Guacamole is one of the most popular dips ever invented. This fresh and creamy recipe is the perfect dip for a salty tortilla chip or an easy side dish to a Mexican feast. Homemade guacamole is fresh, fast and super simple to make. All you need is six ingredients! It’s easy, delicious and healthy too! Give this guac a try and you’ll be making it on repeat.
What is guacamole?
Guacamole is a dip made from mashed avocados combined with chopped onions, tomatoes, fresh coriander (cilantro) and lime juice. This authentic Mexican dip is often served alongside a bowl of tortilla chips which are the perfect vehicle to scoop up that guac.
Guacamole is also the perfect side dish when you’re having any type of Mexican meal. It’s creamy and zingy and will cool down the heat from spicy dishes. Serve it with your favourite fajitas, tacos or burritos!
This quick and easy pico de gallo recipe is another fast, fresh and simple side dish that will be perfect to serve at your next Mexican fiesta.
A delicious shredded chicken burrito recipe is coming soon! Sign up for our newsletter to get a reminder when the recipe goes online! This guacamole dip is the perfect side dish to serve with those burritos.
What do you need to make the best guacamole?
You only need six ingredients to make this authentic and easy guacamole. It’s super simple to prepare and will be ready to eat within minutes!
- Avocados: You need ripe avocados that are easy to mash. The avocados are the main part of this dish. They’ll provide the creamy base. Keep on reading for tips on finding the perfect avocado.
- Onions: We love using red onions because they have a less sharp taste than yellow onions. You can use yellow onions instead of red onions if you prefer.
- Tomatoes: You want sweet and plump tomatoes without too much liquid. We like using tasty Roma tomatoes or small grape tomatoes. Remove the seeds when you use Roma (or similar type) tomatoes, otherwise your guacamole will become too runny. Grape tomatoes are very similar to cherry tomatoes but have less juice. They give a delicious tart but sweet flavour to the guac. When using grape tomatoes we don't bother to remove the seeds, just leave them in.
- Fresh coriander (cilantro): No guacamole is complete without fresh coriander. It’s the ultimate herb to include in any Mexican dish. We like using a big handful, but use as much (or as little) as you like!
- Lime: Freshly squeezed lime juice will bring all the flavours together. It adds a nice acidity while it also helps to keep the avocados green for longer. Not every lime has the same amount of juice. Start with half a lime and add extra juice if you want more zing.
- Salt: You need a pinch of salt to complete this dish. We love using a pinch of salt flakes, but any salt will do. Season to taste.
How do you make guacamole?
This recipe is based on two avocados, but you can easily scale it up or down depending on how much guacamole you need. Two avocados will make enough guac to add as a side for four plates or as a dip for a bag of tortilla chips. Guacamole doesn’t keep well so we usually don’t make more than we plan on using.
All you need to do is slice the avocados in half, remove the pit and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Use a fork to mash the avocado to your desired consistency. You can make it as smooth or as chunky as you’d like.
Add the chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander (cilantro), lime juice and salt and stir it all together. That’s it! You now have a bowl of delicious guacamole. Scoop it into a serving bowl and enjoy!
Avocado Tips & Tricks
How to pick a ripe avocado
Choosing a ripe avocado can be a bit tricky. Sometimes those little suckers are hard as a rock one day and overripe, mushy and brown the next. So how do you choose a good one?
- Check out the outside first. Are there any visible damages? We want an avocado without any flaws.
- Next have a feel, give it a gently squeeze. If it feels soft, or like there are air bubbles inside then it has already gone bad. A perfect avocado should feel firm and only give a little when you squeeze it. If it’s rock hard then it’s not ripe yet. An underripe avocado is perfect if you want to use it later in the week, you can then just let it ripen at home.
- The final test. See that little nub where the stem used to be? Remove it, it should come off easily. If it’s brown or black underneath then your avocado has seen better days. It should still be green.
How to store avocados?
So you’ve bought your avocados, now how do you keep them in optimal condition until you want to use them? Well, that depends. Are they still rock hard and not yet ripe? Then just keep them out on your kitchen counter. You can put them in your fruit basket with bananas if you want to let them ripen quicker. W’ve also noticed that they’ll ripen faster in the summer months when it’s warmer. Use them once they’re at peak ripeness.
