Easy Recipe for Guacamole (5 Minutes!)
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I have been making this easy guacamole recipe at least once a week for years and have learned some tricks to make it the best. With nearly 500 reviews, you can trust that this guacamole recipe is perfect every time.
Making guacamole is incredibly simple, so don’t be intimidated. I’ll show you how it’s done with just a few simple ingredients in about 5 minutes.
And the proof is in the comments. Renee writes, “This is my go-to recipe for guacamole now. I make it for every party and event and get tons of compliments on how amazing it is.” And Kimberly wrote, “I made this for the first time for a cinco de mayo party and now it’s my go to guac. It’s so easy to make!”
Key ingredients
There are lots of different ways you can make guacamole. After years of making my favorite dip, I’ve found that the best result comes when you use just a handful of fresh ingredients. This recipe is my go-to, and how I make it 90% of the time.
- Lime juice: Fresh limes are always best!
- Garlic: Finely minced so you don’t end up biting into chunks of garlic.
- Avocados: The star of the show.
How to choose a ripe avocado
Selecting a perfectly ripe avocado can be challenging: opt for one that’s under-ripe, and you’ll be met with a hard, inedible texture. Go for an overly ripe one, and you’ll end up with a mushy, brown mess. Not appetizing, right? Luckily, there are tips to find a perfectly ripe avocado:
- Begin your search for ‘the one’ by looking for dark avocados. When you find one, give it a gentle squeeze. Does it give just a little without giving in and feeling hollow? Awesome! This could be the one.
- Once you’re 99% sure you’ve found a good one, look under the stem. If it looks green, you’re good to go. If it’s brown, it’s past its prime.
What if I can’t find a ripe avocado?
Finding a ripe avocado can feel like finding your soul mate; the more you want one, the harder it is to find. Use the paper bag trick to help turn an under-ripe avocado into a guacamole-ready one. All you have to do is put the avocado (or a few avocados) and an apple in a paper bag. Close the bag and set it aside on your counter. In about a day, you’ll have a ripe avocado. You can also put under-ripe avocados in your fruit bowl to help them ripen. The ethylene gas that fruit releases helps the ripening process and makes your hard avocado perfectly soft.
How to cut an avocado
To cut an avocado, hold it in your hand and cut through the skin at the stem—the top of the avocado. Now, turn the avocado so that the knife cuts all the way around to the other side. Once you’ve cut the skin, hold onto the two halves and twist them apart.
To remove the pit, tap it with the heel of your knife (the part of the blade closest to the handle). It should dig into the pit just enough for you to pull it out.
If you’re a visual learner, watch how to cut an avocado at the beginning of this video.
How to store homemade guacamole
While this guacamole recipe is best eaten shortly after it’s made, storing it in the fridge is possible. If left for too long, the avocados can oxidize, which causes them to brown. So, how do you prevent homemade guacamole from browning? Here’s the best way to store leftover guacamole:
Put it into a bowl and smooth the top with a spoon. Now, take a piece of plastic wrap and press it firmly onto the guacamole so that there are no air pockets. Your guac will stay fresh for 2-3 days in your fridge. You can also keep the avocado pits and put them back in the guacamole when refrigerating. An extra squeeze of lime juice also helps, as it creates acidic conditions that slow down the enzymes that cause browning.
You can also use parchment paper or beeswax food wraps for plastic-free storage. Neither option works as well as plastic, but we think it’s worth it. Don’t worry; the guacamole only turns a tiny bit brown on the surface, and you can use a spoon to scrape off the little bit of brown guacamole before eating the rest.
Watch how to make this recipe
Simple Guacamole Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 ripe avocados
- 1 lime
- 1-2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Optional Ad-Ins
- 1 medium roma tomato (seeded and diced)
- ¼ cup minced white onion
- ¼ cup minced cilantro
- 1 jalapeño pepper (seeded and minced)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- To cut the avocados, run a knife around the avocado (from top to bottom) and twist it in half. Pull out and discard the pit. Using a spoon or your thumb, remove the flesh and place it into a medium-sized bowl.3 ripe avocados
- Use a fork to gently mash each avocado half several times so the guacamole is creamy but still a bit chunky.
