Spicy Guacamole

spicy guacamole

This is a recipe that really makes me miss San Diego. Guacamole used to be a fairly large part of my diet! Between my regular stops at a variety of Mexican restaurants and drive-thrus, and the near constant availability of quality guacamole ingredients, there was always an excuse to indulge in this flavorful dip.

Guacamole combines two things I love in one little bowl.

For starters, it’s Mexican food! We take our Mexican food pretty seriously in San Diego, as evidenced by our recent victory in the Burrito War. (Foil wrapped, steamed tortillas? Pfft.)

Also, it brings people together! Let’s face it – no Super Bowl or Cinco de Mayo party is complete without guacamole. I love to entertain, so anything that can be served at a party is my kind of food.

hass avocados

I suppose I’ve been working on this guacamole in some form or another for several years now. I didn’t start documenting the amounts of what I added until fairly recently, but it has pretty much always been made with the same ingredients.

The thing about guacamole is that it’s made from nearly all fresh ingredients, so a recipe isn’t going to be 100% foolproof. You’ll have to make some adjustments depending on how each ingredient in that batch tastes.

guacamole start to finish

My guacamole tip is this: baby steps. Add maybe half of the fresh ingredients to the avocados and taste the result before adding the remainder. There’s nothing worse than finding out you got a really strong onion or an especially spicy pepper after you’ve added all of it to the bowl. Be sure to taste before you commit!

spicy guacamole

Spicy Guacamole

If you don't want this too spicy, you can take the seeds out of the pepper or simply add less. Regardless of your desired spice level, be sure to add the pepper, onion, cilantro, and lime cautiously. Add around 1/2 to 3/4 of each of these ingredients at first, taste the guacamole, then add more as you see fit.

Ingredients

6 ripe hass avocados (about 2 pounds)
juice from 2-3 limes
1 large tomato, seeds and pulp removed, diced
1 serrano chili, minced
1/2 a red onion, minced
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
a few turns of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Method

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and place in a bowl. Squeeze the juice of two limes over the avocados and mix well. This will keep them form turning brown. Use your knife to cut up the avocados, but leave them in fairly large chunks. They'll continue to break up as you mix in the rest of the ingredients.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Remember to be mindful of the fresh ingredients, they can be potent at times! Carefully mix everything together, trying not to turn the avocados into complete mush.
Taste and add more lime juice, serrano chili, onion, and cilantro if necessary.

Yields: About 4 cups

To store leftovers, or if making ahead of time: cover with plastic wrap directly touching the surface of the guacamole to prevent browning. Refrigerate.

Posted in: Appetizers, Fall, Party Food, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian, Winter

Tags: avocados, cilantro, guacamole, lime juice, red onion, serrano chili pepper, tomato

Jeanette says:

January 19, 2012 at 4:12 pm

My kids love guacamole. I make a super simple one, but I think I’ll have to give this one a try. Looks fabulous! Pinned!

brittany says:

January 19, 2012 at 6:03 pm

Thanks Jeanette! I hope they like it!

Frans says:

January 20, 2012 at 7:29 am

mmm, this looks delicious!
one query… what are these dark coloured chips?

brittany says:

January 20, 2012 at 8:24 am

Blue chips – my personal favorite with guacamole! They’re made with blue corn instead of white or yellow.

Anne says:

January 20, 2012 at 8:18 am

Love guacamole! This looks wonderful. You take fantastic photos! I like giving my guac a shot of Sriracha sauce – mmm. Thank you for sharing!

brittany says:

January 20, 2012 at 8:25 am

Mmm Sriracha! I’ll have to try that next time!

Jessica says:

January 26, 2012 at 3:25 pm

How do you know when avocados are ripe!? Somehow I always end up buying bad ones or it takes forever for them to get soft.

brittany says:

January 26, 2012 at 6:43 pm

To tell if an avocado is ripe, give it a squeeze. It should give to pressure, but not be squishy.

If they aren’t ripe and you wanna speed things up a bit, you can keep them on the countertop with a banana or an apple in a brown paper bag.

To keep them in their wonderful ripened state longer, store them in the fridge.

Hope this helps!

Liz says:

January 31, 2012 at 4:06 am

Perfect guacamole!!! And such gorgeous photos with the blue tortilla chips~

brittany says:

January 31, 2012 at 8:53 am

Thanks Liz!

Nancy/SpicieFoodie says:

January 31, 2012 at 5:58 am

It’s perfect Brittany. Your advice and tips are great and ones everyone should keep in mind. Congrats to San Diego on the win. Love the chips too! Thanks for participating in the YBR

brittany says:

January 31, 2012 at 8:54 am

Thank you for hosting Nancy!

Amy says:

January 31, 2012 at 8:14 am

This guacamole would be perfect for Super Bowl! It looks delicious.

brittany says:

January 31, 2012 at 9:01 am

Thanks Amy!

Adele Forbes says:

January 31, 2012 at 4:25 pm

Yum and Yum…the ingredients in this guacamole sound like the perfect combination and it contains everything that I love! Thank you so very much for sharing. The recipe is going in my latest food journal.