This Guacamole recipe is balanced and refreshingly simple, and it always gets compliments from whomever tries it! Ripe avocados, onions, cilantro, lime, salt, and jalapeño are all you need.
Our Go-To Guacamole Recipe
Guacamole is one of those recipes that confused me for years. I was young and naive, and for some reason, I was using the flavors of 90s store-bought taco seasoning to guide me, adding nonsense like cumin and garlic. Only after realizing that I was working way too hard did I perfect it!
You don’t need garlic or any other seasonings. The only things you need are cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and salt in addition to the avocado, onion, and jalapeño.
Where’s the tomato?
For anyone wondering about tomatoes, my personal stance is that tomatoes are too unpredictable to bring into the guacamole equation. A subpar tomato can drag down an otherwise great guacamole.
Better save them for a pico de gallo on the side (which also happens to be a simple mixture of chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and salt).
Or even better, make our restaurant-style salsa, which is addictively smokey and spicy!
A Note on Juicing Limes
When juicing the limes, if you have a manual wooden juicer like we do, be careful of juicing too much pulp into the guacamole. It can make your guacamole bitter, particularly if it’s an older or out-of-season lime.
Serving Guacamole
I love making this guacamole for parties. It’s always a hit. My annual Super Bowl snack of choice is a bag of Doritos with this homemade guac. You can judge, but don’t knock it til you try it!
You can also make Sarah’s carnitas tacos and put out a whole spread of rice, beans, tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo, and red cabbage slaw. That’s been one of our go-to party spreads for years, and people always love it.
Guacamole also goes great on turkey burgers, eggs, breakfast burritos/tacos, in wraps or tortilla roll-ups, and chili. Or just put it out with some plain ol’ tortilla chips!
Guacamole Recipe Instructions
First, dice the white onion, and deseed and dice the jalapeño (or serrano pepper). The finer you dice the pepper, the spicier your guacamole will be!
Chop the cilantro leaves and stems. The stems add a pleasant textural crunch to the guacamole that I really enjoy.
Now that you have everything else prepped, you’re ready to open up your avocados. Halve the avocados lengthwise and remove the pits. I wedge my knife into the seed and twist it out, then I tap it into the trash. Instead of scooping out the entire half of the avocado with a spoon and then mashing it from there, I use a large spoon to carve chunks out, adding them to a mixing bowl. This helps start the mashing process and yields a pleasant texture.
Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the avocados, and use a fork to mash it to your desired texture. I like mine somewhere between chunky and not quite smooth.
Add the onion, pepper, cilantro, and salt, and stir to combine. Serve with tortilla chips or your favorite Mexican foods!
Note: I like a white or yellow onion for the guacamole, but if all you have is red onion, you can use that too.
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Recipe
Go-To Guacamole
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup finely diced white onion
- ½ – 1 whole jalapeño or serrano chili pepper (deseeded and finely diced, to taste)
- 3-4 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves and stems (to taste)
- 3 large ripe Haas avocados
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- First, dice the white onion, and deseed and dice the jalapeño (or serrano pepper). The finer you dice the pepper, the spicier your guacamole will be!
- Chop the cilantro leaves and stems. The stems add a pleasant textural crunch to the guacamole that I really enjoy.
- Now that you have everything else prepped, you’re ready to open up your avocados. Halve the avocados lengthwise and remove the pits. I wedge my knife into the seed and twist it out, then I tap it into the trash. Instead of scooping out the entire half of the avocado with a spoon and then mashing it from there, I use a large spoon to carve chunks out, adding them to a mixing bowl. This helps start the mashing process and yields a pleasant texture.
- Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the avocados, and use a fork to mash it to your desired texture. I like mine somewhere between chunky and not quite smooth.
- Add the onion, pepper, cilantro, and salt, and stir to combine. Serve with tortilla chips or your favorite Mexican foods!
- Note: I like a white or yellow onion for the guacamole, but if all you have is red onion, you can use that too.
Nutrition Facts
How to Store Your Guacamole
Guacamole is best enjoyed fresh the day you make it, because it immediately begins to oxidize. Lime juice helps to slow the oxidation, but it won’t stop it.
So if you do need to store it in the refrigerator, place a layer of plastic wrap directly on top, so there’s no air between the plastic wrap and the guacamole.
Another popular trick is adding the guacamole to an airtight container, flattening the surface of the guacamole, and covering it with a half-inch of cold water before topping with the lid and stashing in the refrigerator.
