But avocado? “A-m-a-z-i-n-g,” raves jmullen1251, who calls grilled avocado an “item of wonder,” while kchurchill5 agrees, “ABSOLUTELY IT IS HEAVEN!!” And lebelage attests, “If you use a nice ripe one cut in slabs the texture gets kind of crisp on the outside, molten on the inside like foie gras. Just make sure your grill is well seasoned because if you let it stick you’ll mash it all to hell trying to get it off again.”
Other Chowhounds, like Sam Fujisaka, recommend you start with very slightly underripe avocados, which are “Ready when firm, slightly charred on the outside and hot and almost cooked in the inside.” Cut the avocado in half or in quarters, leave the skin on, and grill cut-side down.
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Split, pit, and slice your avocados perfectly every time, without risking avocado hand.
You can eat grilled avocados on their own, as a side dish, or use them in salads and salsas; you can also mash them into guac or turn them into avocado toast.
Brush them with seasonings like oil and balsamic vinegar or mango juice and rum before grilling, or honey and lime juice after. A simple sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning also works (always)—or drizzle on whatever sauce or dressing you fancy. Claudette (who grills avocados, peaches, shrimp, and halved heads of romaine to make a great smoky salad) just cautions: “Use very light dressings so as not to overwhelm the smokiness.”
Speaking of, if you’re a fan of low and slow, follow rainier_wolfcastle’s lead and smoke avocados!
You don’t really need a recipe for this one—just grill your halved avocados cut side down and then stuff them with whatever you want: hummus; crab, shrimp, or tuna salad; ceviche; quinoa; cheesy elote-style corn kernels…it would be hard to go wrong here.
Grilled avocado also makes a lovely addition to a crisp green salad; this one has a fresh herb yogurt dressing that goes well with the avo’s creamy texture (but if you wanted to be extra, you could try our dairy-free Creamy Chipotle Avocado Dressing too). Get the Grilled Avocado and Gem Salad recipe.
Raw fish purists may balk at calling marinated vegetables ceviche, but by any other name, they’re still delicious, and using hearts of palm even mimics the texture of firm-yet-tender seafood. Stuffed into grilled avocados, it’s a light and healthy summer starter or meal. Get the Grilled Avocado with Veggie Ceviche recipe.
You’ve probably seen egg-filled baked avocados before, but you can also make that magic happen on the grill. Hello, summer weekend brunch (not that we’d ever pass up eggs for dinner either). Get the Grilled Avocado and Eggs recipe.
This is another easy-to-customize idea: use any type of rice you like (including cauliflower rice for a low-carb dish) or go whole grain; add whatever other grilled veggies and/or proteins you like; switch up the sauce and garnishes depending on what you have on hand. Just don’t forget to add the grilled avocado. Get the Grilled Avocado Bowls recipe.
This Avocado Toast Is Gloriously Basic (But You Can Grill It Too)
Caitlin McGrath wrote an earlier version of this story.
Header image courtesy of Katra Toplak / EyeEm / Getty Images
Jen is an editor at Chowhound. Raised on scrapple and blue crabs, she hails from Baltimore, Maryland, but has lived in Portland (Oregon) for so long it feels like home. She enjoys the rain, reads, writes, eats, and cooks voraciously, and stops to pet every stray cat she sees. Continually working on building her Gourmet magazine collection, she will never get over its cancellation. Read more of her work.
