This is the best guacamole recipe as it’s simple to make and uses fresh, high-quality ingredients. Authentic guacamole doesn’t contain fillers and unnecessary ingredients. All you need is avocados, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, garlic, and salt. Easy and delicious!
I’m not one for hyperbole, but this really is the best guacamole recipe. When it comes to crowd-raving guacamole the key is to not get too fancy or try to be too unique. Guacamole is meant to be easy to make and delicious. Plain and simple. It’s a blend of a few high quality ingredients with flavors that meld together beautifully.
After numerous trips to Mexico and working alongside Mexican chefs, I can confirm that this guacamole is the real deal. Fresh, easy, and authentic! Just as you would enjoy it in Mexico.
Guacamole Ingredients
With just eight simple ingredients you can make one of the all-time-best dip recipes.
- Avocados: Want to know how to pick the best, most ripe avocados? See my tips below!
- Onion: I’m using yellow onion which is most often used in Mexico, but you could use red onion as well.
- Tomatoes: Choose Roma tomatoes which are less juicy. No one wants a watery guac.
- Cilantro: One of my favorite herbs and a staple in Mexican cuisine.
- Jalapeno: You can also use serrano pepper for a little extra heat.
- Garlic: Some people like their guac with garlic, others like it without. I love just a little.
- Lime: Freshly squeezed lime is a must. Don’t use jarred lime juice as the flavor is muted.
- Salt: A pinch of flaky salt brings it all together.
Pick Ripe Avocados for the Best Guacamole
The best guacamole starts with the freshest ingredients. Look for avocados that are ripe, but firm. You definitely don’t want soft and mushy avocados.
So how do you pick good, ripe avocados? First, grab avocados that still have the stem attached. If the stem has been removed in the store, it’s more likely to have brown spots on the inside. Then, gently press on one end. It should be firm, but have a slight give to it.
How Do You Make Guacamole?
Slice three ripe avocados in half, remove the pit and scoop them into a mixing bowl. Then use a fork to gently mash them to your desired level of chunky or smooth. Add the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, garlic, lime juice and salt and stir everything together. That’s it. The most delicious, easy guacamole.
How to Store Leftovers (and Keep it Green!)
Guacamole oxidizes and turns brown pretty darn quick. The lime juice helps to slow this process, but it’s inevitable that leftover guacamole will eventually start to brown.
Now, I’ve tried every kitchen hack imaginable to keep guacamole green (I eat a lot of guacamole). So what doesn’t work? Well, let’s start with leaving the pit in the guacamole. This does nothing to prevent browning and there’s no scientific justification for it. Consider it an old wives tale.
Next, many say to add lemon juice. And this helps a bit, but I don’t like that it changes the flavor profile of my beloved guacamole.
The most common guacamole preservation hack is placing plastic wrap directly on the guacamole to prevent oxidation. And this may work for a day or two. But I’m striving to reduce my plastic consumption and just don’t love this method.
So in my quest to keep my guacamole green I stumbled on this hack – and it’s brilliant.
Here’s how to keep guacamole green:
- Place your leftover guacamole in a storage container and pat it down firmly with a spoon so it’s nice and flat on top.
- Add about 1/2 inch of water on top (I used cold water).
- Place the lid on the storage container and store it in the fridge. That’s it!
- When you want to enjoy the guacamole, drain the water off the top, give it a stir and you’re good to go.
I tested this method for three full days and it worked like a charm. It stays perfectly fresh and delicious. Though I will admit by the third day it does start to get a little more watery. But who has guacamole last that long anyway?
Watch My Guacamole Recipe Video
While this recipe is easy to make, I have some tips for making the best guacamole recipe you’ve ever tasted. Watch my step-by-step tutorial video below!
More Delicious Mexican Inspired Recipes
For all my Mexican food lovers, give these reader favorite recipes a try:
- Carne Asada (turned into Tacos and Fries)
- Carnitas (turned into Tacos and Burrito Bowl)
- Barbacoa (turned into Tacos and Burrito Bowl)
- Shrimp Tacos
- Citrus Shrimp Ceviche
- Pico de Gallo (Chunky Salsa)
- Salsa (Restaurant-Style)
And you can wash all of those down with my Mango Margarita, Strawberry Margarita or Classic Margarita. Or my Agua Fresca for a non-alcoholic option.
