Is Avocado a Fruit or a Vegetable?

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Like the tomato with which it is often eaten, the avocado is a fruit that is often mistaken for a vegetable.

Avocados, sometimes called alligator pears, are a fruit in the Lauraceae family (laurel). Like many other fruits, avocados contain a single large pit (seed).

Because they are not sweet and are often used in salads and other vegetable dishes, many people believe them to be vegetables. However, in some countries they are used in desserts. In Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam avocados are used in milkshakes while in Sri Lanka a dessert is made using mashed avocados, sugar, and milk.

No matter how you eat them, the health benefits of avocados make them one of the healthiest foods in the world.