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Lime-Cilantro Guacamole

This classic guacamole stays bright and chunky by seasoning avocado early, folding the fresh additions gently, and tasting with the chip that will carry it.

Chunky green guacamole with tomato, white onion, and cilantro sits in a rustic bowl beside tortilla chips.

Good guacamole is less about a long ingredient list than the condition of the avocados and a light hand with the mash. Lime and salt go in before the flesh can oxidize, while tomato, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño are folded through only after a chunky base is established.

Serving the dip with tortilla chips makes the final taste especially useful: the chip contributes salt and crunch, helping you judge brightness and heat in the way guests will eat it.

Choose fruit with a gentle give

Ripe avocados should yield to a broad, gentle squeeze, not collapse under a fingertip. Avoid deeply sunken patches, which often signal bruised flesh, and mash just enough to bind the pieces together without losing their variation.

Season before you mash

Lime juice and salt reach more avocado when they are added to the freshly scooped flesh. That early coating gives the dip a clean, seasoned foundation and slows surface discoloration while the remaining ingredients are prepared.

A fork mashes lime-seasoned avocado into a chunky base in a ceramic bowl before vegetables are folded in. — Fork-mashed avocado keeps visible chunks before the vegetables are folded through.

Add chile in stages

The heat of a jalapeño is unpredictable, even within the same batch. Starting with half lets the avocado, lime, and salt set the flavor first, then allows more chile to be added only if the finished dip needs it.

Serve fresh, store close

Bring the guacamole to the table as soon as it is seasoned, with tortilla chips alongside. If it must wait briefly, press plastic wrap directly against the surface so the air cannot create a gray-brown layer on top.

A close view of creamy avocado chunks mixed with tomato, white onion, cilantro, and jalapeño in finished guacamole. — Chunks of avocado, tomato, cilantro, and onion show the dip's fresh texture.

Lime-Cilantro Guacamole

6 servings

15 minutes total

Ingredients

• 3 large ripe Hass avocados
• 1 medium lime, juiced
• 1/3 cup finely diced white onion
• 1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely minced
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 small Roma tomato, seeded and diced
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• Tortilla chips, for serving

Method

Choose and halve avocados
Choose avocados that yield gently to even palm pressure without soft sunken spots, then halve them, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh into a medium bowl.
Look for: Ripe avocados give slightly but do not feel mushy or hollow.
Add lime and salt
Pour the lime juice over the avocado flesh and sprinkle in the kosher salt, coating the cut avocado before it has time to darken.
Look for: The avocado is glossy with lime juice and the salt is evenly scattered.
Mash to a chunky base
Use a fork or potato masher to mash the avocado until mostly cohesive while leaving visible pea-sized and larger pieces for a chunky texture.
Look for: The mixture holds together but still has distinct avocado pieces.
Prepare the jalapeño
Seed and finely mince the jalapeño, then stir in only half of the minced jalapeño at first so the heat can be adjusted after tasting.
Look for: The jalapeño is minced into small, even pieces with no large seed clusters.
Fold in fresh ingredients
Seed and dice the tomato, then fold the white onion, cilantro, diced tomato, and initial jalapeño into the mashed avocado with a spatula, using a few gentle strokes to keep the tomato intact.
Look for: The vegetables are evenly distributed and the guacamole remains chunky rather than smooth.
Taste and adjust
Taste with a tortilla chip, then fold in the remaining jalapeño if desired and adjust the salt or lime juice until the flavor tastes bright, savory, and balanced.
Look for: The guacamole tastes lively against the salty chip and the heat is comfortable.
Serve or store briefly
Serve the guacamole immediately with tortilla chips, or press plastic wrap directly onto its surface and refrigerate for short-term storage to limit browning.
Look for: No air pockets remain between the guacamole surface and the wrap.