For tasty guacamole variations, try my festive Pomegranate Guacamole, tasty BLT Guacamole, and bite-sized Guacamole Stuffed Tomatoes!
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 3 avocados, ripe
- ½ small yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lime, juiced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Slice the avocados in half, remove the pit, and scoop into a mixing bowl.
- Mash the avocado with a fork and make it as chunky or smooth as you’d like.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir together. Give it a taste test and add a pinch more salt or lime juice if needed.
- Serve the guacamole with tortilla chips.
Lisa’s Tips
- Look for large avocados for this recipe. If you can only find small avocados, feel free to add one more!
- Definitely use fresh limes rather than lime juice in a bottle. The flavor difference is worth it. And speaking of limes, I’m using Mexican limes which give about 1 to 2 tablespoons of juice.
- Make sure to read my tips above for keeping leftover guacamole green and fresh. It’s truly amazing! And I store the leftover guacamole in these food storage containers.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally posted August 2014, but updated to include new photos and video May 2018 and again today.
This guacamole was the tastiest and most colourful I have ever made. Thank you for the recipe.
Definitely 5 out of 5…!
Happy to hear you loved this guacamole recipe Johanna!
This is the 4th Mexican recipe I’ve made of yours and YES, IT’S ANOTHER 5-STAR! I am THRILLED with the topping it off with water tip for storing in the fridge! BRILLIANT! Keep ’em coming Lisa!
Happy to hear you’re enjoying all my Mexican recipes so far Pamela!
Loved the guaq recipe. Thanks
this was sooo good
Wonderful! I’m so happy you loved the guacamole, Rachel.
So quick and delicious. I had to skip the salt for health reasons. It still turned out great. And thanks fir the storage tips.
Of course! Glad the storage tips helped :)
It’s even better the next day after all the flavors came out. Soooooooo good! And I used just alil Seranno pepper and holy macaroni was it spicy.
Glad you loved this guacamole recipe Holly!
So easy and sooooooo good
Thanks🌟🌟
Happy to hear you loved this recipe!
I made this recipe yesterday and it turned out great. I did add about 1 tsp of fresh jalapeño instead of the cayenne pepper, to keep it authentic. It didn’t add any kick, as I was expecting, but it didn’t take away from he other ingredients either. So, thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe! :)
This is my first time making it 😂
an it is so good wow
Best one I ever made
Thanks so much, Ellen! I’m glad you loved the guac!
Great recipe- have used it for years it’s perfectly simple.
I find best way to store it in fridge to eliminate oxidizing/browning is to simply pat firmly into a bowl, take a piece of plastic wrap and starting in the middle, place the plastic directly onto the guac and move from center outward so no air is between guac and plastic wrap. Never fails.
Thanks for sharing your trick and happy to hear this has become your go-to recipe for guacamole :)
This is exactly how this here Texas girl makes guac! OMGoodness it’s the best
Woo! Glad you loved it Rowena!
Hands down, the best guacamole I’ve ever made. Thank you!
So glad you love this guacamole recipe Judy!
I simply love this recipe! And yes I have tried to hack and it does work!
Happy to hear that guacamole hack works Barb :)
This is really gilding the lily. In Mexico, we only use avocado, garlic and lime juice. And salt and black pepper. everything else added only dilutes the flavor.–El Alexahente.
Hi Alexe – thanks for sharing how you make it! I know there are slights tweaks and variations, based on different Mexican states I’ve traveled to. :)
Today was my first time making guacamole and I am so glad I found your recipe. It turned out perfect and my husband and I both enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful! Now you can always have a guacamole recipe to reference :)
This was sooo amazingly good!! Thank you for sharing!
You’re more than welcome, Elizabeth! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
👍👍TO your Guacamole Dip 👏👏❗
Thanks Darlene!
