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Homemade Guacamole Recipe

Only three ingredients! No need to buy processed guacamole with questionable ingredients and preservatives when you can DIY at home. Pair it with my homemade canning salsa for a Southwest feast.

Healthy homemade quacample

I’m pleased that I can include avocados with all their health benefits into our diet…but they always meet a certain fate at our house:  unless it’s a rare week that we stuff a few slices into a wrap, I find a way to make guacamole a fitting side at a meal when they’re on sale.

My recipe only has 3 ingredients:  1 avocado, about a Tbs or less lime juice, and a generous shake of Penzey’s Adobo seasoning.

I’ve seen other brands of adobo, but I have to tell you:  Penzey’s is my favorite store in the whole wide world! Someday I’ll ask them if they want to advertise on my site, and then I’ll really talk them up, but seriously: check out their website (Penzey’s Spices), and if there’s a store near you, you must go in for a wander. Free spices smells are good for the soul! I love taking my son in and letting him smell all the different herbs and spices. I always spend too much there! (Note: There’s also the homemade version of adobo in my ebook Better Than a Box…)

Healthy homemade guacamole kids can make

Sorry about the random soapbox moment…on to the directions!

First you need to know what to do with an avocado when you bring it home. Here’s a little tutorial on how to cut it and get the pit out (my apologies on the shaky pictures; I’m still getting the hang of taking good pics of food!):

Easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe
First cut all the way around the avocado like so, turning it in your hand.
Easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe
Here is the cool trick, thanks to Martha Stewart: Whack your knife HARD against the side of the pit like so…
Easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe
…and then pull up with a little wiggle. Ta da! The pit (if you’re lucky) pops right out. If you can’t master this trick, just scoop out the pit with a spoon any way you can. Messes are acceptable!
Easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe
Use a spoon to scoop out the avocado “meat”, usually in one big plop if you twist your wrist just so and run the spoon around the peel…
Easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe
…and you have half the avocado in the bowl. (Notice my nice glass bowls?) Repeat scooping with the other half.
Easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe
Squirt in some lime juice and about this much seasoning. Like I said, generous! Open up the bottle and shake liberally! (You can always taste and add more at the end though – be cautious the first time.)
Easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe
You can mash it all together with a fork at this point, but I swear by my hand blender. It does the trick in about 20 seconds, right in the serving bowl. For larger amounts, try a food processor.

Easy Guacamole Recipe for Kids to Make


If you can’t view the video above, click Easy Guacamole Recipe for Kids to Make to see it directly on YouTube.

Homemade guac is so easy, it amazes me that anyone would pay $3 for a little 8 oz tub of the stuff. I like to get avocados on sale only, so my breakdown is:

  • Avocado:  $1
  • Lime juice:  15 cents or less bottled version; even lower when I buy limes in the reduced produce section, juice and freeze in 1 Tbs portions (and remember to thaw it without my microwave…)
  • Adobo seasoning:  $5.19 for a big 4 oz. bag that will last me over a year…let’s say a quarter per batch, just to be on the high side.

Total for almost 2 cups of fresh guacamole:  $1.40, max

Time needed:  about 2 minutes, once you get good at shelling the avocado!

Your kids can learn to cook, even if you don’t know where to start

My 4 kids and I created the online Kids Cook Real Food lessons to help bring real food and independence to families all over. Over 10,000 kids have joined us and we’d love to invite you along for the adventure!

Kids watching a cooking lesson at a kitchen island

I’m so pleased to offer a little gift from our family to yours, a knife skills lesson as a free preview of the full cooking eCourse!

Fancy Add-ins:If I have them on hand, I’ll add chopped tomato or onion. That makes it look really pretty and adds a bit of taste. We almost always mix in a little salsa as we’re eating it for fuller flavor and zing!

Homemade guacamole

Come back Friday for our family’s favorite delicious California Chicken Wrap recipe, the only other place you see avocados on our plates!

