Easy Guacamole Recipe (Homemade in 5 Minutes) (2024)

FAQs

How much lime juice to keep guacamole from turning brown? ›

Editor's Tip: You may have heard a squirt of lemon or lime juice also keeps guacamole from browning. It's true—as long as you cover the entire surface of the dip with citrus juice.

I like the flavor better with lemon juice, but lime works too. If you're out of fresh lemons or limes, try using bottled lime or lemon juice. Although, freshly squeezed juice is definitely the best! Salt: Salt enhances the flavors and brings it all together.

If you taste your guac and it is bland, start with more salt. Next, add lime juice. Often an additional pop of citrus is all guac needs to come alive and taste better. If you still aren't happy with the taste, you can rely on mix-ins to jazz it up.

With ripe tomatoes so rare in the U.S., I generally leave them out.) I know what you're about to ask. "But what about oxidation?” While lime is touted as a way prevent avocados from browning, it takes a lot of lime for that to work—and it's generally a bad idea to transform a dish's taste for aesthetic reasons.

Typically the recipe is 3 to 4 avocados, 1 to 2 tomatoes, 1/2 onion, 1 to 2 hot peppers, 3 to 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro, 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice, 1 garlic clove (optional), and salt and pepper to taste. Adding too much lemon or lime juice can cause a very watery guacamole.

The lemon juice is used to give it a sour touch, and prevent it from oxidizing. However, adding too much will bitter the flavor of your guacamole.

For fresh guacamole, if well-sealed from the air, it should stay green for 1-2 days.

Most people prefer to use sweet white onion in their guacamole recipe. Red or yellow onion tends to give the guacamole too strong of a garlic flavor.

Here's all you need for traditional guacamole: ripe avocados, coriander/cilantro, red onions, jalapeño or Serrano chilli, lime and salt. Avoid unnecessary fillers such as sour cream and cream cheese. They only dilute flavour. Popular optional extras include: garlic, tomato, cumin powder.

Lemon juice: If you don't have lime juice on hand, you can use lemon juice as a substitute in guacamole. Lemon juice has a similar tangy and acidic flavor to lime juice, and it will work well in most guacamole recipes.

When guacamole turns brown does that mean it's bad? ›

Is Brown Guac Bad for You? Although brown guacamole isn't the most appealing, it's completely safe to eat (as long as you've stored the guacamole in the refrigerator, and it isn't more than three days old).

I always make this recipe the night before with no browning. Use a tall (not wide) storage container. Because avocados brown when they are exposed to oxygen, you want to make the surface area on top as small as possible.

The solution lies with good ol' H2O. Topping off your avocado dip with water keeps air, at least in part, from being able to penetrate the guacamole, which keeps it from browning. By using this simple technique, you can keep the brown at bay for about two days (maybe longer if you're lucky).

Never use a metal bowl with avocados as metal makes the avocado turn brown faster. Always use a plastic or ceramic bowl. If possible, use a certamic or a Teflon covered knife for cutting your avocado. This will also help the avocado not turn brown.

There are two reasons for avocados to taste bitter: underripeness, or because they have been cooked. If the avocado is fairly firm, then it's probably just underripe and you can wait.