- Squeeze the lime into the bowl with the avocado. Add the garlic, salt, and any/all or none of the optional ingredients and stir them into the guacamole. Taste and add more salt if needed.1 lime, 1-2 cloves garlic, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, 1 medium roma tomato, ¼ cup minced white onion, ¼ cup minced cilantro, 1 jalapeño pepper, ½ teaspoon ground cumin
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Serving this recipe for guacamole
The classic way to eat guacamole is with crunchy tortilla chips, but it’s great served as a dip for veggies, too. Here are a few other ways to serve guac:
- Loaded onto Mexican pork carnitas.
- Dolloped on top of these Mexican nacho fries
- With some shrimp fajitas
- Or this fajita stuffed chicken
And don’t forget to treat yourself to a fizzy lime margarita!
Guacamole variations
There are plenty of other tasty things you can also add to authentic guacamole recipes, but keeping it simple with lime juice, garlic, and salt means you can whip up a bowl of guac in no time. I have a few options in the recipe card, but here are a few more you can try to really kick it up a notch. Choose one or two and make it your secret ingredient.
- Cojita or feta cheese.
- Sour cream or greek yoghurt makes the guac creamier and prevents it from browning.
- Corn for little bites of sweetness.
- Chopped fruit, like pineapple or mango, adds a tropical flair!
You should call this the best guacamole recipe. It’s easy but it’s also the best I’ve tried.
So easy and yum!
Happy that you think so too!
I made this recipe just now and it’s delicious. I don’t like guacamole with bits of tomatoes and onions and this is perfect.
That’s wonderful! Thank you for coming back to let us know!
Great recipe. I think the more simple it is the more appealing it is in some cases. I love keeping food close to their natural taste but this recipe gives it just what it needs to make it a perfect hit. Thanks.
I love simple too! So happy to hear that this recipe was a hit!
Fast , basic and easy to add your favorite other items to personalize it and make it your own.
So happy to hear that the recipe was a hit!
hi i love the recipe it is my first guacamole recipe i made and i made it today plus im young
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!
Turned out great!! Thanks for a quick recipe that can be whipped up in minutes!!
You’re so welcome!!
The easy recipe works well
Thank you!
Hi! I really like your recipes! Two days ago I made it and it was really delicious! Thank you
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit! Thank you for coming back to let us know!
Tried this recipe because I wanted a simple quick recipe. I usually do a very good one adding onions and cilantro but didn’t have all these ingredients. I liked your recipe and all those who tasted it said it was very nice. Thanks and well done. I will check out your other recipes.
That is so great to hear! Thank you for taking the time to come back to let us know!
I just smash some avocados with salt, a lot of lime juice and add olive oil. Call it simple but that is a great guac for me
I’ve never thought of adding olive oil! I’ll have to try that next time I make it. 🙂
Love this recipe. Easy!! Can you use lemon and lime? I seem to be tasting a lot of lime and I have adjusted the recipe a bit but seem to be tasting a lot of lime I have even used some pepper flakes. Any suggestions would be helpful. thank you
I use lemon juice in a pinch when I don’t have any limes on hand but I prefer it with lime juice. You can always reduce the amount if it’s too much for you. Another option would be to add some of the ‘extras’ that I mentioned in the post. Some chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, minced onion, and cilantro will all bulk it up so the lime flavor won’t be as noticeable. Hope that helps!
LOve his role recipe but having a problem finding a recipe with little to no lime.
Do you not like the flavor of lime? You can omit it if you don’t like the taste. 🙂
Kristen, I am so pleased I found your website. This recipe reminds me of Marcella Hazen’s style: Why make a simple thing complicated? Oh, incidentally, Ms Hazen to my mind is the gold standard of cooking and teaching.
Ciao, bella,
Bob
I totally agree! Often simple is best!
Another way to keep your guac from going brown especially if you’re serving a larger amount at a party is to keep the pits and put 1,2, or 3 right into the guacamole, depending on how much you have made. It looks funny and I don’t know the science behind why keeps it from going brown but it is always worked whenever I’ve done it. Also adding it to your mix while in the fridge along with keeping the saran wrap tightly over it is what I always do to keep it from browning
That’s a great tip!
Quick and easy thanks
I’m so happy to hear the recipe was a hit!