How to Make Guacamole
Guacamole Variations
Once you have basic guacamole down, feel free to experiment with variations including strawberries, peaches, pineapple, mangoes, even watermelon. One classic Mexican guacamole has pomegranate seeds and chunks of peaches in it (a Diana Kennedy favorite). You can get creative with homemade guacamole!
- Simple Guacamole: The simplest version of guacamole is just mashed avocados with salt. Don’t let the lack of availability of other ingredients stop you from making guacamole.
- Quick guacamole: For a very quick guacamole just take a 1/4 cup of salsa and mix it in with your mashed avocados.
- Don’t have enough avocados? To extend a limited supply of avocados, add either sour cream or cottage cheese to your guacamole dip. Purists may be horrified, but so what? It tastes great.
Here are a few other guacamole recipes to try:
Other Ways to Use Guacamole
Guacamole has a role in the kitchen beyond a party dip, of course. It’s great scooped on top of nachos and also makes an excellent topping or side for enchiladas, tacos, grilled salmon, or oven-baked chicken.
Guacamole is great in foods, as well. Try mixing some guacamole into a tuna sandwich or your next batch of deviled eggs.
How to Store Guacamole
Guacamole is best eaten right after it’s made. Like apples, avocados start to oxidize and turn brown once they’ve been cut. That said, the acid in the lime juice you add to guacamole can help slow down that process, and if you store the guacamole properly, you can easily make it a few hours ahead if you are preparing for a party.
The trick to keeping guacamole green is to make sure air doesn’t touch it! Transfer it to a container, cover with plastic wrap, and press down on the plastic wrap to squeeze out any air pockets. Make sure any exposed surface of the guacamole is touching the plastic wrap, not air. This will keep the amount of browning to a minimum.
You can store the guacamole in the fridge this way for up to three days.
If you leave the guacamole exposed to air, it will start to brown and discolor. That browning isn’t very appetizing, but the guacamole is still good. You can either scrape off the brown parts and discard, or stir them into the rest of the guacamole.
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How to Make Perfect Guacamole Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2-4
Be careful handling chiles if using. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling and do not touch your eyes or the area near your eyes with your hands for several hours.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of minced red onion or thinly sliced green onion
- 1-2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (leaves and tender stems), finely chopped
- A dash of freshly grated black pepper
- 1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped
- Red radishes or jicama, to garnish
- Tortilla chips, to serve
MethodHide Photos
1 Cut the avocado, remove flesh: Cut the avocados in half. Remove the pit. Score the inside of the avocado with a blunt knife and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. (See How to Cut and Peel an Avocado.) Place in a bowl.
2 Mash with a fork: Using a fork, roughly mash the avocado. (Don’t overdo it! The guacamole should be a little chunky.)
3 Add salt, lime juice, and the rest: Sprinkle with salt and lime (or lemon) juice. The acid in the lime juice will provide some balance to the richness of the avocado and will help delay the avocados from turning brown.
Add the chopped onion, cilantro, black pepper, and chiles. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness. So, start with a half of one chili pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness.
Remember that much of this is done to taste because of the variability in the fresh ingredients. Start with this recipe and adjust to your taste.
Chilling tomatoes hurts their flavor, so if you want to add chopped tomato to your guacamole, add it just before serving.
4 Serve: Serve immediately, or if making a few hours ahead, place plastic wrap on the surface of the guacamole and press down to cover it and to prevent air reaching it. (The oxygen in the air causes oxidation which will turn the guacamole brown.) Refrigerate until ready to serve.