Guacamole Recipe

Love Guacamole? Then you’ll love this easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe. It requires only 5 ingredients and takes no time to make!

Oh, the guacamole recipe conundrum… As someone who has to do all the cooking and baking, it’s always a treat when someone else offers to make a meal for you. I’m easily impressed when people cook for me– I’ll practically eat anything, and I do so with great joy. There is just one rare instance in which very few people can impress me, and it’s with homemade guacamole. Not enough lime, and my fervency to dip into the guacamole drops to a zero. It’s almost as exciting as huge puffy coats on a toddler in 60-degree weather (I was that child. Ask my mother.). My best friend Meghan knows this, and she’ll ensure you if we’re having guacamole, I’ll always add more lime.

Guacamole Recipe Ingredients

Lime or No Lime?

I’m sure I’m not the only one. I feel like there’s a huge conundrum around guacamole, in general. It doesn’t matter whom I talk with– Mexican or non-Mexican, everyone has an opinion about how it should be made. I’ve read and heard it all. Some swear by lime, some insist that lime mustn’t even be present. I like lime. I need lime. It cuts through the richness of the avocado and adds something that makes my tastebuds sing. This is the limiest homemade guacamole you’ll likely ever have, and I like it this way.

My 5 Ingredient Guacamole

This easy guacamole recipe is basically 5 ingredients, and doesn’t take much effort at all to make.

• Ripe Avocados– they are the basis for this recipe; you can’t have a delectable guacamole without avocados. This isn’t a very exacting recipe, but I like to use medium-sized avocados
• Limes– I like to use 2 small limes here; the more citrusy the better to me. Feel free to adjust this per your liking.
• Tomato– anything ripe that you have on hand. This adds some texture, sweetness, and color to the guacamole.
• Red Onion– a little bit of diced red onion adds nice flavor, crunch, and texture. You don’t need much, and you could definitely substitute a small shallot here.
• Cilantro leaves– a decent handful; if you’re sensitive to cilantro, definitely leave it out. It adds such nice light flavor to the guacamole.
• Jalapeño Pepper (optional)- you can use Serrano instead. This is entirely optional, but for those of us that do love a little bit of heat– about 1/4 teaspoon, finely diced, does just the trick.
• Sea salt– honestly, whatever fine grain salt you have on hand will work. I keep sea salt on hand. You need just enough to taste. I personally like to adjust the guacamole by tasting it with the chips I’ll be serving it with– some come with more salt than others.

How to Pick Ripe Avocados for Guacamole

In order to ensure your avocados are perfectly ripe for guacamole, you’ll want to keep the following in mind:

1. Avocados are delicate!

Do not squeeze them within an inch of their life. You can see if the fruit is ripe by giving it a gentle squeeze (it should not be rock hard), but don’t press in on the sides. This will bruise the avocado and leave you with brown colored avocado for your guacamole. In order to properly check for ripeness, gently press (about the same strength you’d use to press a key on a keyboard) on top of the avocado by the stem. If it feels slightly soft and maintains its shape, it’s ready to eat. If it dents completely, the avocado is likely overripe and brown on the inside.

2. Check the stem.

This little trick is something I picked up from my grandmother years ago. Simply flick off the small stem at the top of the avocado. If it pops off easily and reveals a vibrant green underneath, you’re good to go—your avocado is perfectly ripe. If it doesn’t budge, it needs more time. And if it comes off easily but shows brown underneath, it’s likely overripe. America’s Test Kitchen also backs this tip in The New Essentials Cookbook.

3. Don’t worry about the texture or color.

There are hundreds of varieties of avocado color and texture alone cannot always tell whether an avocado is ripe enough for guacamole. While with Hass avocados you can often look for a darker avocado to determine its ripeness, other varieties don’t hold true to this test. As with color, skin texture, also doesn’t determine whether an avocado is ripe– some varieties are rougher or smoother than others.

How to Make the Best Guacamole

Guacamole, for me has to pack a huge punch. The avocado needs to be roughly mashed and properly seasoned with the right things. Salt and red onion are where I like to start. Lime is next. The lime is non-negotiable when it comes to me; a small lime per avocado is the only way to go. Everything else is fair game.

Tomatoes are a nice addition– not too much though. If you’ve a one-to-one ratio of tomato and avocado, it means you need more avocado. A handful of roughly chopped cilantro is nice too; it adds nice bright and earthy citrus notes to the entire dish. It’s not necessary, though, especially if you’re not into cilantro. Jalapeño or serrano pepper is also optional. I usually go with the prior, and I like the smallest amount of it– just enough to wake up your taste buds after each bite. Add as much as you can handle.

Guacamole is one of those things that you need to keep tasting as you go. I recommend doing so with the chips you’re serving alongside the dip. With chips, I’m easy– I go for something everyone likes that isn’t heavily salted and is thick enough to scoop up tons of delicious guacamole.

With guacamole, everything is pretty much fair game. Now, go forth and guac on!

How to Serve Guacamole

There are so many ways to serve guacamole. This guacamole goes perfectly on top of your favorite nachos, in a burrito or on tacos, or simply as a dip with your favorite chips, an ice cold beer or soda on the side.

More Great Recipes:

• Homemade Butter Recipe
• Homemade Fresh Pasta Dough
• Profiteroles Recipe