Fresh Guacamole

This is guacamole the Mexican way: ripe avocados crushed with lime, fresh coriander, finely chopped onion and green chilli. No mayo, no cumin, no cream cheese, just clean, bright, punchy flavour. Ready in ten minutes and best eaten the moment it's made.

Real guacamole is simpler than most versions you’ll meet: ripe avocados, lime, salt, and a handful of fresh aromatics. The trick is restraint and ripeness. Keep it chunky, taste as you go, and hit it with enough lime and salt to make everything sing. Serve it the moment it’s mixed, while the colour is still vivid green.

Ingredients

• 3 large ripe avocados — Hass; they should yield to gentle pressure
• 1 lime, juiced — about 2 tbsp; add more to taste
• 1/2 small white onion, very finely chopped — red onion also works
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped — serrano ideal; jalapeño or a mild green chilli both fine
• 15 g fresh coriander, chopped — roughly a small handful, stalks and all
• 1 ripe tomato, deseeded and diced — optional but traditional
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt — plus more to taste
• 1 garlic clove, crushed — optional

Method

1. Halve the avocados, twist apart and flick out the stones. Scoop the flesh into a bowl with a spoon, scraping close to the skin where the flesh is greenest.
2. Add the salt, crushed garlic if using, half the lime juice and the chopped chilli. Mash with a fork to a rough, chunky texture; you want it creamy but still with recognisable pieces of avocado, not a smooth purée.
3. Fold through the finely chopped onion and most of the coriander, keeping a little back to scatter over the top.
4. Gently stir in the diced tomato, if using, so it stays intact rather than breaking down into the mix.
5. Taste and adjust: it almost always needs more lime and a pinch more salt than you expect. Keep adding a little at a time until the flavour turns bright and lively.
6. Scatter over the reserved coriander and serve straight away, ideally within the hour while the colour is at its best.

Serve it with

• Warm corn tortilla chips
• Tacos or fajitas
• Grilled chicken or prawns
• Huevos rancheros
• A cold Mexican lager or a margarita

Why this works

Salt and lime do the heavy lifting here: the acid stops the avocado tasting flat and slows browning, while mashing chunky rather than smooth keeps the texture interesting and the flavour fresh.

Common swaps

• No fresh chilli? A pinch of dried chilli flakes or a dash of chipotle paste works.
• Swap coriander for flat-leaf parsley if you're a coriander-hater, though it changes the character.
• Red onion in place of white for a sharper, more colourful bite.
• Add a spoon of finely diced mango for a sweeter, fruity twist.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using under-ripe avocados: hard, pale flesh will never mash creamy or taste right, so wait until they yield to a gentle squeeze.
• Under-seasoning: guacamole needs a genuinely generous hand with both salt and lime or it tastes dull.
• Over-mashing to a smooth paste and losing all the texture that makes it good.
• Adding cumin, mayo or cream cheese: none of these belong in authentic guacamole.

Storage, freezing & reheating

Storage: Best eaten fresh. To keep for up to a day, press cling film directly onto the surface to keep out air and chill; stir before serving and expect some darkening on top.

Estimated nutrition

Per serving, estimated from typical ingredient values — not a substitute for precise dietary calculation.