A classic “chip and dip” delight, this Simple Guacamole enhances the Mexican dish of your choice rather than overpowering it.

Ever get that “Avocados from Mexico” jingle stuck in your head, whirling round and round in the nooks and crannies of your brain until you want to pull your hair out? Or, on a good day when you have it bouncing jauntily in your head and you are pleased as punch to be preparing snacks for the big game or (pre Covid times) gathering, you hum it under your breath as you slice those buttery avocados in half. The silly little jingle can haunt you at the oddest of times, and remind you to add avocados to your shopping list if they were not already on it.

Truthfully, I am not an avid avocado eater, though not for the lack of love for the green little guys. Having a tree nut allergy really cramps my holiday cookie style, and severely impaired my consumption of all things avocado. So I severely missed the boat during the heyday of the illustrious avocado toast, ate the avocado sparingly on Cobb salads, and loaded up on the salsa with little bits of guacamole with chips and salsa. Even avocados served simply with salt and pepper are incredibly delicious, but a rare treat that I have to carefully indulge in as to not aggravate the allergy too much.

Since we live in the Southwest, Mexican cuisine reigns supreme out here. In particular, Sonoran style Mexican food is incredibly prevalent. Guacamole is one of the elements on the plate for me that really, really transforms the dish. The creaminess, slightly nutty, buttery, and sweetness of the avocados absorb the aromatics and lime and just enhance the bold flavors of the chilis, the spices, and textures of the Mexican dishes.

This Simple Guacamole is perfectly balanced, allowing the rich, buttery avocados to shine.

This Simple Guacamole is a perfectly balanced guacamole that does NOT cost extra. I designed it to have a perfect balance of tart lime juice, salty flakes of seasoning that enhance the buttery goodness of avocados, and just a hint of garlic to not overpower the entire dip. I love adding a chunky tomato for extra acidity from the tomatoes as well. The little bit of cilantro adds an herby note, again without overpowering anything. When paired with spicy Chicken Tinga, or savory enchiladas, this Simple Guacamole is a creamy element that adds flavor without overwhelming the senses. I use this as a base for my forrays into the guacamole making world, as it is outstanding as written. However, the beauty of guacamole is that you can always taste and adjust to your preference, especially if you are looking to make a super kicked up, fancy version.

Imagine the jingle that comes with the ultra fancy or crazy version of guacamole!

You can use this Simple Guacamole as an accompaniment to the aforementioned Mexican dishes, or you can play with it a bit and go into the world of fancy grilled cheeses with some guacamole spread on it. This would also be an excellent base for an avocado toast topped with a fried egg and some hot sauce. It is also delicious mixed in a bit of egg salad to change things up just a tad from the classic egg salad, or you can wrap it inside egg rolls to create some incredible avocado egg rolls.

So though I cannot eat avocados with abandon, this guacamole is a great way for me to enjoy the delicious little guys in a way that I get a little bit of super delicious dip to enhance whatever I am eating. It is light, creamy, buttery, and nutty. Sometimes simple is best to let the flavors shine from the few ingredients you add in. Other times, you wish to go for the fancy, but with this Simple Guacamole, starting with an incredible base recipe is the way you want to go.

Simple Guacamole

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 3 Cups

I keep the avocados pretty chunky in this Simple Guacamole. If you like your guac to be a little smoother, go for it, but be aware you might need to adjust the salt and lime juice just a tad as you will not be biting into big chunks of avocado.

Once made, the guacamole is best eaten the day of. You can definitely store it for a few days in an airtight container if you do not finish it the first day. The lime juice will keep the avocados from oxidizing.

I know I call for half a clove of garlic, or one reaaaaaly tiny one. This is intentional, as garlic tends to overwhelm anything once it is cut/crushed and in a dish raw. The longer the dish sits, the stronger the garlic flavor gets, and for this particular simple version of guacamole I really wanted the avocados to shine rather than all of the other flavors competing or even overwhelming the avocado flavor. Everything in here is to enhance the avocado rather than compete with it.

Ingredients

3 ripe Avocados, diced
1/2 Cup chopped tomato, guts and seeds removed (1 small tomato)
1/2 Tsp minced Garlic (1/2 clove garlic)
1 Tbsp chopped Cilantro
1 1/2 Tbsp Lime Juice (1 juicy lime
1 Tsp Sea Salt

Directions

Slice and dice the avocado by cutting the avocados in half along the pit, twisting the avocado apart, and using your knife to score the flesh of the avocado in the half shell in a grid pattern. Scoop out the flesh into a medium sized bowl.
Add the chopped tomato, garlic, cilantro, lime juice and salt. With a spatula, gently fold everything together.
Taste, and adjust salt or lime juice if needed.