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Food
Erin McDowell
- Sometimes, purchasing store-bought guacamole is more practical than making it yourself.
- Simple additions can make store-bought guacamole taste better and slightly more homemade.
- Adding lime juice, more chopped vegetables, or an extra avocado can make a big difference.
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Start by transferring your store-bought guacamole to a large mixing bowl in order to give it a good stir.
The first step to sprucing up your store-bought guacamole should be to transfer it from the plastic tub it came in into a mixing bowl. Give it a stir to make sure all the ingredients are well-combined. You can also squeeze some fresh lime juice into your bowl for more flavor and to prevent your guacamole from browning.
Adjust the amount of salt or crushed pepper in your guacamole.
If you taste the guacamole and it's a touch bland, start by adding some salt and freshly crushed pepper to make it more flavorful.
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Other seasonings and spices like paprika or cayenne can add a kick to standard guacamole.
Crushed red pepper, cayenne, paprika, or even garlic powder can up the flavor in a store-bought guacamole and allow you to cater it to your own tastes.
Adding more chopped red onion can bump up the flavor profile of store-bought guacamole.
While most store-bought guacamole will already come with red onion, chopping up some more can add more flavor and a more homemade-looking texture that will have you coming back to the bowl for more.
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Chopped tomatoes can also make store-bought guac taste fresh and homemade.
There's nothing better in the summer than freshly chopped tomatoes, so taking advantage of the season's freshest produce can add a lot to store-bought guacamole. Tomatoes on the vine or hot house tomatoes work well, as do halved cherry tomatoes for a burst of freshness in every bite.
Fresh cilantro or chives can also be added.
Topping your guacamole with cilantro and chives can add a burst of subtle flavor and prevent your guacamole from looking like it came straight from a grocery store shelf.
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Fresh fruits like mango or pineapple can give your guacamole a more unique flavor profile.
It's pretty rare to find store-bought guacamole that includes fresh citrus fruits like pineapple or mango, so adding these fruits will certainly take your guac to the next level and impress your guests.
Adding a dollop of sour cream can make your store-bought guacamole taste bright and tangy.
It's important to gauge how creamy you want your guacamole to be, however. Too much sour cream can easily overpower the other ingredients in your guacamole.
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Adding just one more freshly smashed avocado to the mixture can improve the texture and make it taste more homemade.
Even if you don't have the energy or time to make guacamole from scratch, dicing and smashing up just one fresh avocado to add to your mixture can make a huge difference texturally.
While some store-bought guacamole can be a little too puréed in consistency, adding freshly smashed avocado will make it a little chunkier and seem much more homemade.
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To make store-bought guacamole look more homemade, you can also serve it in a wooden bowl, a molcajete bowl, or a mortar and pestle.
With making store-bought guacamole appear more homemade, a lot can depend on how it's served. Even if you make no additions, try transferring your guac to a stylish serving bowl, a mortar and pestle, or a molcajete bowl, which is the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle.
This will elevate your dish and give the illusion that you were smashing your own avocados to make it, as well as provide a good vessel for adding any extra ingredients.
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