Finally, How to Make Perfect Guacamole at Home: A Step-by-Step Guide

Get the Right Avocados Picking the perfect avocado can be tricky, but it’s the most important step in making "perfect guacamole." You don’t want to choose avocados that are too hard or too soft (as they could be rotten inside). Give your chosen avocado a good squeeze at the supermarket and make sure the skin is dark – which means it is ripe and ready to be eaten. Two avocados will make enough guacamole to serve four people, so make sure to get enough depending on how many people you will be hosting. If you're planning ahead, and aren’t making your guac for a few days, grab avocados that are hard and have green skin. Leave your avocados out for about 5 days in 45–50 degree weather so they become soft and creamy, and ready to be mashed.

Extract the Pit Take your two soft avocados and split them in half with a knife. To extract the pit, take a knife and make a hard chop down into the center of the pit. The knife should stick to the pit and help pull it out easily. Scoop the avocado out of the skin with a spoon, and put into a large bowl.

Chop, Chop Next, chop up the avocados with a masher or a fork to make sure they're fully mashed before you start adding the ingredients. The softer the consistency the better, so it isn’t tough to mix in the rest of the ingredients later. For a more creamy consistency, mash until there are no lumps of avocado left in the bowl. (We recommend leaving a few lumps so each bite of guacamole has a heartier taste.)

Season Away Add all of the ingredients below to the mashed-up avocado: 2 tsps. chopped cilantro 1 tsp. chopped red onion ½ teaspoon chopped chile pepper Freshly squeezed lime juice from ½ of a lime (preferably sweet limes from Veracruz, Mexico, as to not add too much citrus or sour) Black pepper –— just a pinch unless you're a big black pepper fan Salt — just a pinch Fresh chopped garlic — again, just a pinch (you don’t want to taste the garlic too much)

Incorporate Ingredients After all of your ingredients are in the bowl, mix them up with a spoon. Do this for a few minutes or until your guacamole is evenly mixed.

Shake Things Up Now's the fun part: Add any additional ingredients or toppings you would like. Depending on the taste you're going for, you can add mango for a sweeter taste, bacon-lovers can add crispy bacon, or for additional spice, add habanero chilies. If you are looking for something more on the mild side, add corn or tomatoes — or add any additional toppings based on what you and your guests prefer! Mix the extra ingredients in with your guacamole to make sure they are evenly dispersed throughout.

Perfect Presentation Once you're done adding all of your toppings, put the guacamole in large molcajete bowl or a few smaller molcajete bowls for personal servings.

Add One Final Thing You should top off your guacamole with a bit of the additional ingredients you added earier — such as bacon or mango — to give diners a taste of what they can expect inside the guacamole.

Get Ready to Feast This guacamole serves up to four, so grab your chips and enjoy with friends or family!