Five years ago on Cinco de Mayo I made my first batch of homemade guacamole for our guests. I don’t remember that batch but I’m sure it wasn’t perfect, and based on the ancient Instagram picture I found of it, it definitely didn’t look perfect. However, I’m this year I’ve perfected my homemade guacamole recipe, and I’m here to share.
Homemade Guacamole Recipe Ingredients
A batch needs at least two avocados. It’s an incredibly small and sad dish with only one. It’s hard to gauge the exact magic number of avocados to use when making it for different sized groups. The avocados vary in size and you never know who will eat how much. But I’ve found the ‘1 avocado for every 2 people’ guideline works pretty well, so adjust my ingredient list below accordingly depending on your group size.
- 4 avocados, average size
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 jalapeño, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cilantro (this cilantro is my favorite, no chopping required)
- Salt, to taste
- Lime juice to taste (specifics in the prep section)
Note: You can easily alter the taste. If you don’t like spice, for example, simply remove the jalapeno. Add more tomato if you love it, etc. This recipe is perfect in my eyes, but I can appreciate everyone having a different taste palate.
Preparing Your Homemade Guacamole
This batch was easily my best yet because the texture was perfect. Using riper avocados is totally the way to go. Buy riper looking avocados at least 3 days ahead of making the guacamole and let them sit out to ripen even more. If you’re afraid they’re not ripening fast enough set them on a window ledge for some sun. The desired ‘squeezability’ should be easy to gently ‘squish’ but you’re not leaving dents. When they’re this ripe you hardly have to do any mashing to make it that perfect restaurant-quality, barely-any-chunk consistency.
Mixing Your Guacamole Ingredients Together
1. Start by adding 2 avocados to the mixing bowl.
Pro tip: If you make a lot of avocado I highly recommend a mortar and pestle. A set isn’t too pricey for the results you’ll get. A seasoned (read: used many times) mortar is going to truly transform the taste of your guac and is a truly authentic serving piece.
2. Add half the onion, tomato and jalapeno. This is a good first-time practice in case my proportions don’t fit your taste. You can always add more if needed. Personally, I add all my (non-avocado) ingredients to my food processor for the EASIEST guac prep you’ll ever experience (don’t add the avocado, it’ll ruin the texture). If you’re using a cutting board I recommend using bamboo – for avocado and in general.
3. Add a healthy squeeze of lime juice, a squeeze of cilantro (if in a tube, or a big pinch of fresh cilantro finely chopped) and a few big dashes of salt to the bowl/mortar, mixing well with a big spoon/pestle.
4. Taste it and adjust accordingly. Too bland? Might need more salt or onion. Can’t taste the jalapeno? Add more and so on. The overall dish will have a bolder flavor once it sits for about an hour post-prep because the flavors will be mixing together, so keep that in mind when taste testing.
You’ve now made a mini bowl of guacamole. Repeat steps 1-4 until all ingredients are mixed in based on your recipe size. I make it in gradual batches so the flavors mix better. It’s much harder to mix thoroughly and smoothly when you add them little by little.
Chilling Your Guacamole Faster
If your avocados have been sitting out they’ll be room temperature. Before you make your guacamole, refrigerate your avocados for a few hours so they’re already chilled during the prep. This will save you from having to refrigerate your final product too long before serving.
Why not just leave the avocados in the fridge for three days, you ask? Because they won’t ripen as quickly and be harder to mash, trust me, I eat avocados basically everyday.
The Finished Product
Refrigerate until cool to serve. Ideally you’re aiming for fridge-temp, if there’s time. I also recommend covering with plastic wrap by laying it directly against the guacamole. The less air to brown the guacamole, the better.
Pro tip: avoid letting the guac touch air prior to serving (ever notice how the grocery store bought containers are packed to the brim?). If you aren’t serving for a few hours place plastic wrap/tinfoil directly on the surface of the guacamole, and if possible, also cover with the bowl’s lid. Mine sat in the fridge for almost 3 hours between making and serving with plastic wrap and the lid and it looked as good as when I made it. It may seem high maintenance but you want to protect your hard work!
Shop My Guacamole Supplies
Shop all of my guacamole prep items here. Happy shopping!
Kevin’s Grammie, who is incredibly social and known for her delicious dishes at family get-togethers, asked if I’d give her my recipe so she could make it for her friends. I don’t know if I’d ever been so honored by a recipe request!
Basically, if my guac has Grammie’s approval, you have to try it yourself. Let me know in the comments if you’ve given it a try!
