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Guacamole Recipe

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

Love chipotle Guacamole? Then you'll love this easy homemade guacamole recipe. It requires only 5 ingredients and takes no time to make! | sophisticatedgourmet.com

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 ingredients

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.

Avocado in Bowl

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.
Avocado, Tomatoes, Cilantro, Lime, Chilies

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 is a trick I learned years ago from my grandmother. Flick the small stem off the fruit. If it comes off easily and is a beautiful green underneath, it is ready to eat. If it does not come off easily it’s not ready. If it comes off easily and it’s brown underneath, the avocado is likely overripe. This tip is also backed by America’s Test Kitchen 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.

Prepping Guacamole
Mashing Avocados for Guacamole
Mashed Avocado

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 easy and comes together in no time. This guacamole recipe is no exception. It packs a lot of flavor and is perfect with chips and a drink. | sophisticatedgourmet.com
Guacamole is easy and comes together in no time. This guacamole recipe is no exception. It packs a lot of flavor and is perfect with chips and a drink. | sophisticatedgourmet.com
Guacamole Mashed and Mixed
Onion, Cilantro, Tomato, Mashed Avocado, Lime Juice

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.

Chips and Guacamole - Better than Chipotle

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

Chips and Guac

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.

Guacamole is easy and comes together in no time. This guacamole recipe is no exception. It packs a lot of flavor and is perfect with chips and a drink. | sophisticatedgourmet.com

More Great Recipes:

Yield: Makes 1 1/2 cups / 355 ml

Guacamole Recipe

Adding Lime to Guacamole Recipe

This homemade guacamole isn’t for anyone scared of huge punches of flavor. It’s zingy and powerful and goes well with a Gin & Tonic or a good ol’ margarita. For a bare-bones version of this, you can simply do the avocado, lime, red onion, and salt, and it’d be great. Admittedly, I often leave the tomato out. However, the diced tomato does add nice texture and color to the guacamole. On the topic of texture, homemade guacamole should never be the texture of baby food puree– you want chunky.

If you’re not fond of cilantro (coriander), feel free to leave it out, though I love the citrusy earthiness that it adds in here. Despite my roots, I can’t tolerate too much heat– I use the jalapeño here to help wake up the taste buds with each bite. But if you’re into heat, feel free to add more jalapeño than what’s called for in the recipe. Some people like hot sauce, instead– do whatever floats your boat. I think a more vinegar-based hot sauce would work best here. Taste as you go; use the chips you’re serving alongside the guacamole to gage for seasoning.

Prep Time 7 minutes
Total Time 7 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 medium-sized (about 5.3 oz / 150g) ripe avocados
  • 2 Small Limes, halved (feel free to use less)
  • 1 small tomato, seeds removed, diced
  • 2 tablespoons diced red onion, from 1/4 small red onion
  • 1/3 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, roughly chopped (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon, finely chopped jalapeño or serrano pepper (optional, refer to headnotes)
  • Sea Salt, to taste
  • Tortilla Chips, for serving

Instructions

  1. For the sake of visual purposes– though it’s not necessary– save a bit of the tomato, red onion, and chopped cilantro on the side. This is for garnishing the the finished guacamole later on.
  2. Cut the avocados in half, and remove and discard the stones. Using a spoon, scoop the avocado into a large bowl, then roughly mash into a chunky paste. I use a fork here, though you can go the more traditional route and go with a molcajete / mortar and pestle.
  3. Juice the 2 limes into the bowl of mashed avocado (things might look a little liquid at this point, but I promise it’ll all come together). Add the diced tomato, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño. Quickly stir, and add salt per your taste. Top with the reserved tomato, red onion, and cilantro. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for up to 1 day or two in advance (there’s a lot of lime in here, trust me- it keeps), or serve right away with tortilla chips.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

3

Serving Size:

1/2 cup

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 241Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 207mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 11gSugar: 3gProtein: 4g

9 Comments

  • Kiersten
    May 23, 2016 at 6:03 pm

    I’m obsessed with guacamole that has a lot of lime. I saw your video on Nom yesterday. Can I use green onions instead of red onions? Can’t wait to try your recipe recipe out. Thanks for sharing Kamran!

    Reply
    • Kamran Siddiqi
      May 23, 2016 at 11:31 pm

      Hi Kiersten– Thanks so much for tuning into the live show! And to answer your question… Yes! You can surely use the whites of a couple scallions, and that would be fine here. You can use the greens for something else like the scallion pancakes recipe here on the blog. I hope that helps!

      Reply
  • Trish
    May 25, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    Making this as I write this and lemme tell you– it’s so limey and so good. I don’t think my boyfriend will want to kiss me in a little bit but I’m cool with that.

    Reply
    • Kamran Siddiqi
      May 26, 2016 at 1:09 pm

      Hahaha! I would be the same way; though if you used the whites of a couple scallions, that would help a bit with “onion breath”. You can also soak the onion in some ice water to take the bite out of it… So glad you like the recipe, though!

      Reply
  • Angela@spinachtiger
    July 7, 2016 at 9:38 am

    Looks stunning. I agree with the lime. I also add in fresh squeeze of orange. And, I agree on the course mash. Now I have to go buy some avocados today.

    Reply
  • Hana
    January 17, 2017 at 11:52 am

    just tried to prepare.. I used a lemon cause didn’t have a lime. It’s also cool :)

    Reply
  • Mizpah @ Raw Food Solution
    January 31, 2017 at 1:37 am

    Just wondering what makes this non-traditional? I admit I’ve never really followed a recipe when making guacamole but this is pretty-much identical to the way I prepare it as well. I find the balance between the lime and the salt is important. I don’t understand those who make it smooth and creamy – it definitely has to have some texture!

    Reply
  • Halie Whitaker
    December 18, 2019 at 3:41 pm

    This is how my husband makes guacamole, too! He is Puerto Rican, which I’m not sure is relevant. He also adds cumin, and habanero. He likes red onion like you call for, but I sub it for shallots for a milder onion taste. Extra cilantro for me!

    I just found your site today looking for a Belgian waffle recipe. I was so frustrated with all the ridiculous amounts of butter and sugar found in recipes, and yours is the only one I could find that I think I’ll really like. Like you said, more American style, fancy hotel type waffles. Also, the recipe allows me to focus more on my coffee and less on complicated mixing methods which should be reserved for afternoons.

    Looking forward to reading more here!

    Reply
  • Suzanne
    March 27, 2020 at 1:08 pm

    Hi Kam! I just made this and it’s literally sooo freakin’ good. I made your bagels yesterday and they were a hit! And now this… I’m hooked on your site. I do hope you come back with some more delicious recipes because you’re amazing. My family and I thank you from the Windy City. Much love and stay safe!!

    Reply

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