Guacamole

The best classic guacamole — perfectly chunky, fresh, and ready in 5 minutes with just a handful of ingredients.

By Cressio Rinaldi

Guacamole is one of the simplest recipes there is, and also one of the easiest to get wrong. There are only seven ingredients, and the avocados do most of the work. If they are ripe and creamy, you are almost there. If they are hard or stringy, nothing you add will fix them.

What makes this version taste like the best guacamole you have had is balance: enough lime to make it bright, enough salt to make the avocado taste like itself, and just enough jalapeño and garlic to wake it up. You mash the avocado to the texture you like, fold in the rest and taste.

It makes enough for four, and it is ready in five minutes. It is best eaten right away, so I will also show you how to keep it green if you have to wait.

Read this first

1. Use ripe avocados. They should give slightly when pressed.
2. Add the lime juice and salt first and mash, then fold in the rest.
3. Taste with a chip. Chips are salty, so season for how it tastes on one.

Prep time: 5 mins · Cook time: 0 mins · Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 large Ripe avocados
• 2 tbsp Lime juice
• 1/4 cup Red onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp Fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 Jalapeño, seeds removed, finely diced
• 1 Garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 tsp Salt

Instructions

1. Halve the avocados, remove pits, and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Look for: Bright green flesh, with no brown spots or stringy bits.
2. Add lime juice and salt. Mash with a fork to your preferred texture — chunky or smooth. Look for: A mixture with the texture you like, either chunky or smooth.
3. Fold in red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and garlic. Look for: The onion, cilantro, jalapeño and garlic are evenly flecked through the green.
4. Taste and adjust lime juice and salt as needed. Look for: It tastes bright, salty and fresh, and a chip stands up in it.
5. Serve immediately with tortilla chips. To store, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent browning. Look for: A sealed surface with no air pockets, so it stays green.

Nutrition

Amount per serving. Nutritional values are estimates calculated from the ingredients above and can vary.

• Calories: 190
• Fat: 17g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Carbohydrates: 12g
• Fiber: 8g
• Sugar: 2g
• Protein: 3g
• Sodium: 380mg
• Cholesterol: 0mg

Notes

• Best Fresh: Best eaten the day it's made — press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, as the recipe suggests, to slow browning if you have leftovers for a day.
• Not for Freezing: Freezing isn't recommended — thawed avocado turns watery and grainy.
• Texture: Mash to your preference — a few chunkier pieces of avocado left in give a nicer texture than mashing it completely smooth.

Cook It With Me

Choose your avocados

Pick the 3 large avocados carefully. A ripe avocado gives slightly when you press it gently in your palm. If it feels rock hard, it is not ready, and if it feels mushy, it is past its best. You can also flick off the small stem cap. If the spot underneath is green, it is ripe, and if it is brown, the fruit is overripe.

Halve and scoop

Cut each avocado in half around the pit, twist the halves apart and remove the pit. Scoop the flesh into a bowl with a spoon.

Lime, salt and mash

Add the 2 tablespoons of lime juice and the 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Mash with a fork to the texture you like. Some people like it chunky, with pieces of avocado, and some like it smooth. Adding the lime and salt first means they spread evenly through the avocado.

Fold in the rest

Fold in the 1/4 cup of finely diced red onion, 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro, the diced jalapeño with the seeds removed and the minced garlic clove. Folding keeps the texture the way you mashed it.

Taste and adjust

Taste it, ideally on a chip. If it tastes flat, add more salt. If it tastes heavy, add a squeeze of lime. Serve right away with tortilla chips.

Store it properly

If you have leftovers, put the guacamole in a container and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, so there is no air between the wrap and the guacamole. Refrigerate it.

The Ingredients, One by One

Ripe avocados

They should be creamy, with no stringy fibers. Hass avocados, the small dark pebbly kind, are the best for guacamole. If your avocados are not ripe yet, leave them on the counter for a day or two. A paper bag speeds it up.

Lime juice

It adds brightness and also slows browning. Squeeze it fresh. Bottled lime juice tastes flat.

Red onion

Finely diced so it doesn’t overpower. If it is very sharp, rinse the diced onion in cold water for a minute and drain.

Cilantro

Chop the leaves and the thin tender stems. If someone you are feeding doesn’t like cilantro, use parsley or leave it out.

Jalapeño

Removing the seeds and the white ribs keeps the heat mild. Leave some in for more spice. Wash your hands afterward and don’t touch your eyes.

Garlic

One clove is enough. Mince it very fine, or grate it, so no one gets a raw chunk.

Salt

Salt makes avocado taste like itself. Three quarters of a teaspoon is a good start. Taste before adding more.

The Technique Behind It

Why lime and salt go in first

Mashing the lime and salt straight into the avocado spreads them evenly. If you add them at the end, you tend to get patches that taste flat and patches that taste salty.

Why avocado turns brown

When the flesh is exposed to air, an enzyme reacts with oxygen and turns it brown. It is harmless, but it looks unappetizing. Lime juice slows it, and keeping air away from the surface stops it.

Why you press the wrap onto the surface

Covering the bowl with a lid or loose wrap leaves air above the guacamole. Pressing the wrap against the surface leaves no air, so there is nothing to react with.

Mistakes That Cost You the Dish

• Using underripe avocados The guacamole is hard, bland and stringy.
• Over-mashing It turns into a paste with no texture.
• Under-salting Avocado tastes flat without enough salt.
• Leaving it uncovered It browns within an hour.
• Leaving the garlic in chunks A bite of raw garlic is harsh.

Fix It: If This Happens, Do This

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Guacamole is bland	Not enough salt or lime	Add salt a pinch at a time and a squeeze of lime.
Guacamole is too spicy	Too much jalapeño	Fold in another mashed avocado.
The top has turned brown	Air exposure	Scrape off the brown layer. The green underneath is fine.
Guacamole is stringy	The avocados were underripe or stringy	Mash more, or use ripe avocados next time.
Flavor is too sharp	Too much onion or garlic	Add more avocado and a pinch of salt.
Guacamole is watery	Wet ingredients	Pat the onion and jalapeño dry before folding them in.

What Each Ingredient Does (and What You Can Swap)

Ingredient	Its job	Swap, and what changes
Ripe avocados	Creamy base	Use Hass avocados for the best texture.
Lime juice	Brightness	Lemon juice works.
Red onion	A sharp bite	Green onion or shallot is milder.
Cilantro	Fresh, herby flavor	Parsley works.
Jalapeño	Heat and green flavor	Serrano is hotter. A pinch of cayenne also works.
Garlic	Savory depth	Garlic powder works in a pinch.
Salt	Flavor	Use fine sea salt to taste.

Plan Ahead

• Make ahead: Best the same day. You can make it a few hours ahead.
• Fridge: Up to 2 days, with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface.
• Browning: Scrape off any brown layer before serving.
• Freezer: Not recommended. The texture changes.

What to Serve With It

Serve guacamole with tortilla chips, or use it on tacos, quesadillas, burritos, eggs and toast. It is also good spread on a sandwich.

Questions People Ask

About the Author

Cressio Rinaldi

Cressio Rinaldi is the recipe developer behind Cressio Recipes. He cooks, tests, and writes every recipe on the site himself — refining each one until it's simple enough for a weeknight and good enough to make again. He's not a trained chef, just someone who cooks constantly and pays close attention to what actually makes a recipe work.