Other Recipe Connections:

Unless otherwise credited, photos are owned by the author or used with a license from Canva or Deposit Photos.

19 thoughts on “Homemade Guacamole Recipe”

  1. My hubby is from Mexico so homemade guacamole is like a religious experience around here. I have finally passed his approval on my guacamole making skills, and on my chiliquiles making skills too!!

  2. Our favorite way to use an avacadoe is to make chocolate mouse with it. Put in food processer 4 avacadoes, 1 cup cocoa powder, 1 cup agave nectar, 1/2 t vanilla. Mix well. Put in dessert cups. Very rich. good for company too. This is sold in restaraunts around here and at farmers mkt, and is very expensive compared to doing it yourself.

  3. Katie, what do you do to save leftover guac? Any tips/tricks? I hate having to waste leftovers because they look like, well, poo!
    .-= Michelle´s last blog ..Enfrijoladas =-.

    1. Michelle,
      We do pretty well getting through an avocado here, but I just make sure there’s as much citrus as possible on the guac and store it in glass. I wonder – maybe if waxed paper or plastic wrap touched the surface, it wouldn’t oxidize as much? I find after one day that it still tastes great even if it’s getting brown…

      🙂 Katie

  4. We also add a smidge of garlic to our guac. Yum!

    Also, we eat “Avocados on the Half Shell” all the time…We split an avocado in half, pour some olive oil and white balsamic vinegar in the middle, add a dash of salt and garlic, and eat it straight out of the rind. Delicious! 🙂

    1. LeAna,
      Wow, you could have a restaurant appetizer with that classy name! Fun stuff, thank you – Katie

  5. I usually add sour cream and some salsa to my guacamole. My boys don’t like guacamole, so I’ve been making smoothies with an avocado in it–no taste when mixed with fruit and yogurt into a smoothie!

  6. Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free

    I love guacamole – and homemade is always the best. I like to stir in some good, fresh salsa for an extra layer of flavor. Thanks for sharing this at Holiday Food Fest!

  7. Mary @Raising 4 Godly Men

    This sounds soooooooo yummy ! I would have to use something like apple cider vinegar instead of lime juice. Sadly I am allergic to it. But I LOVE guac !

    Thank you for all you have taught us at Tightwad Tuesday.

    Blessings in Him<
    -Mary

    Mary @Raising 4 Godly Men’s last blog post..Weekly Wrap Up ~ June 6th

    1. Lemon juice is another alternative, unless you’re allergic to all citrus. Or just use salsa and the adobo – easy and yummy!

  8. I love the method of scooping out with a spoon – soooo much easier than peeling! And if I want slices, I slice just the flesh (not thru the peel) first, then scoop out the sliced result with the spoon. Tidy 🙂

    Deanna’s last blog post..Summer cooking

  9. Jenna @ Newlyweds

    Yum love guacamole! We like to put tomatoes, lime juice, little salt, and fresh cilantro! Yum.

    Jenna @ Newlyweds’s last blog post..Marinara Sauce

  10. I could eat guacamole all day long…it is so yummy!

    Marin’s last blog post..BBQ Ranch Chicken Roll-em Ups

  11. We love guacamole at our house! We also keep it pretty simple: avocado, a bit of salsa, and some lemon juice. So good and so healthy!

    Hannah’s last blog post..Roasted Veggie Pasta Primavera

  12. I’ve always tried to peel them! Scooping them out will save a lot of effort and mess. Thank you.

  13. Okay, so I’ve mastered the Martha trick of whacking the pit and wiggling it out, but THEN I am always afraid I’m going to accidentally kill myself when I’m trying to pry the pit off the knife *L* Maybe I’m whacking too hard!

    I am making guacamole tonight for a taco salad so I’m going to try using my stick blender! Usually I just mash with a fork.

    mub’s last blog post..Potato, Green Bean, and Tuna Salad

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