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Guacamole, my way

I’m often asked why I don’t have a guacamole recipe on my site. I reckon the simplest answer is because I don’t have a recipe for guacamole. Instead, I just add some ingredients to a smashed-up avocado and call it a dip.

When my mom was in the liturgical nacho stage of her life (so-called because she made her daily lunch of nachos always the exact same way) she’d whip up a batch of guacamole to go with them. She totally cheated, however, as she mashed an avocado with bottled hot sauce. 

My mom can do many things very, very well, but I have to admit that this guacamole was not the best I’d eaten in my life. (And, for the record, she insists that she no longer makes guacamole this way.)

Guacamole | Homesick Texan

Guacamole is all about freshness and using a bottled hot sauce is anathema to this underlying principle. While you want the avocado to be the star, the other ingredients need to be heard as well, and nothing is louder than the crunch of fresh chiles, the tang of lime juice and the bite of fresh garlic.

There’s also the problem of bottled salsa having tomatoes as a base. I’m a firm believer that tomatoes shouldn’t be in guacamole; the texture is just wrong. Tomatoes are too juicy and soft and I want my accents to the avocado to be firm. I realize most people would disagree with me, but that’s OK as that’s probably the best thing about guacamole—everyone makes guacamole the way that they like it.

Guacamole | Homesick Texan
Take my uncle, for instance. He stirs in a heaping spoonful of mayonnaise into his guacamole, which he swears makes it super creamy. Then there’s a friend who’s been known to add sesame seeds to her guacamole, which is a subtle yet surprising accent. Obviously, the ways to make guacamole are infinite.

So, I’m happy to share with you how I make my guacamole, but what I really want to know is how you make your guacamole.

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5 from 3 votes

Guacamole

Servings 4
Author Lisa Fain

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted, and cut in half
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Serrano chile, seeded and diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

  • Mash the avocado with a fork in a bowl or Mexican mortar and pestle (molcajete) until desired consistency. Stir in the garlic, Serrano, cilantro, lime juice, and salt, then taste and add more salt if desired. Serve immediately. 

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112 Comments

  1. Anonymous says:

    My guacamole is not for the purists, although I am a recently transplanted San Antonian. I mash the avocado with a fork and add garlic salt to taste, and a little hot sauce (like Pace Picante, not Tabasco). People always like it! Currently (January)Kroger's here in beautiful West Virginia has excellent creamy avocados and I am so enjoying them. Nancy

  2. Anonymous says:

    Nobody's telling. Lol Everything else besides avocodos is negotiable subject to taste preference but the secret generational Texas ingredient is mayo ust like your uncle. My guac holds its own and is preferred by my kids and husbands and believe me they have tried alot of mexican restaurant versions. Last year I finally told them the secret ingredient, you should have seen the utter disbelief.

  3. Anonymous says:

    my favorite guacamole recipe is close to your recipe except I use red onions, leave out the garlic and add tomatoes — also use jalapeno instead of serrano

  4. I do my guacamole in a molcajete every time. I usually make a couple different batches for a party (not everyone likes theirs spicy like I do!). Here's the basic for a small portion of mine:

    1 avocado
    2 tbsp cilantro, divided
    1 tsp minced fresh jalapeño pepper (for about medium heat)
    2 tsp fresh diced onion, divided
    2 tsbp fresh diced Roma tomatoes, seeded

    Place half of the cilantro and onion in the molcajete with the jalapeño, salt to taste (approx. 1/4 to 1/2 tsp). Work into a homogenous paste, it should be green, fragrant and there shouldn't be any big chunks of jalapeño left. Cut in the avocado and mash together with the paste, being sure to leave some chunks of avocado. Sprinkle on the remaining cilantro and onion and then the tomatoes. Lightly salt the tomatoes (to bring their flavor out into the guacamole). Gently fold together, and enjoy! I usually put about two teaspoons of the jalapeño in my guac–1/2 tsp would be about mild heat, and 1 tsp is about medium.

  5. Susan(mathsinger) says:

    When I lived in Miami, I used to eat those big Florida 'alligator pears' with just lime juice and salt. Yum. I remember as a child going with my grandfather to a place where discarded avocados were piled up maybe 10 feet high. He sorted through them to find suitably good ones to take home. I love guacamole but seldom make it. I'm going to try yours.