No.8 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Guacamole

Made famous by Rick Bayless

Photo: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From Authentic Mexican, 1987.

The dip of the Super Bowl and every taco night; guacamole is among the most searched recipes in America. Bayless taught the coarse, bright, not-blended way.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Authentic Mexican.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe Hass avocados (they yield to gentle pressure)
• 1/2 small white onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 to 2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, stemmed and finely chopped (seeds in for more heat)
• 1/3 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
• 1 to 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
• 1 small ripe tomato, seeded and chopped (optional)
• Tortilla chips, to serve

Steps

1. Put the chopped onion in a small strainer and rinse under cold water for 10 seconds, then shake dry. This takes away the harsh bite.
2. Halve the avocados, remove the pits and scoop the flesh into a bowl.
3. Mash with a fork or potato masher into a coarse purée with some small chunks left.
4. Stir in the onion, chiles, cilantro, 1 tablespoon lime juice and the salt. Fold in the tomato if using.
5. Taste and adjust: more salt to make the avocado taste like itself, more lime to brighten it, more chile for heat.
6. Serve right away, or press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate up to 2 hours.

Chef's tips

• An avocado that's hard today will be ready in 2 days on the counter, or in a paper bag with a banana.
• In Mexico it's often made in a molcajete: grind the onion, chile and salt into a paste first, then add the avocado.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless: get the book, No. 34 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

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