Al’s Homemade Guacamole

Guacamole = Love. Amirite? Even before I was vegan, I would get the veggie burrito at Chipotle because the guacamole was free. At work in high school, we once ordered a burrito bowl with only guacamole in it. It was like $16, but so worth it. Guacamole is quite possibly my favorite food ever. When I wasn’t hoarding guac at Chipotle, I was attempting to make my own. The first results were pretty delicious (hello, avocado!), but didn’t come close to the gold standard: my father-in-law’s homemade guacamole. At Thanksgiving, right after I started dating my husband, his father-in-law Al made guacamole as an appetizer to hold us over until the turkey was ready. It was fan-freaking-tastic! At every holiday, he makes his fabulous guac before dinner and we completely destroy it. Unfortunately, Al’s guacamole set the bar pretty high. With each of my attempts, Mark would say, “Well, it’s good… but not like my dad’s.” It was heartbreaking! Finally I caved and had Mark call his dad for the recipe. It’s turned into my go-to for parties, pot-lucks, and tailgating. Mark and I ate this guacamole for breakfast Saturday morning, if that tells you anything about how awesome it is.

If you’re into Mexican food (and who isn’t?!), check out Caitlynn’s great grandmother’s tamale recipe from last Mouthwatering Monday and come back next week for crock pot burritos!

Ingredients:
7 ripe avocados, halved and pitted (reserve 1 pit)
2 4 ounce cans of diced green chiles (mine are from Trader Joe’s, but all grocery stores sell them)
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 tbsp red onion, diced (about half of a medium onion)
3 limes, juiced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
3 roma tomatoes, diced, seeds removed (I slice each in half and scoop out the seed goop before dicing)
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

Prepare the garlic, tomatoes, red onion, and limes.

Halve the avocados and scoop or squish the insides into a large bowl. Reserve one pit for later.

Using a fork or potato masher, mash the avocado. It should be slightly chunky, but with no huge pieces.

Add the two cans of diced green chiles, diced red onions, minced garlic, and salt and pepper. Squeeze in the juice of three limes.

Mix well.

Rinse and roughly chop about a half cup of cilantro.

Fold the diced roma tomatoes and cilantro into the guacamole. Don’t mix too much, the end result should be chunky.

In order to keep the guacamole from turning brown, push in the reserved avocado core. Cover the dish and get ready for the hardest part!

Pop it in the fridge and leave it there for 2-3 hours. It will be hard. You will hate waiting. But don’t despair! All of the flavors are melding together and the end result is so worth the wait!

The second hardest part is not eating it all before your friends come over. It will seem like this recipe made a ton of guacamole, but it will be inhaled. Guaranteed. Mark and I cleared out the whole thing in less than 24 hours. No regrets.

I love it with chips, on sandwiches or burritos, on top of a salad… guac is very versatile!

We shared this post on Foodie Friends Friday and The Weekend Social!