Authentic Mexican Holy Guacamole is a healthy Chipotle-style guacamoles appetizer, snack, or topping made with avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro.

While most of us know that guacamoles are deliciously creamy and green, that’s where our understanding of the appetizer, snack, and topping stops. In this recipe and article, we’re going to dip deep to explore precisely how to make authentic guacamole from scratch.

What is Mexican Guacamoles?

Guacamole or guac, for short, is a Spanish word that roughly translated means avocado sauce. Here in the states, guacamole is a trendy appetizer, snack, or topping commonly paired with fried corn chips. 

On food-centered and widely celebrated days like Super Bowl Sunday and Cinco de Mayo, avocados can be hard to find, thanks to mounds and mounds of gorgeous green guac being whipped up in nearly every corner of the United States.

Chipotle Mexican Grill also made guacamole a household topping!

Is Guacamole Good for You—Is Guacamole Healthy?

Guacamole with cilantro and tomatoes is a terrifically good-for-you kind of food! Yes, it does have its fair share of fat and calories, but fat from avocado, the main ingredient in guacamole, is a heart-healthy fat!

As an appetizer or topping, guacamole is a dish that packs impressive health benefits. In guacamole, the avocados make it a significantly nutrient-dense condiment from its heart-healthy monounsaturated fats to digestion aiding fiber. Avocados also have plenty of potassium. Potassium is an essential nutrient beneficial in regulating blood pressure and balancing fluids in the body.

So, long nutrition story short, yes, yes, yes—our authentic Mexican holy guacamole is a crazy healthy food!

What Goes Well with Guacamole? 

Guacamole is lovely all on its own as a snack dip to go with veggies or chips. It’s also wonderful to use as an alternative to mayo as a spread on a wrap or sandwich. Guacamole is also an excellent topping for chili or used as a creamy dressing to toss into your favorite chopped salad.

Healthy Good Foods to Dip in Authentic Guacamole: 

• Celery pairs beautifully with guac because it’s naturally salty and super crisp, which is a nice texture to pair with creamy Chipotle-style guacamole.
• Sweet bell peppers are also crunchy, and they’re available in such appealing colors, which make them especially inviting.
• Cherry tomatoes stuffed with guacamole taste so good they’re hard to stop eating—and makes a lovely gluten-free appetizer, too.
• Homemade baked, oil-free tortilla chips are easy to make, and they’re an excellent way to enjoy your healthy guacamole without adding unhealthy refined oils to the mix, which is used to make most store-bought corn chips.
• Store-bought corn tortilla chips are, of course, another snacking option. There are all sorts of healthier varieties of tortilla chips on the market. When we use store-bought chips, we look for ones made with organic, non-GMO corn.

Does Authentic Guacamole Have Tomatoes or Cilantro?

Whether or not tomatoes or cilantro belong in guac is a very personal question.  Do we know each other well enough to dive into such a dicey subject?

Some think that tomatoes in guac are there to stretch out the ingredients and make the avocado go a little further.

To me, tomatoes give guac a refreshing little pop—a juicy relief bite amidst all of the creaminess, if you will.

And it’s important to note that while some of us adore cilantro and put it on anything and everything, some do not!

Some folks describe cilantro as tasting like soap. To me, cilantro tastes like a cool breeze, similar to mint yet not minty at all. I find it refreshing, even cleansing, in a way. So, adding a fresh herb like cilantro to your guac, to me, is a very good thing.

So, by all means, try some guacamole with cilantro and tomatoes!

Popular Guacamole Ingredients and Add-Ins

The following is a list of the most common ingredients in guacamole. And while this list of ingredients is excellent, do know that there is nothing wrong with mashing an avocado, sprinkling it with salt, and calling it guac!

Happily, there is more than one path to making satisfying guacamoles—guacamole like they make at popular food chains, like Chipotle guacamole, is just one option.

• avocado
• tomato
• lime
• onion
• cilantro
• cumin
• coriander
• jalapeño
• salt
• cayenne
• black pepper
• salsa

How To Tell if an Avocado is Ripe and Ready to Eat

Generally speaking, to tell if an avocado is ripe and ready to eat, gently press the stem end. If there is a slight amount of tenderness, slice that baby open and enjoy!

Try to avoid squeezing other areas of the avocado since excessive pressing causes unappetizing bruising. To resist the urge to press on your avocados to check for ripeness, you may also learn to tell ripeness based on color.

Here is a link with a helpful chart to illustrate how to tell the various avocado ripeness stages.

How To Make Guacamole That Doesn’t Turn Brown

If you’ve ever sliced avocado and tried to save a portion of it to enjoy later, you’re well aware that air is the enemy of its lovely green coloring.

When making authentic Mexican guacamole from scratch, I have noticed that lime juice works wonders in maintaining a fresh green color. I use lime juice, but a little squeeze of lemon, orange, or grapefruit juice would most likely do the trick.

How to Store Guacamole  

Another way to prevent browning beyond the citrus juice method mentioned above, you can extend the life of the lovely green color by covering the guacamole’s surface with a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap.

Once the guacamole surface is under the film of paper, store your guac in an airtight container in the fridge.

How to Freeze Authentic Mexican Guacamole

And if you ever find yourself with too many ripe avocados at once, don’t panic—you’ve got options!

Contrary to what I had always thought to be accurate, it is possible to make a big batch of this guacamole ahead and freeze it! Imagine how handy it is to have guacamole ready to go to use as an appetizer, snack, or topping.

My method is to smash the avocado with salt and lime and powdered seasoning in large freezer bags. A little bit of extra lime juice with this freezer method helps prevent it from discoloring. I leave out the tomatoes and other fresh ingredients when freezing—I add those just before serving.

Being sure to remove any air from the bag also helps the guac keep its color. And when you squeeze out the air, smoosh the guac flat so that you can easily stack multiple bags—to make the most of your freezer space!

When you’re ready to eat your frozen guac, thaw it in the fridge overnight or submerge the sealed bag in room temperature water. Resist the urge to use hot water to soften—it melts quickly.

Top These 12 Plant-Based and Oil-Free Faves with Avocado Guacamole!

My family and I try to eat a bit of avocado every single day to be sure to gleam its many attractive health benefits. Here are a few dishes where we commonly add a few slices of fresh avocado or awesome guac!

• Pumpkin Seed Veggie Burgers
• Vegan Apple Sausage Sandwiches
• Easy Vegan Tofu Egg Salad Sandwich
• 1-Pot Enchilada Lentil Rice
• Collard Wrap Salad Bowl
• Green Veggie Sandwich with Cucumber, Sprouts & Avocado
• 20-Minute Sun-Dried Tomato Mango Soup
• Buffalo Tortilla Tofu Bowl
• Instant Pot Black Bean Soup 3 Ways!
• Vegan Buffalo Tofu Tacos with Blue Cheese Dressing
• Aloo Matar (Easy Pea Potato Curry)
• Vegan Tofu Kale Salad

Thank You for Your Interest in Our Recipes!

We know that making intentional healthy choices about what to eat is a way of life, and we’re so glad you’re here.

Let’s remind each other often and endlessly that plant-based living is deliciously doable. And let’s be generous and share recipes and methods along the way.

And the next time you’re in line at Chipotle Mexican Grill, think of us when you order that gorgeous side of guacamole.

By the way, feel free to think of us anytime—especially when you’re getting ready to dive into a satisfying batch of holy guacamole!

Happy eating!