Quick and Easy Chunky Guacamole

Avocado is one of the candida diet superfoods that you absolutely should be stocking up in your pantry. It's filling, delicious and adds bulk to any meal. Up your avocado game instantly with my quick and easy chunky guacamole recipe. It's fresh, creamy, and crunchy and will elevate any lunch or snack. It's so simple to prepare and only needs five main ingredients.

I have never enjoyed shop-bought guacamole, it just tastes greasy and underwhelming to me, so I steer well clear. Particularly as many pre-packaged versions pad the ingredients out with milk, cream, oils and sugar. Homemade guacamole on the other hand – just wow - it can turn even the blandest meal into a showstopper!

Jump to:

• 💕 Why This Recipe is Amazing
• 📋 Main Ingredients
• 🥑 How to Check if an Avocado is Ripe
• 🥑 How to Make Avocados Ripen More or Less Quickly
• 🥑 How to Store Guacamole
• 🍽 Serving Suggestions
• Quick and Easy Chunky Guacamole

💕 Why This Recipe is Amazing

I love this recipe because it tastes like you have spent so much time and effort on a dish and yet it takes only a few minutes to throw together and with the simplest ingredients as well!

This guacamole is super easy to make and is packed with flavour. It's perfect for a quick snack or a party appetizer. You can make it as chunky as you like, based on how finely you chop the pepper and mash the avocado. Because we are aiming for a chunky recipe here, I would also recommend avoiding the use of a food processor.

📋 Main Ingredients

Avocado

The secret to amazing guacamole every time? A perfectly ripe avocado. Guacamole is only as good as the superstar ingredient. How do you know when an avocado is perfectly ripe? It should be firm but effortlessly soft when pressed. I’ve listed more tips on finding the perfect avocado further in this post.

Red Pepper

Now I know authentic guacamole is usually made with tomato but hear me out. The first time I tried homemade guacamole with peppers instead of tomato was when my aunt made a batch at a family event. After that I was a total convert. No more soft, watery guacamole, just deliciously crunchy, sweet pearls of pepper that stand out beautifully from the green of the avocados.

Regular red bell pepper will absolutely work in this recipe, however, if you are looking to impress, then it’s worth shopping for sweet pointed red peppers. As the name suggest they have a sweeter more intense flavour and have a slightly thinner flesh making them less juicy when chopped finely.

Onion

Onion is another important flavour dimension to add to your guacamole. You can use white or red onion with success – I like the subtle freshness and convenience of the spring onion, however.

Lime Juice

Although lemon juice is a possible substitution, you just won’t get that authentic Mexican flavour without the addition of lime. And it goes without saying that it must be fresh and not bottled!

Coriander

The final piece of the puzzle is coriander. Coriander is a staple in Mexican cuisine, and an absolute must for a coriander lover such as myself. Although I know this humble herb does have the reputation of being a little divisive. And so, if you must (sigh), feel free to substitute for fresh flat leaf parsley. I know it’s a pain but opt for fresh over dried and you won’t regret it.

To spice or not to spice? This is completely a personal choice. I like to keep the guacamole spice-free so that it is more versatile and a crowd pleaser, but being a spice love myself, I will keep crushed red pepper flakes on hand to sprinkle over my individual portion as the mood takes me.

🥑 How to Check if an Avocado is Ripe

There are few things more satisfying than slicing through a flawlessly green, soft avocado. It’s enough to make your mouth water in an instant! Here are my tips for shopping for, checking and storing your avocados to make sure that they’re perfect (nearly) every time!

When buying avocados in the first place, try and make sure the end of the stem is still visible. If this was missing when you purchased it, chances are it will already have started to go brown, as the tight seal around the avocado will have been broken. If the skin is extremely soft to the touch, it is likely that the flesh has already started to turn brown.

When you are checking for softness, try not to overdo it and press all over the avocado as you are potentially bruising what would have been tomorrow’s perfectly good avocado.

Depending on the type of avocado species, the skin colour can also give you an indication of its ripeness. The most common avocado you’ll find in UK supermarkets is the Hass variety. When this type of avocado is ripe, it will turn from dark green to an almost black colour.

🥑 How to Make Avocados Ripen More or Less Quickly

If you are desperate for some guacamole but your avocados are not ripe yet, there is a way you can hurry things along. You can speed up the ripening of an avocado by placing them at room temperature wrapped in a dish towel with a banana or apple.

If you think your avocado is already at perfect ripeness days before you were planning on making the guacamole, pop them in the fridge to slow down the ripening process. This can usually give you up to a week of perfect ripeness.

You can freeze avocados pre-sliced and peeled or even whole (skin and all). However, note that the texture may change slightly. So, if possible, try and stick to fresh for the best chunky guacamole recipe.

🥑 How to Store Guacamole

Firstly, you want your avocados to be as fresh as possible, so ideally you want to slice them up just before you plan on enjoying your guac. If that’s not possible because you want to meal prep, however, then the next best thing is to prep the sliced and peeled avocados in advance and keep them fresh instead.

An avocado turns brown in a chemical reaction with the oxygen in the air called oxidation. To slow down this reaction you have two options. Firstly, you can use an acid such as lemon or lime juice to coat the avocado flesh. This acts as a protective antioxidant. The second option is to submerge the avocado in water, essentially blocking the avocado from the air and the oxygen as a result.

Here are some more tips to keep your guacamole as fresh as possible once it’s been made:

• Ensure that the avocado is combined with the lime juice as quickly as possible to minimise oxidation.
• Add a layer of water to the top of the guacamole to further seal out the air.
• Store in an airtight container for up to two days.
• Finally, do not add the spring onions and fresh coriander until you plan on serving the guac. By adding this last it will further freshen up the dip for when you do want to eat it.

Although a popular tip is to reserve the avocado stone and store that in your finished guacamole, however, all this does is to keep the area of guac touching the stone from being exposed to the air.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

My all time favourite way to enjoy this guacamole is served on top of crunchy toast. It can absolutely transform a simple avo and eggs breakfast and lunch.

Here is the best gluten free bread to use for the toast: Gluten Free Super Seed and Nut Bread.

Another great combo is to scoop up the guacamole with some crackers. I love this light and crispy chia seed cracker recipe.

So there you have it, a quick and easy chunky guacamole recipe that you can use as a dip, spread or side for a number of tasty meals.

Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Be sure to rate and leave a comment below, and tag @anti_candida_kitchen on Instagram with the hashtag #anticandidakitchen. Happy cooking!