Guacamole

This guacamole recipe is an authentic and delicious combination of avocado, red onion, jalapeno, coriander, salt and lime juice. It’s creamy and fresh, perfect for topping tacos or nachos, or on its own as a dip with some tortilla chips.

A History of Guacamole

This is a dish that dates back to the Aztec Empire in Central America in the 1500s. The Aztecs loved their avocado-mixture (or ahuaca-mulli). Spaniards also loved this tasty dip, and while initially it included avocados, tomatoes and chilis, over the years Spaniards began to add their own ingredients, such as onions, coriander and lime juice. The Spaniards had some difficulty pronouncing the name correctly, and over time the Spanish pronunciation changed the name of the dip to what we all know it as today – guacamole. However, growing avocados in Spain proved difficult, and so guacamole remained a popular Mexican food item in the Americas. You can read more fun facts about guacamole here.

How to Make Guac

Use Hass avocados that are ripe but not too ripe. Look for avocados that slightly yield when you give them a small squeeze. Once you’ve found the perfect avocados, cut each of them in half, remove the pit, and scoop the avocado into a bowl with a tablespoon.

Finely chop the red onion, jalapeno and coriander leaves. Add them to a mortar and pestle with some salt and grind them together until the consistency is as close to a paste as you can make it. You can choose to ignore this step and simply mix the finely chopped red onion, jalapeno and coriander leaves straight into the mashed avocado. However, adding this step takes your guacamole to a whole new level and adds a delicious foundation to the dip. Add this paste to a bowl, then add the avocado and the juice of half a lime. Mash everything together until it’s your desired consistency – I like it smooth and slightly chunky. You can mash the avocado with a potato masher or a fork.

This guacamole makes the perfect dip, just add some tortilla chips for a vegan and gluten free party dish. It’s also a delicious addition to tacos, nachos, burritos or chilli.

Prepping and Storing

This dish is best eaten as fresh as possible, however it will store in the fridge for around 2-3 days. The lime juice helps to preserve the avocado and stops it from going brown too quickly.

If you are looking for more lunch or dinner ideas, you’ll also love these other lunch and dinner recipes.

If you like this recipe and decide to share it on Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @theplantryco and #theplantryco, I would love to see all your recreations!