a bakery. And what better to use the bread for than avo toast? ;)
my ideas is to add smoke salmon, black beans fried with garlic powder and dry parsley, corn, apples, shrimp, kimchiiiiiii loool, seaweed ….too many possibilities !
Avocado and hearts of palm with a drizzle of lemon-mustard-olive oil vinaigrette. Yum!
Had an amazing avocado on toast meal at the Dennes Point visitor centre on Bruny Island, Tasmania (Australia) recently. It was on a large piece of whole grain artisan toast. A large scoop of mashed avocado (with pepper and salt, and a splash of lemon?) sat on the middle of the toast, with diced rich-red tomatoes, cucumbers, and rocket, piled on top. I think there was some balsamic vinegar and olive oil an seasonings in the salad, too. It was divine. I will try to make it myself. It wasn’t cheap though – nearly$16!
Hi Judy, the charge of $16 is pretty standard around Australia. There is a joke of that’s why it’s so hard for young people to get into the property market, because they’re out eating smashed avo! Mind you, when.our median house price is over $1M…no wonder!
I love avo on toast!
I made mine with the avocado spread obviously, but then an over-easy egg on top of that with salt and pepper. I also included a tiny bit of garlic in my avocado spread occasionally because I personally LOVE garlic. Sometimes, as an extra topping, I throw in some diced tomato and basil as well. Your recipe for this is so delicious but this is just the way I do it. Keep posting – you’re my favorite blog!
Loved this. Avocado is one of my favorite toastspreads ever. So versatile. I made mine this morning with lime, chiliflakes, saltflakes, black pepper, red onion, tomato, cilantro and rucola. I just use produce i can find around the house. It is not simple, it is delicious. After reading this, it gave me more inspiration what i can use om my avocadotoast next time. ♥♥♥
I’m so glad this inspired you, Jose! Thanks so much for the kind comment.
The plesure was all mine :)
Will try the mashed avocado. Your topping list is amazing, I’ll try it! Thank you
You’re welcome!
I love avocado toast! It’s such a great way to eat healthy without feeling punished ;) Looks perfect!
Thanks for the comment, Natalie!
Do I see poppyseeds on your avocado toast? Or chia seeds?
4waystoyummy
It’s actually everything bagel seasoning.:)
Love these recipes but my favorite is avocado toast topped with fresh local honey.
Thanks for sharing, Karen!
I make my avocado toast on Dave’s thin-sliced 21 grains and seeds bread (60 cal. per slice). I use two slices and divide the mashed 1/2 avocado among the two slices. Trader Joe’s everything but the bagel seasoning, a sprinkle of tumeric and I’m good to go. This is the easiest and best breakfast ever.
Sounds delicious, Evelyn! Thanks for sharing and for your review.
All your variations look simply delicious! We’ve a dozen or so ripe avocados already from our two trees out back, so will definitely be trying some very soon. Also wanted to mention that I bought Love real Food a few days ago and have already tried a couple recipes. The reception around here was excellent (as in ZERO leftovers)!
Thank you! Yay, I’m glad you like the cookbook too. :)
I recently had avocado toast for the first time and really enjoyed it! Personally I think the garlic is a must for it adds such great flavor. I look forward to trying some other spices as well. It’s surprisingly filling, too. Thanks for your tips!
Garlic is great! Thanks for your review, Janet
Another way to enjoy this is to spread the inside of two pieces of toast with mayonnaise, top that with avocado slices or mashed avocado, microwave two strips of bacon, top your avocado with the bacon and cover it with the other piece of toast. Voila—a breakfast sandwich made in Heaven, and not a calorie in it!
Thanks for sharing!
My children are living in LA and they do avocado toast all the time…! I love it and appreciate the tips! Thanks!
P.S… thanks for helping to inspire the chef in me through your great recipes.
You’re so welcome, Suzanne! I appreciate your star review.
For the longest time I had no idea what “avocado toast” was. I thought it must be something other than I had grown up eating. For a Southern California girl with avocado trees in her back yard, it has always been my comfort food. Avocado on toast was the first thing I would make using first picked avocado of the season. I am afraid I am a purest. I like it with some mashed avocado on the bottom, then avocado slices and salt. We used mashed avocado like mayonnaise on all our sandwiches. I am anxious to try your variations
Let me know what you think, Karol as you try them.
Query – why does your recipe call for Hass avocado? Here in my village in Spain we have smooth-skinned avocadoes and, maybe because they’re locally grown, they are really delicious. I would always go for locally grown produce when available, don’t you agree?
Those avocados should work just fine! These are the avocados I like the best in the United States. :) Thanks for your review!
Omg. I was just sitting here craving avocado toast when I got this email. Thank you so much. Going to try allof them
Wonderful, Danielle! Thanks for the review. :)
I really like your recipes but there are too many ads especially pop up.
Would be nice to see the recipe up front rather than at the end.
Thank you, Patrick for sharing your preference. You can always set your browser settings to not allow the pop-ups. I do like to provide a background to the recipe as to why I there is the content and photos prior to the full recipe. Hope this helps!
My avocado toast addition – capers !!!
Thanks for sharing, Jane!
I make mine with super sturdy toasted whole grain bread with sunflower and pumpkin seeds bought at my local Farmer’s Market, and add a layer of creamy goat cheese first to the toast, then the mashed avocado and the rest of the toppings. :)
Thanks for sharing, Jerilyn!
Love the photos and variation ideas!
We make waffles on the weekend (Alice Waters’ recipe from “The Art of Simple Food” without sugar) and have tried toasting leftovers, adding just a little coconut oil, topping with smushed avocado, a bit of sea salt and lime juice. I like a fried egg on it, too!
Thanks for sharing, Renee!
Toast great bread.
Mash & season avocado (s&p).
Spread avo on toast.
Top with lots of spicy kimchi.
Be a rock star.
I agree, great bread makes the difference!