Easy Guacamole (Our Favorite) - Inspired Taste

My family swears by this guacamole recipe! The best, most authentic guacamole starts with fresh ingredients and a few simple tricks that guarantee perfect texture and flavor.

I’m not kidding when I say this homemade guacamole recipe does not last long in my house. All you need are avocados, onion, cilantro, lime, tomato, and salt. It’s so simple, and so good!

We’ve found that a few tricks can help you make the very best guacamole. Once you see the difference, I know you’ll be ready to make this on repeat. I highly recommend serving this guacamole with my easy salsa or homemade queso and a big bowl of homemade tortilla chips! For another classic dip, featuring a layer of guacamole, be sure to try my 7 layer dip.

Key Ingredients

• Avocados: For the best guacamole, make sure your avocados are ripe. I gently squeeze one with the palm of my hand. If it yields a little when pressed, it’s ready to eat. You can also check under the stem. If the stem pulls away and the area underneath is green, you’ve found a perfect avocado! See how to pick avocados for more tips!
• Onion: I love white onion for guacamole, and I let them sit in cold water for 5 minutes before adding them. Just a few minutes in water takes away the raw bite of the onion. I often use this trick in our recipes, like this pico de gallo.
• Lime: Fresh lime is best. I’ve used lemon in a pinch, but stick with lime for the most authentic flavor.
• Cilantro: I’m generous with fresh cilantro for this recipe. If you aren’t a fan, you can leave it out.
• Jalapeño: Adds heat. You can adjust how spicy your guacamole is by removing or leaving the seeds and white membrane inside the pepper. Watch the video to see me remove them.
• Tomato: This is optional, but I add it and really love the extra fresh flavor.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Our Favorite Guacamole Recipe

Tip 1: Tame the onions. I love onions, but do not enjoy them when their raw, pungent flavor overpowers everything else, leaving you with onion breath. My answer is to let the onions sit in cold water for 5 to 10 minutes before draining. This super simple trick cuts down on that oppressive onion flavor, while retaining their crunch. Try it and you’ll see what I mean! (I also use this trick for my favorite salsa recipe, too.)

Tip 2: Leave some texture. When making guacamole, gently mash your avocado with some fresh lime juice. Don’t puree it. The best guacamole has a little texture left. I use a fork and like to leave some larger, chunky bits of avocado in the bowl (watch our guacamole recipe video below to see).

Tip 3: Make the guacamole. Once you’ve got a chunky avocado and lime mixture, add cilantro, the tamed down onions, tomato, and salt. The tomatoes are optional, but I usually add them!

Tip 3: Always taste before serving. Avocados love a little extra salt and lime. So, before you serve your guacamole, always take a bite. If it doesn’t “pop” with flavor, add an extra pinch of salt and a fresh squeeze of lime juice.

More Avocado Recipes

• Grilled Avocado Guacamole
• Avocado Pasta
• Fresh Pineapple Avocado Salsa
• Browse all of our avocado recipes

Perfect Guacamole

4.9 (50 reviews) 114 comments Save Share

Share

× Copy Link Facebook Pin Email Print

• PREP 10 mins
• TOTAL 10 mins

We really can’t stop making this easy guacamole recipe, which never lasts long when we serve it! For the best guacamole, use ripe avocados. You’ll know when an avocado is ripe when it gives a little when you squeeze it. Keep your unripe avocados at room temperature until they are ready.

I highly recommend serving our guacamole recipe with my homemade salsa, pico de gallo, homemade queso and a big bowl of tortilla chips!

6 Servings

Watch Us Make the Recipe

You Will Need

3 ripe medium avocados

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice

¼ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped

1 small tomato, chopped, optional

1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño pepper, with seeds and membrane removed, optional

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions

1Prepare onions: Add the onion to a small bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside for 5 minutes, drain, and then rinse. This simple step tones down the raw flavor of the onions.

2Mash the avocados: Cut the avocados in half lengthwise, remove the pit, scoop out the flesh, and add to a bowl. Use a fork to mash the avocado into a chunky dip.

3Make the guacamole: Stir in the drained and rinsed onions, lime juice, cilantro, tomato (optional), and ¼ teaspoon salt. If you are adding it, add the finely chopped jalapeño. Taste the guacamole and adjust with more salt or lime juice (I usually end up adding ¼ teaspoon of extra salt and a spritz of extra lime).

Adam and Joanne's Tips

• Storing: Guacamole is best when eaten soon after making it, but to store it and prevent it from turning brown, press plastic wrap down onto the guacamole, making sure that there’s no space of air between them, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
• Spicy guacamole: I love adding diced jalapeño to my guacamole, but since I prefer it on the milder side, I remove all of the seeds and white membrane inside the pepper (you can see me do this in the video). If you love spicier guacamole, add the whole pepper (seeds and all). Serrano peppers are a good substitute, but remember that they can be hotter than jalapeño peppers.
• What to serve next to guacamole: I love tortilla chips or homemade tortillas, but guacamole is excellent next to other dips. Try fresh pico de gallo, this easy restaurant-style salsa, our roasted tomato salsa, and this amazing green salsa made with roasted tomatillos. I also love homemade queso!
• My favorite meals with guacamole: I always add it to these pork tacos, my chile butter shrimp tacos, and these vegetable tacos. You can scoop them on top of this easy taco soup or this black bean soup. I also serve with fajitas and enchiladas!
• The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.

Nutrition Per Serving Serving Size 1/6 of recipe / Calories 119 / Protein 2g / Carbohydrate 8g / Dietary Fiber 5g / Total Sugars 2g / Total Fat 10g / Saturated Fat 1g / Cholesterol 0mg AUTHOR: Joanne Gallagher