There comes a time in every guacamole lover’s life where you get the holy trinity needed to make world-class guac: perfect avocados (and a LOT of them), amazing veggies, and the time to chop it all up and make it look pretty too. Notice that I said there comes A time – as in one singular moment – when all of this comes together. It won’t happen again, my friends, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get delicious guac anyway!
When I was growing up I remember my mom used to make pretty delicious guacamole every couple of weeks and I couldn’t wait to dig in. Daddy always got the biggest scoop because it was his favorite, but I would always try to edge out the competition my mom and sister for the second largest. Ultimately at the time I thought guac was a great way to get to eat more chips, although I have since seen the error of my ways and basically see chips as the vessel for more guac. Can I get an amen?!
Since we now know and have accepted the fact that it’s near impossible to find affordable large quantities of perfectly unblemished and ripe avocados? Well, now we can move forward. It really is so easy to make delicious guacamole, even if it isn’t Pinterest-perfect, using just a few little kitchen hacks. You may have to plan ahead a tiny bit, but trust me – you’ll thank me later. And so will the folks you share it with should you choose to do so!
- BUY ‘EM ROCK HARD. I’m serious, if you buy rock hard avocados and then let them sit in a loosely closed paper bag for a couple days you will have perfect avocados just ready for the mashing. Another little tip I’ve garnered in my 15+ years of guac making is that if they ripen at different rates just stick the ripe ones in the fridge to slow down the process and let the other guys catch up!
- THE FRIDGE IS YOUR FRIEND. Guac purists may disagree (although honestly I don’t know why) but refrigerating everything before you make it makes this creamy dip even more satisfying. I’m not saying refrigerate the bowls and knives and such; just the avocados and the veggies will do! Which brings me to…
- MAKE LIFE EASIER WITH SALSA. If you haven’t been using this trick then you’re welcome in advance for changing your life. I always have a batch of fire-roasted salsa on hand, and it is basically all the good things you would normally have to spend every second of free time chopping up. Tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, garlic – the only thing missing is cilantro, which takes about 2 seconds to either rip or chop anyway. Just mash the avocado, stir in about 1/2 cup of salsa per 3-4 avocados and DONE.
- LIME JUICE. Never underestimate the power of a little lime juice in keeping your guac bright green and beautiful. This isn’t a new thing, but honestly is a game-changer for me. Also added after the salsa in our house: a heavy sprinkling of garlic powder and a dash each of chili powder and cumin. A small note: I don’t like to add a ton of salt because I’m usually enjoying my guacamole with salty chips which adds the perfect amount of seasoning!
- SAVE THE PITS! Not just for the fun science and gardening experiments you can do with them, but if you need your guac to stay fresh even longer it WILL if you just place the pits on top! I thought my friend Emma was crazy when she told me this, but I’ll be darned if she wasn’t spot on. Then you can save them again for all the gardening fun later!
There you have it! Five easy hacks that will make you a guacamole ninja in minutes flat! Anyone have any other guacamole tips? I’m always looking to up my ninja game 😉
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