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Guacamole is that delicious avocado dip featured at a whole bunch of tex-mex restaurants around the country. Good guacamole is something to remember and rave about later, while bad guacamole is usually still worth eating. However, one ingredient can make some people really HATE your guacamole and that’s cilantro. This no cilantro guacamole recipe uses an alternative to cilantro while still getting that fresh herb taste in there, a win for everyone because it is still wildly delicious. Enjoy!
Why I Love This Recipe?
This guacamole recipe is a great way to avoid using cilantro and still have a delicious dip for your family and/or guests. That one guy who hates cilantro and avoids guacamole because of it will devour this recipe, I promise. It is also really easy to put together and almost impossible to mess up.
“This is the BEST guacamole I have ever tasted!”
Bill Wendling- 2021
Ingredients & Equipment
Cilantro-Free Guacamole Ingredients
- Avocados: These lovely, fatty fruits are the base of our dip and absolutely have to be soft. A bit too soft is okay since we are mashing it anyway. Find properly ripe avocados by gently squeezing them, they should yield a bit, but not a lot. There should be no air pockets under the skin, suggesting an overripe avocado.
- Red Onion: Onion gives a slight tangy spice to the dip, making it so it’s not just a bowlful of avocado. Mince the onion fine to avoid big onion bites. Use green onion if your not a fan of the onion flavor, it is a bit milder.
- Parsley: The secret ingredient to give that fresh herb flavor while avoiding the polarizing cilantro. Mince it to avoid having a big bite of leaves. Fresh is key, I cannot recommend using dried parsley.
- Roma Tomato: Fresh diced Roma tomatoes add some heft to the dip and give you something to chew on. I suggest homegrown when available since they are far superior.
- Jalapeno: Gives a little zip to the guac. Deseed and mince them for a more delicate flavor, or leave the seeds for a much spicier dipping experience!
- Lime Juice: Tart lime juice is quintessential to guacamole in my opinion. I use fresh limes when I can remember to buy them, and I keep lime juice in a bottle when I forget. Should be 2T lime juice either way.
Equipment for Making No Cilantro Guacamole
- Cutting Board: A firm place to chop your vegetables. I use my wood cutting boards for vegetables since they wash off nicely. Wash them thoroughly after this preparation to avoid leftover jalapeno and onion flavors.
- Paring Knife: The best way to cut avocados. A sharp paring knife makes this whole preparation easier, and it is harder to cut yourself with a properly sharp knife, as weird as that sounds.
- Mixing Bowl: A sturdy bowl to combine and mash everything up in. Make sure it big enough to hold everything in the end.
- Masher: Not necessary, but the added heft you can apply with this speeds up the mashing compared to forks. Also, fun to lick off the remnants when you’re done, and a proper way to immobilize a kid for a couple of minutes.
- Cling Wrap: The best way to keep leftover guacamole is to press plastic wrap done onto the top of the dip, sealing out air. It will still turn darker, but only the very top layer.
Preparing the Guacamole
This part is crazy easy, basically just smash everything together and mash. But that’s not super helpful, so below is a more in-depth guide to the preparation:
- Peel the avocados. I have found that inserting a knife vertically into the pit and then slicing it all the way around the middle is the easiest way to cut avocados. It cuts it cleanly in half. Then remove the skin, dice, and toss in the bowl.
- Add the lime juice, sea salt, and Tobasco Sauce, then stir to combine. If you don’t have lime juice, then lemon juice can work in a pinch.
- Chop the onion. I used red onion and it wasn’t overwhelming as sometimes fresh onions can be, and I wouldn’t suggest using white or yellow onions. 1/4 cup of minced onion is plenty, and I tried to get it pretty fine to avoid big bites of onion. If you don’t like the red onion flavor, try green onions since they can be a bit less harsh tasting.
- Stir to combine everything, grab your tortilla chips and dig in!
The Best Guacamole- No Cilantro
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Paring Knife
- Masher
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 3 Avocado medium
- 2 Tbsp Lime Juice 1 lime's worth
- 1 Tbsp Tabasco Sauce
- ½ Tsp Sea Salt
- ¼ Cup Red Onion Minced
- ¼ Cup Parsley Diced
- 1 Roma Tomato Diced
- 1 Jalepeno Seeded and Minced
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
Instructions
- Peel and dice the avocados and toss them in the bowl with lime juice (2T), Tobasco (1T), and sea salt (½t). Mash together until combined.
- Mince the onion (¼c), jalepeno, and garlic (2 cloves) then add to the bowl with the avocado. Dice the tomato and parsley (¼c) and add it as well.
- Stir until well combined. Taste and adjust with salt, lime juice, or spice. Enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe could be made in a blender, but it will probably come out much creamier. I prefer the chunkier style, so I like to chop/mash by hand.
- This recipe should be vegan, gluten-free, and paleo-friendly. Let me know if it’s not.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Fresh cilantro has an interesting flavor all its own, but some people can taste extra flavors in the cilantro and they have a strong, soapy taste. It is very off-putting and explains why those who can taste these extra flavors hate them. It’s a genetic thing, so usually if you can taste them, there is no hope for you to like it. Dig in more Here.
I have read a lot of different ways to store leftover guacamole, but the best way I have found is good old plastic wrap. If you press the cling wrap down onto the guacamole, the fattiness of the dip makes a nice seal with the plastic and keeps air out nicely. The top layer will still darken, but a quick stir will fix that. This method helps solves the problem of the dip drying out, which is really gross.
Yes! You can totally freeze guacamole and it freezes a bit better than avocados. The texture suffers a bit, as with most frozen produce, but the flavor is still there. You can freeze it for up to 3 months without much degradation, but the flavors will start to lose their edges and get a bit bland after that. Thaw frozen guacamole in the fridge for best results.
My kids, like most kids, don’t like spicy foods. So this recipe uses jalapenos without the seeds. It comes out almost not spicy at all, which everyone loves. If you are looking for something with more heat, try these:
-Instead of Tobasco sauce, try a spicier hot sauce. Some hot sauces will add a whole world of burn with a single drop, so add slowly to keep it edible.
-Leave the seeds in the jalapeno to increase the heat level.
-Use a spicier pepper than jalapenos, such as a serrano or cayenne pepper.
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