So tasty! Thank you! I had to modify a tad, due to my avocados being small, and my other ingredients quite large, however it was delicious! I recommend giving it a try!
Glad you enjoyed this guacamole recipe Ingrid!
Sorry if I missed it, but how many servings does this make? Does 1x mean 1 serving?
Hi Chris – the servings will always be in the recipe card :) But this gives about 4 servings!
Best. Guac. Ever.
I had to sub parsley for cilantro as the fam has issues with it. Also didn’t add any peppers 🌶 since there’s young ones not into the heat.
I used an heirloom tomato as it was all I had on hand. It was the size of about two Roma’s so it worked very well.
Still absolutely amazing!!
Thank yíu so very much !!!
Happy to hear this guacamole recipe was a win!
What a hit!!!! Everyone loved this dip. I did make a couple of substitutions to give it a more restaurant style Mexican dip by using red onions instead of white and I using a serrano pepper instead of jalapeno pepper. DELICIOUS recipe.
Thrilled to hear this guacamole recipe was a success Milly!
I always use yours. It’s the best ! I add real crushed garlic. Thanks !
Hi Nick – So happy you love this recipe! And thanks for coming back and making it again and again. :)
AMAZING!!!!!
I love your recipe! It is no doubt “THE BEST GUAC EVER” I really really really really really really really really really really like it. Thank you for doing this i’m usually bad at making guac but because of your recipe my party LOVED it.
So thanks
Happy to hear this guacamole was a win Annie!
Excellent recipe! My only suggestion would be not to put water on top to prevent it from going brown in the fridge. This problem is easy to solve if you pay down the guacamole level and press plastic wrap very flat directly over the guac and up the side of the bowl using care not to create air bubbles. Then cover with the regular container lid also! Or another sheet of plastic wrap over the top edge using care not to lift the previous layer of wrap! Good flavor and super easy to make!
It’s very very good. However, I had to use 4 avocados instead of 3. Maybe I diced the other stuff a bit large.
Thats not unusual at all. Avocados and tomatoes can both have a surprising amount of variety in size, even when they don’t look like it’s a big difference.
On top of that, seasoning is very much “to taste” rather than an exact measurement. I always buy an extra avocado, just in case I screw up the ratios,lol. After all, it’s not like you can really make too much…
I have never made before nor liked it. Until i had some really good guac at a restaurant so became a liker of guac. Now i wamt to make myself. Came across this recipe omg delish. Made as written just no jalapeños so made with out used extea ciilranto. Absolutely deliah. Thank you.
Happy to hear you found a winning guacamole recipe Lisa!
EXCELLENT!
Glad you enjoyed this one Jim!
Hi, I’ve just found your site and the recipes look amazing… with the guacamole 🥑 recipe can you suggest another herb besides cilantro (or coriander as we say here), because I hate it fresh, dried I like with a passion, so is it replaceable with some dried coriander or will I just leave it out?
Hi Naomi – I’m glad you’re enjoying my site! Guacamole is traditionally made with only fresh cilantro (but I know some people have an aversion to cilantro). I’ve never tried it with dried, but I say give it a try! Just make sure to start with a small amount first.
We forgot to buy cilantro this time, but a little extra onion worked fine.
It was a success & absolutely delicious. I added little more of garlic and red pepper flakes since I had no jalapeño. Overall great recipe for cilantro lovers like me ;^)
Glad you enjoyed this guacamole recipe Cindy!
Best I ever made.. definitely use red onion.
Happy to hear you love this guacamole recipe!
An outstanding recipe, I would suggest a little more salt for the volume of ingredients.
Made this three times already in the last two weeks! Delicious / also this was my first guacamole…. DELICIOUS! Thank you for this easy and healthy recipe!
Very easy and delish!!!!!!!!
this is the BEST a
Guacamole I have ever eaten less ever made and thanks for the storing hint, I’ll try that too
Glad you enjoyed this guacamole recipe Bonny!
