4 Ingredient Guacamole Recipe

A 4 Ingredient Guacamole Recipe that really uses just four whole ingredients (no cheating with pico de gallo). Just good ingredients, in the right ratio, combined properly.

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This Quick Guacamole Recipe Is All You Need!

It’s a hard truth, but a lot of people put too much stuff in their guacamole. Ourselves included. We used to think that we needed all kinds of things – tomato, onion, garlic, jalapeno, etc. – to even think about stirring up a batch of guacamole.

But in recent years, we’ve been using a much simpler recipe. And when we were in Mexico, the best guacamole we’ve ever eaten was made the same way.

Just four ingredients – avocados, cilantro, lime juice and salt – is really all you need. Some 4 ingredient recipes call for garlic instead of cilantro, but we think that cilantro is a more important flavor here. Other recipes call for store-bought pico de gallo or salsa as “one” ingredient, but come on, that’s cheating.

We don’t need to cheat. Just good ingredients, in the right ratio, combined properly. Try it and see how good simple can be.

What You’ll Need For This 4 Ingredient Guacamole Recipe

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• ripe avocados – the foundation of any good guacamole, of course. They should give slightly when gently squeezed when they’re ripe.
• fresh cilantro – adds a bright, herbaceous note that pairs perfectly with the avocado in this easy guacamole recipe.
• lime juice – adds a bright acidic flavor that is needed to balance the richness of the avocados. You’ll need 2 tablespoons, which is about the juice from one good lime or two crappy ones. Lemon juice works in a pinch.
• kosher salt – brings out the best flavors in the other three ingredients in this homemade guacamole recipe. Feel free to add a pinch of pepper if you want, but it’s not required.

How To Make This Simple Guacamole Recipe

1. PREP. Pit the avocados and scoop the avocado flesh into a bowl. Chop the cilantro REALLY well. We don’t need any big leaves in our guac.

2. MASH. Mash the avocado to your desired consistency. Chunky or smooth – it’s your call!

3. FINISH. Add the cilantro, lime juice and salt and stir until well combined. 

What To Eat With Guacamole

What CAN’T you eat with guacamole, really? Beyond simply eating it right off the spoon, here are some of our favorite pairings:

• TORTILLA CHIPS – of course! Dip with the best store-bought ones you can find or Homemade Tortilla Chips.
• TACOS – Pork And Pineapple Tacos, Best Grilled Fish Tacos, Salmon Tacos or Lamb Tacos.
• FAJITAS – Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas, Instant Pot Steak Fajitas, Fajita Veggies, Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas, or a little of everything on a Fajita Bar.
• ELOTE – an Elote Bar for a party, or a composed Elote Salad side dish.
• OTHER – On top of a Sonoran Hot Dog or our Vegetarian Enchilada Recipe.

How To Keep Guacamole From Turning Brown

Truly, this quick guacamole recipe is best eaten right after you make it. But, if you have leftovers, the best trick we’ve found to prevent browning is a chunk of raw onion.

Place the leftover guac in an airtight container, and then put a chunk of raw onion on top of it. We’ll often use either the crappy outside section of an onion, or the super-strong core area. Either works, and those are the worst parts of the onion anyway, so it doesn’t feel like you’re “wasting” much.

Press a piece of plastic wrap over the onion-topped guac, and then put the lid on the container. This 4 ingredient guacamole recipe should stay fresh-ish in the refrigerator for about 24 hours this way. If there’s still a thin brown layer on top, scrape that off, then give the guac a good stir before serving. Throw the onion chunk away!