Home - Appetizers - Naked Guacamole with Lime (3 Ingredients)

Naked Guacamole with Lime (3 Ingredients)

5 from 5 community reviews

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Make the best guacamole, stripped down to the essentials — all you need are three ingredients (not including the tortilla chips). This is my go-to basic guac!

A bowl of smashed avocado dip with tortilla chips and lime on the side.

Searching for that perfect super-easy guacamole recipe? This is the one! The truth is that delicious, authentic guacamole is one of my appetizer and snack recipes that’s effortless to prep.

What you need to make guacamole

You only need three ingredients to make great tasting, basic guacamole. That’s why I like to call it “naked.”

  1. Avocados
  2. Lime juice
  3. Salt

That’s it. In fact, the hardest part about making a batch of guac might be getting your hands on ripe avocados. Because you can’t mash avocados when they’re unripe and hard as a rock, not to mention that they won’t taste very good.

Ripe and guac-ready avocados

There are two foolproof ways to tell when an avocado is ripe and ready:

  • Color: The outside of the avocado should be very dark green, almost but-not-quite black.
  • Feel: Give the avocado a gentle press up near the stem end. A ready-to-eat avocado will give slightly, like pressing on the palm of your hand.

Unfortunately (and sometimes, tragically), you can’t really hasten the ripening process. However, some markets will have ripe, ready and almost over-the-hill avocados in the back — ask your friendly produce manager.

A bowl of chunky guacamole on a serving platter with tortilla chips, lime wedges and salt.

Optional add-ins:

While purists may agree that guacamole needn’t contain anything more than avocado, lime and salt, many others like to jazz it up. I’m okay with that, within reason. Here are some simple ingredients to add to guacamole:

  • Finely chopped red onion
  • Chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • Sliced or finely chopped hot green chili, like a jalapeño or serrano.
  • Tomato. I believe adding tomato to guac crosses the line, turning a perfect, classic dip into salad. But it’s your call 🙂

Storing guacamole

People like to say that saving the avocado pit and sticking it in the bowl slows the guac from turning brown. But according to science, it doesn’t really work.

  • It’s better to serve guacamole within one day of making it. To keep it fresh, squeeze a few more drops of lime juice over the top and cover tightly with plastic.

Serve your perfect, easy guacamole as a dip with chips or try:

A bowl of avocado guacamole in a bowl, with tortilla chips, lime wedges and salt next to it.

Naked Guacamole (3 Ingredients)

Karen Tedesco
This is the simplest, best-tasting homemade guacamole. It's easy to make with just three ingredients. Grab some avocados, fresh limes, and salt. Have a party!
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5 from 5 community reviews
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 (510 g) ripe avocados, halved and pitted
  • Freshly grated zest from 1 lime
  • 2-3 tablespoons (45 ml) fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • Fine sea salt

Instructions 

  • Scoop the flesh from the avocados with a spoon into a bowl.
  • Add the lime zest, 2 tablespoons lime juice and ½ teaspoon salt.
  • Press down gently on the avocado mixture with a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon until it’s creamy with some visible chunks.
  • Taste for seasoning. Add more lime juice and salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips, spread on toast and sandwiches, or spooned into tacos.

Karen’s Notes and Tips

  • Use ripe Hass avocados in this recipe. It’s usually the variety you’ll find in most markets and grocery stores.
  • Don’t be shy about adding salt. It works magic with the fatty avocado and the bright acidity in the lime juice.
  • Serve within one day for best quality.
  • To keep it fresh, squeeze a few more drops of lime juice over the top and cover tightly with plastic.

Add in options:

  • Finely chopped red onion
  • Chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • Sliced or finely chopped hot green chili, like a jalapeño or serrano
  • Chopped tomato

Nutrition

Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 366mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

Recipe developer Karen Tedesco of the popular website Familystyle Food in her kitchen making a kale salad.

Hey, I’m Karen

Creator of Familystyle Food

I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.

5 from 5 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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3 Comments

  1. Christine says:

    Making guacamole always seemed a hit or miss for me. Add onion? Add cilantro? Add tomato? None of these flavors seemed to elevate the avocado. But this is perfect. Lovely avocados, salt, and lime. ?perfection.