I made this guacamole tonight and it is really very good and better and fresher than anything from the store. I didn’t have Roma tomatoes but used heirloom instead. No jalapeno either but used about 1.5 tablespoons of Sriracha sauce. And I used a potato masher rather than a fork. Great! Thank you!
Glad this guacamole turned out perfectly Johnny!
I made this recipe tonight and it was amazing thank you thank you thank you
Glad this guacamole recipe was a success Sara!
Very simple yet effective. I see recopies that try to overkill the simplicity of guac. This one nails it. I do add a dash of hot pepper sauce because well I am from Texas and spicy is good!
Sounds great!
Lisa, nice guacamole recipe. I had never heard of your tip about how to store your guacamole before and I modified it for the batch I made today using your recipe. After you put the guacamole in your storage container, flatten the top of the guacamole you have in your container and take your plastic wrap and press it to the top of the guacamole. Make sure the plastic seals all around the guacamole and then put a layer of water on top of the guacamole and then add the container lid.
Great tip John! Will try that next time as well :)
Delicious! I didn’t have 100 percent of the ingredients so had to modify slightly, but it worked! I used fresh parsley instead of cilantro and then added a few dashes of ground coriander. I also had to use lime juice instead of fresh, and since I didn’t have jalapeño, I added a few dashes of Frank’s RedHot for some heat. Family devoured it.
Glad everyone enjoyed this guacamole recipe Erica! :)
My ten year old just got into guacamole and chips and as his tenth birthday week celebration he asked to a have guacamole and chips for lunch today. So glad I chose this recipe. So easy to make and as I stuck to all fresh ingredients ( minus the pepper) it came out AMAZING!!! Thank you
Amazing! Glad you and your little one enjoyed this recipe :)
Perfect guacamole!!! I agree with the lady who’s husband said better than the Mexican restaurant! There’s this place near me, I always thought their guac set the bar… So delicious and like 9 bucks. Your recipe is EVEN BETTER!! I’m literally freaking out right now and it was so simple. THANK YOU!!!
Oh wow, that’s such an amazing compliment, Patricia! Thanks so much. I’m thrilled you love the recipe! :)
I love this guacamole recipe. It’s my go to dish to bring to a party. Normally it doesn’t make it to the halftime show.
It really is always the hit of the party!
Best ever guacamole is right! This was delicious and easy! This was my first making guacamole and it was a huge success! Thank you!
Wonderful! I’m so happy you loved the guacamole, Norman!
If you leave the seed from the avocado in the guacamole, it will stay longer with green color,
You can add some diced bacon, this page would become the second best ever guacamole. If you do not like bacon you can add nuts instead,
Thanks for those personal tips Raph!
My family’s new favorite guacamole recipe! Thanks!
What a great recipe, best I ever tried!
Glad you loved this guacamole recipe Sam! :)
Hi. I made this just now and it’s so DELISH! Instead of lime, I used lemon and It’s fine just the same. Having it with corn tapas now. Thx!!!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe :)
I have tried different recipes over time and never quite made it delicious. I tried your recipe and for the first time, I used all fresh ingredients and it turned out fantastic. Thank you for sharing this recipe with me!! Yummy!!
Glad you enjoyed this guacamole recipe!
I made this yesterday. Hubby loves guacamole. Husband raved no end to this recipe. Said better the second day. Has stars in his eyes. Says it’s better than restaurants! And we lived in the south for 20 years. So he knows his guacamole!
Thanks for making his day and I’ve definitely saved this recipe!
Happy to hear you and your hubby enjoyed this guacamole recipe!
Love this recipe! First time making guacamole 🥑 and lucky to have chosen this recipe to try. If I forgot to buy tomatoes would I be able to substitute a little salsa instead in the mix?
Well drained salsa will work, in my experience.
Only if your salsa is home made. Store bought is just awful.
All guacamole is, is pico de gallo mixed with ripe avocado.
Want pico de gallo? Use the same ingredients (minus the avocado) but cut them up a little bit smaller, and do leave the juice of the tomato. To me the tomato juice and seeds are the tastiest part of a tomato!