Easy and Damned Delicious Paleo Guacamole

A simple and traditional guacamole recipe for your next taco night. This paleo guacamole is grain free, dairy free, and lip-smacking delicious. We have to make a double batch in our house when we make it - the 5 year old guacamole monster eats it all if we don't!

I love guacamole. Unfortunately, so does my kid, so every time I make it, most of it is gone before I can blink. He scoops up an unreasonable amount onto one chip and eats it all in a single bite.

But really, at the end of the day, he's plowing fruit, vegetables, herbs, and healthy fats, so I've decided instead of giving him a hard time about it to just make double the guac.

That way there's enough for everyone. If he's going to get excited about healthy food, I'm going to let him!

Ingredients for the best paleo guacamole ever

The basic ingredients of guacamole, in general, are paleo. That said, I've seen some crazy things added to guac in the past. As long as there's not cheese (dairy) or corn (grain) added, you're usually pretty safe.

But this recipe is my tried and true, that I make usually about once a week. It is grain free, dairy free, and damned delicious.

I keep my guacamole ingredients simple. This recipe includes avocado, roma tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, lime, and salt.

Yep, that's it!

(Psst. The secret is in getting the lime juice and salt juuuuust right. Stick around, I'll tell you how.)

How to make paleo guacamole

Unpopular opinion: cilantro stems belong in guacamole.

Ok, listen. I'm not talking about the really thick, woody main stems. I'm talking about the little ones that attach the leaves to the main stem.

You do not need to hand pluck each leaf. Honestly, your guac will be better if you don't.

But let's back up and start at the beginning. I start with my tomato and my onion.

Quarter your Roma tomato and take the pulp and seeds out. You only want the thick outer part for this recipe. Dice it up into small squares and set aside.

Dice up your red onion. If your onion is strong and is making you cry, you can put it in the freezer for a few minutes or in the fridge the night before. It will tamper down on the enzymes that make it so potent.

I also like this because it can keep the red onion from overwhelming the entire thing, and keeping it in its place. Red onions can get so bossy and feel like they're in charge of an entire dish sometimes. I mean, honestly.

Keep in mind that the amount of onion I have pictured here is too much onion. I like to slice or dice up a whole or half onion at a time and store the rest in the fridge for later use. The less crying episodes I have, the better! If you struggle with onions, check out my post on how to cut an onion the easy way here.

Set those guys aside. Now, for the cilantro. Don't waste your time plucking leaves! Just grab the top of the bunch with your hand and yank off a big handful. Pull out any of the big/main stems that came with it, and rough chop what you've got. Just roll with me here.

Here are the stems you do want, and the stems you don't want:

Empty your avocados into the bowl. Smash them up a bit with the back of a fork - I like leaving some chunks in there for texture. If you prefer it smooth, keep going until you have your desired consistency, keeping in mind that it's going to get a bit smoother when you continue to mix in additional ingredients.

Add your tomato and onion to the bowl. Stir.

Add your cilantro to the bowl. Grab your lime and your zester, and get zesting. You want as much of the zest from a full lime as possible. Then, cut the lime in half, stab it a couple times for outlets, and squeeze it until you can't get any more juice out into the bowl.

(Outlets? It sounded right in my head. You know what I mean. Holes for the juice to come out of.)

Sprinkle in a healthy pinch of salt and give the whole thing another stir.

How to cut an avocado

There are like 1853 tools out there to help you with your avocado. Honestly, you really only need a knife!

Just cut all the way around the avocado, pressing the knife into the pit as you go around. Make sure your knife is sharp! Dull knives make accidents.

Put the knife down, twist the avocado, and pull the two halves apart. Squeeze the half with no pit into the bowl.

Now, you have 2 choices here. You can squeeze the second half into the bowl and just fish out the pit (safer way). Or, you can take your knife, whack the pit with the blade until it sticks in, then pull the knife out and the pit will be on it.

Give it another full whack on the side of the trash can and the pit will fall off the knife and into the trash!

What to serve with paleo guacamole

Ok, so we can use this as a traditional dip, and serve it with some raw veggies or some paleo chips. (My favorite paleo chips for guacamole are the Siete brand!) Plantain chips can also work really well here.

What about some non-traditional serving suggestions? This guac is great on a burger salad, or could be dolloped on top of a fried egg for breakfast. 🍳

Want to add some protein? Reduce the salt a bit and add some crumbled bacon! 🥓

Or, serve it as a trio with Pico de Gallo and Cranberry Orange Salsa. Mmmm.

How to prep guacamole

If you want to have your ingredients ready to go, you can chop your tomato, onion, and cilantro ahead of time.

Store them in plastic bags, and add a damp paper towel to the cilantro bag to keep it from drying out.

Then, when you're ready to make your guac, scoop your avocados, dump these guys in, zest your lime, juice your lime, and stir!

Recipe Notes

• Don't forget to taste test. Number one kitchen rule that I always tell Slater - you can always put more in, you can't take it out. Use that rule with your lime and salt.
• Remember that salt enhances flavor - it's not just there to make things saltier. If it tastes a little flat, add a bit more salt or a little more lime juice. If it gets too salty, add more avocado. You're not really going to ruin it either way.
• Roma tomatoes are the way to go here. They're firm and don't put out a lot of liquid once you remove the middle. If you're using slicing or beefsteak style tomatoes, you're going to see them get mushy and fall apart - not what you want.
• Avocado turns brown because of exposure to the air. If you have leftovers and want to try and store them, you have to limit air exposure. Pack the remaining guac in the bottom of the bowl, then use a piece of plastic wrap pressed down directly on top.
• Not on top of the bowl - on top of the guac! It will limit air exposure. When you go to open it again, you may have to scrape off a very thin layer that turned brown, but everything underneath it should remain a perfectly bright green, thanks to the lack of air exposure and the citric acid from the lime juice.

Looking for something to serve your guac with? Try these recipes out!