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This easy guacamole recipe comes together in about 5 minutes with just 5 simple ingredients! Serve the dip with tortilla chips, nachos, tacos, and more.
If you’re looking for even more easy dip recipes, don’t miss this 5-minute corn dip, an easy buffalo chicken dip recipe, and this 5-ingredient spinach dip, too!
I love this recipe and make it often. Our favorite! We mash our avocados with a potato masher, makes for easy work.
– Darlene
If you celebrate “Taco Tuesday” each week or just enjoy Mexican food as much as we do, then this easy guacamole will soon become a staple in your kitchen. Sure, you could jazz up the base recipe with mix-ins like salsa, tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, and jalapeños, but it’s certainly not necessary. Simple is best, and this flavorful version of the popular dip is ready with just 4 ingredients in about 5 minutes! That’s my kind of cooking…
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- Small, rough-skinned Hass avocados are the best variety for homemade guacamole. The avocados need to be soft in order to develop the creamy texture and flavor, so they may need to sit in a warm, dark spot for a day or two after you purchase them.
- You’ll know a Hass avocado is ripe when it turns from green to a dark purplish-black, and the fruit yields slightly when gently squeezed. Also, if you can easily flick off the small stem on the small end of the avocado, or if you can see green underneath it, the avocado is ripe. If the stem doesn’t come off easily, the avocado needs to sit and ripen for another day or two.
- If your avocados ripen on the counter before you’re actually ready to use them, you can stick them in the refrigerator for a day or two to prevent them from going bad.
- There are so many mix-in’s that you can add to this simple guac recipe to make it your own. For instance, stir in some diced tomatoes, salsa, minced red onion or white onion, fresh cilantro, roasted or grilled corn, diced pineapple or mango, sour cream, cumin, or jalapeño pepper.
- While lime juice is traditional, you can make guacamole with lemon juice in a pinch.
How to Make this Simple Guac Recipe
My go-to weeknight recipe for homemade guacamole could not be easier! I generally keep all of these ingredients on hand for a quick batch whenever we’re serving a Mexican meal. You’ll find the detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Use a sharp knife to cut lengthwise around the pit of the ripe avocados. Twist and pull to separate the two halves. To pull the pit from the avocado, whack it with a big knife. The knife will grab the pit, and should easily pull it out with a gentle twist.
- Use a spoon to scoop the avocado flesh into a large bowl.
- With a fork or a potato masher, mash the avocados to a relatively smooth consistency. Depending on your preference, you can leave some bigger chunks if you like.
- Stir in the fresh lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until completely combined. Taste, adjust the seasonings, and add any other ingredients that you might like (such as fresh salsa, pico de gallo, diced mango, diced pineapple, diced tomatoes, fresh cilantro, or minced jalapenos).
Serving Suggestions
This easy guacamole recipe is a satisfying snack or appetizer when paired with tortilla chips, crackers, or fresh veggies for dipping. It’s also great as a spread on sandwiches or toast, or as a garnish on a salad.
We often serve the guacamole as a side dish with chips or as a garnish with a larger Mexican dinner. It’s delicious with ground beef nachos, the easiest burrito recipe, on a burrito bowl, ground beef tacos, crockpot chicken tacos, slow cooker chicken taco soup, pulled pork enchiladas, and sheet pan chicken fajitas.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: thanks to the acidic lime juice in this simple guacamole recipe (which prevents excessive browning), you can prepare the dip a few hours in advance of when you plan to serve it. Keep it covered tightly in the fridge with plastic wrap touching its surface. You may notice that the guac eventually turns brown when exposed to oxygen (just like sliced apples). The brown avocado is not rotten, and is perfectly safe to eat (although it looks unappetizing and may have a slightly bitter taste).
- How to Freeze: You can freeze guacamole. It’s important to note, however, that you need to wrap the guacamole tightly (to prevent exposure to air). It’s also best to just freeze the base guacamole recipe without any add-ins like onion, tomato, or cilantro, which will not freeze and thaw quite as well.
- Guacamole is typically served at room temperature, but you can also heat it in the microwave or on the stovetop if you prefer it warm. The warm guacamole may have a slightly mushier texture and different taste, but it will still be safe to eat.
- 3 ripe Hass avocados, pitted
- Juice from 1 small lime (about 1½ tablespoons)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- Optional add-ins: ¼ of a small onion, minced; 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro; ½ of a small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced; ½ teaspoon cumin; 1 small tomato, seeded and diced; grilled or roasted fresh corn; salsa
Thanks to the acidic lime juice in the guacamole (which prevents excessive browning), you can prepare the dip a few hours in advance of when you plan to serve it. Keep it covered tightly in the fridge with plastic wrap touching its surface.
Serving: 1/6 of the recipeCalories: 162kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 2gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 104mgPotassium: 493mgFiber: 7gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 149IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 1mg
More Side Dishes for Mexican Food
This recipe was originally published in August, 2020. It was updated in February, 2025.
