How to Make Guacamole
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This easy Guacamole recipe, made with fresh ingredients like avocados, lime juice, cilantro, onions, and tomatoes is authentic and delicious! Fresh and tasty guacamole you’ll love with chips and more!
Really good, authentic, and fresh guacamole is one of my favorite foods! While I enjoy eating it after it is freshly made at a Mexican restaurant, I love it so much that I’d rather make my own homemade guacamole any time I want it (which is often). This recipe is so good it will quickly become a favorite due to how delicious it is and how simple it is to make. You can have this ready to enjoy in about 5 minutes! It’s perfect as a dip with chips, with all kinds of Tex Mex dishes like my steak fajitas and even as a topping on a simple salad or grilled meat.
Table of Contents
How to Pick the Best Avocados
One of the keys to great guacamole is fresh, delicious avocados. Years ago, I asked the produce manager at my local grocery store to help me select the very best avocadoes during a shopping trip.
Here’s how he taught me to pick the best avocados, no matter the variety.
1. Check the Navel
The navel of the avocado is where the avocado separates from the stem of the avocado plant. When the avocado is ripe, the covering of the navel will easily pop off of the avocado just by lifting it gently with your thumb. If you have resistance when trying to check the navel, then the avocado isn’t ripe. Move along to another.
2. Feel It
Place the avocado in the palm of your hand and then gently feel the avocado with the other hand.
- Too Ripe: If the skin feels as if it has pulled away from the fruit of the avocado, then the avocado is most likely overripe.
- Not Ripe: If the skin feels hard and doesn’t have any give, then the avocado is most likely green or underripe.
- Perfectly Ripe: A perfectly ripe avocado will have a slight give to the fruit when applying gentle pressure but won’t feel squishy. The skin will feel supple.
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
I use simple and fresh ingredients for this Guacamole recipe, with the avocados taking center stage. Other ingredients like lime juice, chopped fresh cilantro, Roma tomatoes, diced onion, garlic and salt. If you choose, you can substitute my Stone House Seasoning for the garlic and the salt. If you do not like garlic in yours, omit it. I sometimes add a sprinkle of cumin to mine, but it’s optional.
Additional Ingredient Options: Grilled corn, sliced off of the cob, adds a bit of crunch and a touch of sweetness. Peppers, such as diced jalapeños or serrano chilis add heat.
Tips for the Best Guacamole
- Pick perfectly ripe, not overripe or underripe, avocados. See How to Pick the Best Avocados above.
- Use fresh ingredients, and don’t skip the lime juice.
- Eat it when you make it, or follow Storage Tips to prevent it from turning brown, but still eat within 2 days.
- Just use a fork to mash it to your desired consistency. Quick and simple!
How to Make Guacamole
You only need a few simple, but fresh, ingredients for this tasty guacamole. Here’s how to make some of the best guacamole ever.
- Slice the avocados in half, remove the pits, and scoop them into a mixing bowl.
- Mash the avocado with a fork or potato masher to the consistency you desire – chunky or smooth.
- Add the lime juice and salt (or Stone House Seasoning if using it) and mix well. Gently stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Serve with chips or your favorite recipes.
Storage Tips
Guacamole can turn brown fairly quickly, even though the lime juice in it does slow that oxidation process a bit. Once you slice the avocado, the oxidation process begins.
Guacamole is always best enjoyed fresly made, but in case you have any leftover, there are a few methods you can use to save it and try to prevent it from turning brown.
To store: Place any leftover guacamole in an airtight container.
Press it down firmly with the back of a spoon to make sure there are no air pockets.
Option 1: Return pit of the avocado to the airtight container that you’ve pressed down to remove air pockets, cover with plastic wrap, making sure to press the plastic wrap firmly onto the guacamole to keep as much air out. Then, cover the with an airtight lid and refrigerate for up to 1-2 days until ready to serve.
Option 2: After pressing the down with the spoon to remove any air, cover the guacamole with a 1/2 inch of cool water, making sure the water covers all the entire surface all the way to the edges. The water keeps oxygen from reaching the guac, thereby halting any oxidation. Then seal with the lid of the container. Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
*You can also use lemon or lime juice to cover the entire surface of the guacamole and follow the same steps in covering it as you did with the water, making sure it covers the edges too. Then pour off the citrus juice and mix well when ready to eat within 1-2 days. Just know it could have a bit more zesty citrus taste using this storage method.
To use: Pour off the water (or citrus juice) topping the guacamole, stir well, and enjoy.
What to Serve with Guacamole
Of course, this is perfect with tortilla chips and great with Mexican foods and Tex-Mex dishes! It’s a tasty topping to grilled chicken or barbacoa. Pair this guacamole with Tacos, Chicken Fajitas, and my Sheet Pan Nachos.
For a casual gathering, serve a your choice of these dishes along with this fresh guacamole, my Restaurant Style Salsa and some queso.
Frequently Asked Questions
Oxygen will eventually cause the guacamole to brown, but lime juice, proper storage, and then eating within a couple of days of making it will help prevent as much oxidation.
No, just use a fork or a potato masher to mash the avocado to the consistency you like!
If you tried this Easy Guacamole Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Guacamole Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 avocados, halved, seeded, and peeled
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro
- pinch ground cumin, optional
Instructions
- Mash avocado with a fork or potato masher in a bowl until the consistency you prefer. Add lime juice and salt and mix well with fork. Stir in tomatoes, onion, and chopped cilantro. If using cumin, add at this point.
- Pour into a serving bowl and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Copied recipe as I have about 6 in frig… Hopefully not overripe.. found a bargin price at ALDI at .25 cents a piece.. Couldn’t pass them up at that price… Enjoyed then plain with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice but your recipe sounds delish!!!
I am going to make this for the Superbowl! Thank you! It looks so delicious.
Very much how I make mine – such a great recipe!
Simple, classic and scrumptious.
That guacamole looks so tasty!
Thanks so much, Erika.
Definitely a recipe everyone needs! Yum!
You are soooo right!
I could eat guac every day for the rest of my life and be completely happy. 🙂
Me, too! Just right by itself is good with me, too.
Oh yes, love me some guacamole! We make it almost the exact same way, except instead of Cumin – I add Fajita Seasoning… What can I say, those Texas roots run deep. 😉
Oh my, I need to try it with fajita seasoning. That sounds pretty amazing!
Mmmm guacamole! You make yours the way I make mine…with tomatoes and onion! YUM!
Isn’t it awesome and so simple to make!
Robyn, sounds like you and I share a deep LOVE of guacamole!! When I began making my own from scratch, it was life changing. 😉 There is nothing like fresh homemade guacamole…. though I’ve never tried adding cilantro or cumin and anxious to do so!
Isn’t it life changing? Makes all that stuff you’ve ever thought was guacamole before just pale in comparison. 🙂
Can I just tell you I could eat guacamole every day? I love it on a turkey sandwich. 🙂
Oh yes, it is a staple for me. So, so good.