Avocado Toast, Done Properly

Avocado toast earned its reputation the boring way — pale mush on sad bread, sold for the price of a small country. Made properly, though, it's genuinely one of the best things you can put on a brunch table: creamy, crunchy, bright and fast. The difference is all in the details.

Start with the bread

The toast is half the dish, so treat it like it matters. Use a proper sturdy bread — a good sourdough, a seeded loaf, or a dense country bread — sliced thick and toasted until deeply golden and crisp. It needs to stand up to the topping without going soggy, and that crunch against the creamy avocado is the whole point. Rub the warm toast with a cut clove of garlic if you're feeling it.

Season the avocado like you mean it

Underseasoned avocado is the number-one crime. A ripe avocado is rich but bland on its own; it needs salt, acid and a little heat to come alive. Mash it roughly — keep some texture — then hit it with flaky salt, a good squeeze of lemon or lime, and a pinch of chilli flakes. Taste and adjust. It should taste bright and savoury, not flat.

Salt, acid, chilli. Season the avo properly and everything else is a bonus.

Then build

Now you layer. A few combinations that genuinely work:

Classic + — a soft poached or fried egg, extra chilli, and a drizzle of good olive oil.
Fresh & sharp — crumbled feta, cherry tomatoes and a scatter of herbs.
Crunchy — radish slices, toasted seeds or dukkah for texture.
Smoky — a little smoked salmon or crisp pancetta for a treat.

Proper Avocado Toast

Serves 2Prep 5 minCook 5 min

You'll need: 2 thick slices sourdough, 1 ripe avocado, ½ lemon, flaky salt, chilli flakes, olive oil, 2 eggs (optional), plus toppings of choice.

Method: Toast the bread until deeply golden. Roughly mash the avocado with a squeeze of lemon, flaky salt and chilli. Pile onto the toast, top with a poached or fried egg if using, finish with more chilli, a drizzle of oil and a little more salt. Eat immediately.

The one rule