Easy 3-Ingredient Guacamole Recipe: Simply Delicious

Can you really make delicious guacamole with just 3 ingredients? You bet! I make this easy 3-Ingredient Guacamole Recipe a couple of times every week, and it’s always a hit.

Not only does it make Mexican food taste better, but I also use it for avocado toast, salads, sandwiches, and of course, as a dip.

Guacamole can be traced back thousands of years to the Aztecs. They considered it an aphrodisiac!

Today in Mexico it is a common food in Oaxaca, used in the street foods in Mexico City, offered as an accompaniment to Yucatan specialties, and enjoyed as a favorite topping for Baja tacos.

The finished product of our 3-Ingredient Guacamole Recipe — This easy 3-Ingredient Guacamole Recipe produces a delicious guac every time.

In my home state of California, lots of us are obsessed with fresh guac. It’s probably because avocados are one of the foods California is known for. In fact, 90% of the avocados grown in the U.S. come from Cali.

And where there’s lots of avocados, there’s going to be lots of guacamole!

Moreover, since this super simple guacamole recipe takes just 5 minutes to make, you can prepare it every day. It is honestly easier and less time-consuming to make this restaurant-worthy guacamole than it is to slice avocados.

Actually, I have two 3-ingredient recipes for guacamole for you. The first one is my go-to recipe that I make all the time. For those that want to showcase the fresh flavor of avocado, that will be the best guacamole recipe for you.

For those seeking additional flavors, try the second recipe, which I call my Loaded 3-Ingredient Guacamole Recipe.

3 Ingredients for Guacamole

The three simple ingredients you need for this easy guacamole recipe are avocados, lime juice, and garlic salt. Here are some tips about choosing them so you can make the best guacamole.

Avocados

There are so many different guacamole recipes out there, but the one thing they all have in common is ripe avocados. Ripeness is important for the taste, texture, and color of your guacamole.

An under-ripe avocado is tasteless and too hard to mash. Overly ripe avocados will have brown spots on the flesh which can also have a funky flavor. A perfectly ripe avocado will be nice and green inside and soft enough for a spoon to glide through.

There are many varieties of avocados, but the bumpy-skinned Haas avocado makes the best guacamole.

Lime Juice

I always use fresh lime juice for homemade guacamole. If you don’t have fresh limes, you can use fresh lemon juice. Although I prefer the taste of lime for this dish, lemon will also work.

Avocados are high in fat (healthy fats) so the acid from the citrus helps to balance out the flavor profile. But it also helps your guacamole stay green. Without citrus, your guac will turn an unappetizing brown color in a relatively short amount of time.

Garlic Salt

You can find garlic salt in any grocery store. You probably have garlic salt in your pantry. If you do, taste it to make sure it is still fresh before you add it to your guac.

3-Ingredient Guacamole Recipe

Acocados and limes cut in half — Avocados, lime, and garlic salt ready to begin the easiest guacamole recipe ever.

Ingredients

Servings: 6–12

3 large, ripe Haas avocados 
½ lime 
1 teaspoon garlic salt

instructions

1. Slice avocados in half and remove the pits. The best way to remove an avocado pit is to whack it with a chef knife and then gently twist the knife to remove the pit.

Removing avocado pits with a chef’s knife is the easiest way.

2. Use a spoon to scoop the avocado flesh out of the skin a little at a time, then add it to a medium bowl (not the serving bowl). To do this, hold one half of the avocado in the palm of your hand. Start in the cavity that was formed by the removal of the pit, and scrape a thin layer of avocado flesh onto your spoon. Repeat the process all around the avocado until you reach the edges of the avocado skin. Don’t scrape the skin itself too vigorously.

If you’ve selected perfect avocados, you’ll find their creamy texture is easy to scoop. Even if you can scoop the whole half at once, it makes your mashing easier to use the above method.

Scooping out the avocado a little at a time facilitates the mashing.

3. Squeeze the lime over the avocado in your bowl and sprinkle the garlic salt on top.

4. Use a fork to mash the avocado mixture. I start by beating it as if I was making scrambled eggs. If you like your guacamole a little on the chunkier side, mash less. If you want it smoother, you can use the fork to break up any large lumps.

If you are making a huge batch, you can use a potato masher; otherwise I’d stick to the fork. I don’t like to use a food processor since the resulting consistency of the mashed avocados gives the appearance of store-bought guacamole. I prefer a more authentic look.

5. Serve immediately.

Bowl of 3-Ingredient Guacamole — A yummy bowl of guacamole takes less than 5 minutes to make!

Loaded 3-Ingredient Guacamole Recipe

In Mexico, an authentic guacamole usually includes onions, tomatoes, jalapeño, and cilantro. If you want a guacamole with a little bit of extra flavor, this is the 3-ingredient recipe for you.

If you’re adding up ingredients right now wondering how you get to 3, here’s the trick—purchase pico de gallo. A typical pico de gallo will have chopped red onions, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, cilantro, and lime juice.

Use the step-by-step recipe above and replace the lime juice with a half cup of pico de gallo. You can keep the garlic salt, or replace it with regular kosher salt.

Serving Guacamole

Taco salad with a dollop of guacamole — Homemade taco salad with a dollop of guacamole

I think guacamole is best served at room temperature or slightly cool. Try substituting guac anywhere you would use avocado. Here are some popular ways to serve it.

Delicious Dip 

Just like your local Mexican restaurant, serve your guacamole in a small bowl with tortilla chips. Add a few fresh vegetables for some healthier choices.

Taco Night

Next time you have taco night, include a bowl of guacamole as one of the optional ingredients for toppings.

Dollop of Guacamole

Add a dollop of guacamole to your favorite Mexican meal. Guac is great on burrito bowls, quesadillas, taco salads, tamales, and, of course, nachos.   

Wraps and Sandwiches

I not only use 3-ingredient guac on avocado toast, but I love it on turkey or veggie sandwiches, tuna wraps, and pretty much anything with bread or a tortilla wrap.

If you’re now in Mexican recipe mode, try some of these:
White Pozole
Mexican Cookies
Cilantro-Lime Corn & Zucchini
Healthy Beef Enchiladas
Low-Cal Quesadillas
Breakfast Street Tacos
Guiltless Gluten-Free Nachos
Mango Corn Salsa

Storing Guacamole

There are lots of great make-ahead appetizers, but guacamole is not one of them. Unfortunately, storing your leftover guac so that it stays fresh and green is the hardest part of this entire process. The best options are below. No matter which storage method you choose, you will want to refrigerate your guacamole.

Plastic Wrap

When there is just a small amount of leftover guacamole, I have had the best results spooning it directly onto plastic wrap, giving it a good squirt of lemon or lime, and wrapping it up without a container.

Airtight Container

If the quantity is too large for the plastic wrap method, use the smallest airtight container in which the guacamole will fit. Squirt the top of the guac with lemon or lime. Do not mix in; you just need to make sure the top layer is well squirted.

It is best to eat leftover guac the next day. The longest it will last is 2–3 days.