The Best Guacamole

Whether you’ll be watching the big game this weekend or not, there is never a bad time to eat guacamole! This recipe is as fresh as it gets. A classic quac with red onion, cilantro, lime, and peppers. Serve it up with raw crackers, veggie slices, or scoop it on your next green salad. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 medium, ripe avocados
• 3 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 small jalapéno pepper, seeded and finely diced OR 1/4 — 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for spiciness)

Instruction

1. Slice the avocados in half lengthwise, tossing the seed and scooping the green innards into a large mixing bowl. Mash the avocado with a fork or potato masher until it reaches your desired consistency; my recommendation is to keep it a little chunky.
2. Pour in the red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and peppers, if using. Stir to combine. Serve immediately with chips or as an accompaniment to tacos or fajitas!

Notes

DON’T go squeezing (and ruining for everyone else) all the avocados at the store! If it has a little give and the stem doesn’t just fall off, you’re good. If it is overly softened or the stem falls off easily, revealing a dark or black area underneath, skip it. The best way I’ve found to save leftover guac without it turning too brown is to cover it with plastic wrap, but push the plastic wrap against the guac in the bowl, so no air can stay trapped between the two. Alternately, you can try one of the million tricks found on the internet. Again though, the plastic wrap trick works pretty well. So does scraping off the brown layer and eating the perfectly good guac underneath.