This Chimichurri Guacamole recipe is brought to you by The Whole Smiths. It’s the best guacamole you’re going to have. Period. It pairs perfectly with traditional tortilla chips or equally delicious with veggies and beef jerky for those of you following a Whole30 or keto diet.
Chimichurri Guacamole
Ahh, guacamole. The darling of Instagram. As someone who is regularly posting content to Instagram it’s no joke that if you add an avocado to a post you instantly double your likes. Guacamole? Triple. Put it on toast? You’ve pretty much broke the internet. It’s a testament to just how much we love our avocados.
And what’s not to like? Avocados are one of the tastiest, nutrient dense foods out there.They’re a great source of vitamins C, E, K, and B-6. No to mention nutrients like riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, and potassium.
And we can’t forget about the loads of healthy fats and omega-3 fatty acids.
Growing up we had a giant, I mean GIANT, avocado tree in our backyard. And as any child would do, I took it for granted. I mean, we had SO.MANY avocados on that tree we couldn’t keep up. They’d fall to the ground to our dogs to feed on no matter how hard we tried to keep up.
As a kid, I didn’t even like avocados so I couldn’t have cared less. I wasn’t dreaming up recipes like my Chimichurri Salmon Tacos to add avocados to. I tell ya, if I had that tree in our yard now my kids would be on the corner selling those precious
gems. We could be paying our mortgage with the profits!
I digress, avocados are the shit no matter what diet you follow; Vegan, vegetarian, paleo, keto, Whole30, gluten-free. Whatever! Everyone loves an avocado.
Now that we have that firmly established. Let’s talk about how to make the perfect guacamole, shall we?
I first created this recipe with my friends at The New Primal for a football campaign we did with Whole Foods Market and Topo Chico. You can visit the original post of recipes HERE.
I recently realized however that this Chimichurri Guacamole was so delicious that it needed it’s very own post.
Let’s start with the avocado itself, shall we?
How to pick the perfect avocado:
There’s definitely an art to picking the perfect avocado for your guacamole. Ideally, your grocery store will have a selection of avocados available at different stages of ripeness for you to choose from. But that’s not always the case now, is it?
In a perfect world, you will want an avocado that has a dark shade, as opposed to bright green. It should also be soft to the touch.
You don’t want it to feel mushy but a hard avocado isn’t going to give you a mouthwatering guacamole. Go for the softer ones versus the harder ones.
The nice thing about making guacamole is that you can err on the side of overripe and still have a delicious guacamole. So even if it seems like it’s a bit too soft it will probably give you a great guac anyhow.
How to ripen hard avocados quickly:
If you have the unfortunate luck of having nothing but hard, green avocados to select from, never fear. There’s a couple of tips you can do to expedite your avocado ripening.
First off, store them in a paper bag. There’s something about the gases being released being trapped in the bag that expedites the process. Actually. I don’t know if that’s really why it works, but it sounds good.
I didn’t care much for since in college so you’re just going to have to trust me that it works. And if you put a banana in the bag it makes it ripen even faster.
If you find yourself with a hard avocado you’ll want to plan your guacamole for about 2 to 3 days out, that’s when you can plan to have ripened avocados.
It’s always a good idea to scope the avocados out before you’re going to need them. There’s nothing worse than going to the grocery store for an avocado you need that day to find there are no ripe avocados. Plan ahead!
I find texture is everything when it comes to guacamole. We love using a molcajete to mash our avocado but you can of course use a regular old fork.
But it’s certainly not as fun. Personally, I don’t like overly creamy guacamole, I prefer my guacamole to have some texture. But I don’t want it too chunky that cubes of avocado are falling off my chip, you feeling me? Finding that perfect in-between is key.
Respecting the texture of the other ingredients is important as well. I like making sure to get a perfect mash on my avocado (and salt) and then fold in the other pre-chopped ingredients. This ensures that your guacamole will have a variety of texture other than “mush”.
For example, tomatoes are a delicate fruit and can easily be macerated. It’s much more flavorful to have your tomatoes intact and have bursts of tomato flavor coming through your bite.
Ways to enjoy this Chimichurri Guacamole:
Guacamole isn’t just for corn tortilla chips. As I mentioned, this recipe was created to be able to dip The New Primal’s Beef Thins into it. Because chimichurri and beef go together like pumpkin spice and lattes it was a natural fit to put the two together.
The herbs from the chimichurri pair up perfectly against the cool avocado. And hot, DAMN! If you haven’t dipped beef jerky into guacamole you aren’t living life to it’s fullest. You must try it.
I also love dipping sliced bell peppers and cucumbers into my guacamole. It really is perfect when you’re on a Whole30 or sticking to keto guidelines. The great thing about it is, you’ll feel satiated without feeling bloated. It’s a win-win.
FAQ
I don’t like cilantro, can I use other herbs?
Yes! You can use parsley in its place. For a totally different taste feel free experimenting with basil, it will give you more of a pesto flavored guacamole.
I’m doing a Whole30 – what are some other things I can dip into my guacamole.
As I mentioned, beef jerky is an excellent choice. But some other ideas include jicama, rotisserie chicken strips, Roasted Sweet Potato Chips or fried plantains.
Tips for making this Chimichurri Guacamole recipe:
- Always mash your avocado prior to adding the ingredients. You want ingredients like tomatoes to keep its shape and not get all mushed up.
- If you want a quick guacamole and don’t want to follow this recipe (you crazy girl) a simple way to make last-minute guacamole is to mash your avocado with some salt and fold in your favorite salsa.
- Hold on to your avocado pit to store any unused guacamole. Simply place the pit along with the guacamole into an airtight container and store refrigerated.
- Add unexpected flavors to your guacamole for added flavor. Things like pepitas, pinenuts and bacon are delicious!
Chimichurri Guacamole
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup chopped red onion about 1/4 of a medium sized onion
- 1/4 chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 lime
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 jalapeño deseeded and finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 avocados
Instructions
- Combine the cilantro, red onion, parsley, juice from 1/2 of the lime, garlic, jalapeño, red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon of salt into a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the avocado to a larger bowl and mash into a chunky consistency. Add about 2/3 of the chimichurri mix into the avocado along with the juice from the remaining half of lime and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine well.
- Add the olive oil to the remaining 1/3 of the chimichurri mix and stir to combine. Pour the chimichurri sauce over top of the guacamole and serve.
Notes
- Always mash your avocado prior to adding the ingredients. You want ingredients like tomatoes
to keep its shape and not get all mushed up. - If you want a quick guacamole and don’t want to follow this recipe (you crazy girl) a simple way
to make last-minute guacamole is to mash your avocado with some salt and fold in your
favorite salsa. - Hold on to your avocado pit to store any unused guacamole. Simply place the pit along with the guacamole into an airtight container and store refrigerated.
- Add unexpected flavors to your guacamole for added flavor. Things like pepitas, pinenuts and bacon are delicious!
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