Our favorite guacamole has a squeeze of fresh lime juice, homemade pico de gallo and pickled (instead of fresh) jalapeños. It's perfect as a dip for crispy tortilla chips or spooned onto tacos or fajitas. Read on for the best way to make this easy mouthwatering recipe.
Homemade guacamole is such an essential and easy recipe with just a handful of fresh ingredients. And when mixed with bright and tangy pico de gallo, you have a dip that, with minimal effort, is transformed into something the whole family will love. This dip goes particularly well with our Baked Crispy Chicken Tacos! First, gather your ingredients.
Ingredients that Matter
All the classic guacamole and pico de gallo ingredients are here, but let's take a closer look to better understand why they work so well together:
- Avocado. The main event for this recipe, so to speak, is ripe avocado. Specifically you'll likely use hass avocados, the most common variety you'll find in supermarkets. Specialty and ethnic markets may sell other varieties, like gwen, opal, bacon and brogdon, but most importantly, you want to use ripe avocados. (See below on picking ripe avocados.)
- Fresh Lime Juice. Acid from lime juice helps balance the richness of buttery avocados. We've used other acidic ingredients, like lemon juice, vinegar and even citric acid, but it's the naturally sweet flavor of lime that makes guacamole more than smashed avocados.
- Pickled Jalapeño. This is a personal preference, but we prefer the flavor and heat level of pickled jalapeño over raw. Pickled jalapeños have a briny, peppery flavor and are spicy but less assertive than (most) raw jalapeños. Of course, it's an ingredient you may not always have on hand, so you can use fresh if you prefer. But if you use pickled, we have a bonus tip: add a tablespoon or so of the pickle brine into your dip for a big kick of flavor.
- Fresh Tomato. Our pick is fresh roma tomatoes. They have relatively few seeds and a good amount of flesh, meaning more tomato and less water.
- Sweet or White Onion. Finely chopped onion adds texture and flavor. Reach for sweet or white onion as it'll have less of the sulfur heat and more sweetness.
- Garlic. Use fresh garlic grated with a microplane. It has a more pronounced flavor compared to garlic powder.
How to make guacamole with pico de gallo
This recipe comes together with just a handful of steps, mostly chopping and smashing!
Step 1. Cut avocados in half and remove the pit by piercing with a knife, and carefully pinch the pit off with your fingers.
Step 2. Scoop out flesh of avocados with a spoon and place into a medium mixing bowl.
Step 3. Mash avocado and garlic with a fork or a potato masher. Aim for a slightly coarse consistency as the avocado will continue to mash when mixing in the other ingredients.
Step 4. Finely chop the onion and jalapeño. Chop the tomato into large, bite-size pieces.
- Step 5. Top the mashed avocado with tomatoes, onions, pickled jalapeño (and pickle juice, if desired), cilantro and the juice of one lime (grate in lime zest, if desired). Gently stir until well combined. Serve topped with more cilantro.
How to Pick a Ripe Avocado
Before bringing home any avocado, it should pass some basic requirements. First, avocados shouldn't have any large, dark blemishes (small dark speckles are not a problem) and it shouldn't be too soft. Besides that, buy slightly firm green or dark green avocados if you plan to make this recipe in a couple days, or buy ripe ones if you are making it the same day. Here's how to tell when the avocado is ripe:
- Gently press by the stem. It should give slightly, similar to how you'd test the ripeness of a peach.
- The skin should be black or dark green and may be covered in little black speckles.
- The skin should also be slightly bumpy.
Leave your avocados on the countertop to ripen. Firm green avocados may take upward of 3 to 5 days to ripen on the countertop. You can get it to ripen faster by placing it in a warm, sunlit window or using the old brown-paper-bag-with-banana trick. Yup, it works!
How Many Days will the dip last?
If you are anything like us, this dip will last a few minutes! Kidding (kind of)! You can store leftovers in an air tight container for a couple days. For the best chance of preserving some (not all) of the vibrant green color of the dip, we recommend placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the surface of the guacamole (even if already in an air tight container!). Before serving, give it a stir and sprinkle some more cilantro on top.
Video: See the recipe come together
Recipe
Easy Guacamole with Homemade Pico de Gallo
- Total Time: 10
- Yield: About 2 cups 1x
Description
Our favorite guacamole has a squeeze of fresh lime juice, homemade pico de gallo and pickled (instead of fresh) jalapeños. It's perfect as a dip for crispy tortilla chips or spooned onto tacos or fajitas.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados (see note)
- 1 clove garlic, grated on a microplane
- ¼ cup finely chopped pickled jalapeño (see note) (1 Tbsp. of pickle liquid, optional)
- juice from 1 lime (zest of lime, if desired)
- 1 medium Roma tomato, chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped white or sweet onion
- ¼ cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- ½ tsp. table salt
Instructions
- Slice each avocado in half lengthwise, cutting to (not through) pit. Remove pit by piercing with a knife and pinching the pit off the blade. Scoop out avocado flesh and transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Mash with a fork or potato masher to a coarse consistency.
- Stir in garlic until well combined. Add jalapeño (and pickle liquid, if using) and lime juice (and zest, if desired) and gently stir until well incorporated.
- Gently stir in tomato, onion, cilantro and salt. Top with more cilantro and serve immediately or store in an airtight container (see note) for up to 3 days.
Notes
- A ripe avocado should be dark green or black, have slightly bumpy skin, and should be soft but not super soft when pressed by the stem end.
- You can use fresh jalapeño but we prefer the briny flavor and moderate spice of pickled jalapeños.
- If storing leftovers, be sure to place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of dip (even if storing in an air-tight container) to prevent oxidation.
- Prep Time: 10
- Category: Dips
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: Mexican
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