But what do you do if you’ve got perfectly ripe avocados but you don’t want to use them just yet? Leaving them out on the counter will risk the chance of them going overripe, brown and mushy. Our trick is to put them in the fridge once they are at peak ripeness, the cold will significantly slow down the ripening process and you’ll be able to keep them there for a couple of days! Since we figured this out we haven’t thrown out any more overripe avocados!
How to safely remove the pit?
There are basically two methods that are often used to remove an avocado pit. One is a little riskier than the other.
You can use a sharp chef’s knife to remove the avocado pit. Cut the avocado in half, lengthwise, and twist the halves in opposite directions to open. One half should hold the pit. Keep the avocado half with the pit in one hand and carefully chop the knife into the pit and give it a twist. You should be able to twist the pit right out. Be very careful not to chop into your hand. If you think this method is too risky we’ve got another safe one for you.
For the safer option, you open the avocado the same way as described above. Then hold the avocado half with the pit in both hands and simply push on the skin side with your thumbs to push the pit out. If your avocado is ripe enough the pit should just pop out.
We use both options depending on what we plan to do with the avocado. With the safe option (where you simply push the pit out) the downside is that sometimes a chunk of the avocado flesh is stuck to the pit. This is not a problem if you plan on mashing the avocado for your recipe. However, if you need clean-cut avocado slices then we’d go for the first option and use the knife. That way the avocado half always remains intact without any chunks missing.
Tips & Alternatives
Turn up the heat:
Guacamole is the perfect side dish to cool down and mellow out other spicier parts of a meal. That’s why we usually don’t add spicy peppers to this dip. But you can absolutely add some jalapeño peppers if you are craving a bit of heat. Pickled jalapeños are delicious in this recipe.
Avocado Perfection:
For the perfect guacamole, you need ripe avocados with green soft flesh that’s easy to mash with a fork. If your avocado is underripe it will be hard to mash and the flavour profile will not be right. If it’s overripe it will be greyish brown and have a bad flavour.
Smooth or chunky:
The beauty of cooking is that you’re in charge! We like to dice up the onions and tomatoes in small pieces. We mash the avocados into a relatively smooth consistency with only a few chunks left. Some people like a super smooth guacamole, others like a chunky dip. Have some fun and find the perfect consistency for you!
Make ahead:
The only downside to guacamole is that it’s very difficult to keep it fresh. Despite all the online tips like leaving the pit in, adding extra lime juice, covering the dip with cling film or even adding a layer of water while keeping it in the fridge. None of these tips will really help for very long. Eventually, your guac will turn brown. This is one of those ‘prepare and serve immediately’ kind of dishes. We have eaten leftover guacamole the next day, and while it will still taste delicious the brown, greyish colour will not make it look very appetizing.
What you can do to save time is precut the other ingredients ahead of time. Chop the onions, tomatoes and coriander (cilantro) and keep them in a container in the fridge until you plan on making the guacamole. Then all you have to do is mash the avocado, throw in your prechopped ingredients and season to taste with salt and lime juice.
Serving suggestions:
Serve this delicious guacamole as a dip for a big bowl of tortilla chips. You can also serve it as a side alongside Mexican dishes like burritos, nachos or tacos. Other ideas are to use this dip as a spread for a delicious wrap or sandwich. Add a dollop of this dip to your burgers or simply use it to dip fresh-cut veggies in.
Are you looking for more Mexican recipes?
- Make this Mexican Shredded Chicken for your next taco bar. This one-pot recipe is bursting with vibrant flavours and can be made ahead of time!
- This versatile Homemade Mexican Seasoning Mix enhances all your favourite dishes with authentic flavours.
- This fresh and vibrant Pico de Gallo recipe is the perfect topping to serve with all your favourite Mexican dishes!
- Check out this Mexican Shrimp Salad! It has all the flavours of an exciting fiesta, wrapped into a healthy salad!
- Try these epic Shredded Chicken Tacos for a quick, flavourful and healthy dinner!
