Cutting-Board Guacamole

This easy "Cutting Board" Guacamole recipe is lightning-fast and absolutely delicious. It's so good, you will wonder why you should ever order it out again.

What is better than a tasty bowl of guac and chips? The problem is that all too often, restaurant guacamole is bland and lacks my favorite ingredients. I always wonder...

"Where's the heat?"

"Do you see any tomatoes in there?"

"I wish it had some cilantro."

"Man, this could use some salt."

Even Chipotle guac, which is OK, is a bit bland in my opinion. Thus was born what, in my mind at least, is the perfect homemade guacamole recipe.

Having a party? Check out my easy to make and amazing tasting popcorn recipes: Homemade Kettle Corn & Movie Theater Popcorn.

Guacamole ingredients

Ingredients below are all personal preference. Each item has a unique flavor profile that permeates the guac, so feel free to add or remove to your liking.

• Ripe avocados (obviously)
• Diced onion and tomato
• Chopped cilantro
• Finely chopped jalepenos
• Juice of lime & splash of vinegar (I love rice vinegar)
• Salt, pepper and cumin

How to make guacamole

You will notice something unique about my process. I do all the cutting, dicing, mashing and mixing on the cutting board. I should have added jiving and wailing, then I could have made it into a song.

All kidding aside, this is a critical hack to share with you. Mashing the avocados is much easier on a board than in a bowl.

Let's talk avocados

First off, you want ripe avocados. At the grocery store, look for avocados that are dark in color rather than vibrant green.

Give it a gentle squeeze. It shouldn't be rock-hard, but it shouldn't be too mushy either. Unfortunately, you never know for sure how good they are until you are home and slice them open...

Removing the seed

"Avocado hand" is actually a thing, so beware.

This condition occurs when people stab themselves in the palm (OUCH) while trying to dig the stone out of an avocado with a knife.

Or when they are otherwise unaware of the location of their fingers/thumb/hand in relation to said knife while trying to prep said avocado.

If you're unsure of how to proceed, simply Google "YouTube prep avocado." Here. I've done it for you.

Here's the way I do it...

Insert your knife and cut around the entire avocado lengthwise. Twist the two halves in opposite directions: they should pull apart, exposing one side with the seed.

Carefully tap your knife blade into the seed so it sticks, twist the knife to loosen, then pull the knife and seed out in one motion. Discard the seed.

Time to scoop out the avocado

Slide a spoon in between the avocado skin and the flesh. Slide the spoon along the skin and scoop all that beautiful goodness onto your cutting board.

Mash on the cutting board

Using a large fork, start mashing until you get the consistency you are looking for.

I prefer some chunks instead of a perfect, uniformly smooth texture.

As you finish mashing each avocado half, scoop it to the edge of the cutting board so you can cut up your other ingredients.

Juice the Lime

I prefer to juice the lime right away over the mashed avocado.

Food science geekery warning! Air is evil when it comes to exposed avocados: it turns the flesh brown through a chemical reaction called oxidation.

Lime juice is a secret weapon that helps keep your guac green. The citric acid lowers the pH of the avocado (makes it more acidic), which slows down the oxidation process.

Dicing the tomatoes and onions

Using the same cutting board, finely dice your onions and tomatoes.

Slide into the mashed avocado when you're done.

Finely chop the jalapeño

I notice Jalapenos come in varying degrees of hotness, with no rhyme or reason. If you know you want it spicy, chop up a Serrano pepper in its place if you feel the jalapeno is too wimpy.

If you like your peppers hot, chop them and add to the guac seeds and all. But if you want your guac mild, seed the peppers first and strip away the membranes.

Slide the chopped pepper into your growing mountain of guacamole goodness on the side of the cutting board.

Chop the cilantro

Chop the cilantro to the size you like and slide it on over so it can join the party. (Not a fan of cilantro? That's genetic. Just leave it out!)

Last, add salt, pepper, cumin and dash of vinegar

Using the mashing fork, I carefully scoop from the bottom and fold all the ingredients together. Do this a few times until well incorporated.

Move to a serving bowl and enjoy! (Or, do like we do and eat it right off the cutting board!)

How to store guacamole

We have all seen it. That ugly brown layer on top of guacamole. Yuck!

How do we avoid that?

Here's what you do:

In your serving or storage bowl, make sure your guac has a smooth flat surface.

Then squeeze lime juice over the top of all of it.

Then, gently place plastic wrap right on top of the guacamole so it is pressed against the entire top surface.

The lime juice acts as glue, making sure there is no air between the plastic wrap and guacamole.

Plus, it does that neat thing with the pH that I mentioned before.

If some wayward air does manage to get in and turn bits of the guac brown, just scrape it off with a spoon and discard.

Then re-mix your guacamole and enjoy.

Other Party Appetizers

Deviled Eggs with Relish
Mini Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese
Michelle's Sweet & Zingy Asian Meatballs
Fiery Mango-Habanero Salsa
Keto Ham Salad Spread
Phil's Taco Dip

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Final thoughts

This Guacamole recipe is per avocado: that way, it's easy to scale up as needed.

One avocado makes enough for me and Phil to polish off.

I hope your family enjoys our "cutting board" Guacamole recipe. Or, impress everyone at your next potluck by making this in person!

For more potluck/cookout inspiration, check out Memorial Day Recipes 2021 (or, if you're still distancing because of COVID, try my Virtual Memorial Day Potluck Recipes Roundup). If you're looking for more Latin American-inspired recipe ideas, check out my Mexican-Inspired Recipes for Cinco de Mayo!

Stay safe. Stay well.

—xoxo Michelle

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Related

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Salsa Verde: a fresh, vibrant salsa made with charred tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeños, and onions. Perfect for eating with chips, on meat, with tacos—you get the point!

Fiery Mango-Habanero Salsa: Vibrant, Fiery Mango-Habanero Salsa is perfect served with tortilla chips or as a garnish for fish and meats. Using flash-frozen mango chunks not only simplifies the prep, but it also means that you can enjoy this salsa any time of year!